What will you find in and around an oceanside watering hole called The Neptune Club? A little jewel smuggling, a little multiple murder and a whole lot of red herrings. San Francisco policeman Bill Street (Grant Withers) teams up with Chinese super sleuth James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff) to get to the bottom of things. This involves weeding through an almost never-ending parade of suspects to find out which one is going around murdering those who threaten to expose a back room crime operation. And there may, or may not, be more to it than meets the eye. And you may, or may not, even be interested in even viewing this creaky old chestnut. The first ten/fifteen minutes don't exactly do an adequate job of reeling the viewer in, but the film does pick up speed and becomes more interesting (and entertaining) after awhile.
Though listed as a horror-mystery, this is more of a mystery with a slightly higher body count than usual, a few shadowy horror movie-like touches (particularly a hand brandishing a pistol emerging from a dark corner of the bar) and, of course, the presence of horror legend Karloff. It's entirely set bound; I don't recall a single scene taking place outdoors, though there is frequent mention of a harbor, shipping docks and a secret passageway we never get to see. It's also incredibly talky, with very little on-screen action. There's no style, no visual flourishes and the camera-work itself is strictly of the point-and-shoot variety. However, the dialogue isn't too bad and neither are the characters. The film also has a sense of humor; namely Marjorie Reynolds as a plucky reporter who annoys the heck out of the fuzz by showing up at every crime scene unannounced but still manages to uncover many of the important clues.
Withers' aggressive, reactionary, often-screaming policeman is almost perfectly balanced out by Karloff's smooth, observant and very patient oriental detective. The supporting cast is mostly decent; particularly Frank Puglia as the shady owner of the Neptune Club. Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to see this unless you're a Karloff completist or enjoy creaky lightweight rainy day murder mysteries. There are worse ways to pass an hour or your time. This was either the fourth or fifth entry in the Wong series; Karloff played the same character in MR. WONG, DETECTIVE (1938), MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN (1939), THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1939) and DOOMED TO DIE (1940).
Though listed as a horror-mystery, this is more of a mystery with a slightly higher body count than usual, a few shadowy horror movie-like touches (particularly a hand brandishing a pistol emerging from a dark corner of the bar) and, of course, the presence of horror legend Karloff. It's entirely set bound; I don't recall a single scene taking place outdoors, though there is frequent mention of a harbor, shipping docks and a secret passageway we never get to see. It's also incredibly talky, with very little on-screen action. There's no style, no visual flourishes and the camera-work itself is strictly of the point-and-shoot variety. However, the dialogue isn't too bad and neither are the characters. The film also has a sense of humor; namely Marjorie Reynolds as a plucky reporter who annoys the heck out of the fuzz by showing up at every crime scene unannounced but still manages to uncover many of the important clues.
Withers' aggressive, reactionary, often-screaming policeman is almost perfectly balanced out by Karloff's smooth, observant and very patient oriental detective. The supporting cast is mostly decent; particularly Frank Puglia as the shady owner of the Neptune Club. Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to see this unless you're a Karloff completist or enjoy creaky lightweight rainy day murder mysteries. There are worse ways to pass an hour or your time. This was either the fourth or fifth entry in the Wong series; Karloff played the same character in MR. WONG, DETECTIVE (1938), MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN (1939), THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1939) and DOOMED TO DIE (1940).