gavin6942 Moto (Peter Lorre) thwarts a ruthless band of international agents who try to foment an international incident by mining the entrance to the Suez Canal and blaming the British.Worth noting is that one of the saboteurs (Danforth) is played by John Carradine, the patriarch of the Carradine family. At this point he was part of John Ford's stock company, but had not quite broken out with his roles in "Stagecoach" (1939) and "Grapes of Wrath" (1940), so his Moto role could reasonably be called pre-fame.Thanks to its accidentally falling into the public domain, this is the most-seen Moto film. While not the best, it is a good entrance into his world, and hopefully a cheap copy will encourage fans to seek out better versions.

utgard14 Mr. Moto battles saboteurs intent on blowing up the Suez Canal. On paper this one looks like it would be the best Mr. Moto film. It has George Sanders, John Carradine, and Ricardo Cortez in the cast. But despite that excellent trio, this is probably my least favorite of all the Moto films. It's not a bad movie, just not very exciting. The first half is rather dull. There is one particularly tense scene involving a diving bell that was quite good. It's the highlight of the movie. Lorre's fine, as are the three actors I mentioned before. Pretty Virginia Field has a nice role, as well. But the story is kind of blah and the movie drags. Still, it's watchable and there are enjoyable parts. Any movie with Lorre, Sanders, Carradine, and Cortez involved is at least worth checking out for yourself.

maksquibs In the long line of 'politically incorrect' Hollywood racial casting, Hungarian born Peter Lorre's Mr Moto is probably the least in need of historical/cultural apologies to facilitate our enjoyment of the eight dandy pics he made as the polite, but not quite knowable Japanese detective. This one is a particularly good outing as Lorre/Moto benefits from regular helmer Norman Foster's visual flair and his original storyline which has George Sanders & Ricardo Cortez plotting to disrupt joint Naval maneuvers between France & England @ Port Said, Egypt. Darkly handsome lensing from Virgil Miller (who brought similar chiaroscuro refinement to some of the Universal Basil Rathbone/Sherlock Holmes series), an unexpectedly nasty edge of perverse violence (watch for John Carradine's grim exit), and cleverly integrated Music Hall elements add a nice kick to the proceedings. Even the obligatory comic relief is tightly woven into the narrative fabric. Moto Rules.

Michael O'Keefe One of the better of the series. The famed Japanese detective Mr. Moto(Peter Lorre)fakes his own death to keep tabs on a pair of saboteurs. A Frenchman, Fabian(Ricardo Cortez), and a British scoundrel named Norvel(George Sander)are trying to stop French ships from passing through the Suez Canal and start a war between France and England. In disguise as an antique dealer, Mr. Moto's mission is to stop them before any lives are lost or ships destroyed. A British agent(John Carradine)is undercover, but also under suspicion of the villains. Rounding out the cast: Virginia Field, Leyland Hodgson and Joan Carroll.