Monogram Studios only made a few Mr. Wong films and after seeing a few I can certainly understand why. Despite having Boris Karloff in the lead, the films are incredibly dry and unexciting B-detective films. Unlike Charlie Chan (who, by the way, is being "knocked off" by the Wong films), Sherlock Holmes, The Falcon and other B-series detectives, there is so little energy in the Wong films that it's hard to care about them. Part of this is due to Karloff's odd characterization. The guy is supposed to be Chinese but sounds like,...Boris Karloff! And, despite the makeup, he actually looks just like Boris Karloff with a greasy wig! While the Chan characterizations were NOT politically correct, the character at least cracked some jokes and seemed interesting. Wong is just dull. And to make matters worse, he really never got a decent sidekick. The closest thing to it was a pushy and occasionally obnoxious reporter who tended to provide less comic relief and more irritation. So as a result of these factors, the chemistry just wasn't there.
In this film, the plot involves the death of a shipping magnate or something but I really found I didn't care. After a while, I found my attention waning and I just wanted it to end. The film was pretty much as you might expect with few, if any, surprises. Trust me--there ARE much better films of this style out there waiting to be seen. Don't give up the search!
In this film, the plot involves the death of a shipping magnate or something but I really found I didn't care. After a while, I found my attention waning and I just wanted it to end. The film was pretty much as you might expect with few, if any, surprises. Trust me--there ARE much better films of this style out there waiting to be seen. Don't give up the search!