Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Am I Missing Something?

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Boris Karloff attempts to become the male version of Gale Sondergaard in this second entry in the fortunately short-lived series, the worst of the three continuous mystery programmers starring obvious Caucasians in Asian roles. At least, Peter Lorre was slightly believable as Mr. Moto, and all four Charlie Chans were too. But the tall Karloff isn't at all believable in any sense, even if he utilizes his all too frequent over- the-top sincerity to spout out the ridiculous lines in a wretched screenplay.At least this second in the series is somewhat watchable, even if every cliché of every dime store mystery novel is utilized, from the line-up of predictable suspects to details added into the plot during the last minutes of the movie. The story surrounds the theft of an ancient Chinese gem which apparently carries a curse, and the murder of the man whose hands it ended up in. The set-up for the murder is a neat twist, occurring in a game of charades where the clues for the answer are somewhat obscure and the answers almost impossible to guess. This is a slightly above average entry, the others extremely slow moving in spite of short running times, and all filled with stereotypes. This film is ripe for parody (especially for one suspect who goes by the name of Strogonoff!) and some of the tackier moments are downright unintentionally comical. Film history students will have a fun time dissecting this, especially those who are interested in the poverty row studios which sometimes turned out surprising sleepers and an occasional masterpiece. In the final scene, try not to be distracted by Mr. Wong's parrot in the background who steals the scene from the talking actors.

The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)This is the second film in the Monogram series featuring Boris Karloff as the soft-spoken Chinese detective, James Lee Wong. Here he must unravel the reason behind the unexpected shooting death of a jealous husband at a party, and the secret surrounding a cursed sapphire that was smuggled out of China. Though not quite believable here as an Asian man, Karloff is still interesting to watch in an understated characterization, and this is possibly the best of the Mr. Wong offerings from a rather pedestrian collection. **1/2 out of ****

This low budget Monogram film is not short on intrigue or mystery. The largest sapphire in the world, "Eye of the Daughter of the Moon", has been stolen from an antiques collector, Brandon Edwards(Morgan Wallace), at the same time of his murder. His wife(Dorothy Tree) and her lover(Craig Reynolds)are of course of great suspect. The renown Chinese sleuth Mr. Wong(Boris Karloff)is called on to solve both crimes; and the clues are leading to one culprit. Once again Wong calls on his friend Police Captain Sam Street(Grant Withers)to help in the investigation. A fine detective flick worth watching. Other players include: Ivan Lebedeff, Lotus Long and Joe Devlin.

Although this is a typical "B" movie from the 1930s, it is way above the average suspense flick from that period. It has a lot of interesting elements such as the presence of a valuable gem sapphire called "The Daughter of the Moon", a gunshot out of nowhere, a creepy old house, and a gathering of sinister characters in which all would have motives to commit murder.Karloff may seem superficially miscast seeming to look just passably Chinese with the makeup used, but one must consider the premise that Mr. Wong is supposed to be raised in England and educated at Heidelberg, Germany and Oxford, England which would account for his heavy British accent.The film continues at a fine pace throughout the film with the various characters functioning as red herrings (love triangles, attempts to reclaim the gem, another murder, an attempt on Mr. Wong's life) until the true murderer is revealed at the end of the film (which I won't reveal here).Worthy to be mentioned along with the best of the "Charlie Chan" and "Mr. Wong" series from the same period.10/10.Dan Basinger