Michael_Elliott The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) ** 1/2 (out of 4)An antique dealer comes into possession of a rare Chinese artifact and before long he is dead. At first it appears to have been a stunt gone wrong but soon Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) realizes that it was murder but was it connected to the artifact?THE MYSTERY OF MR. WONG was the second of six films that Monogram did in the series. If you're a fan of the first then you'll probably enjoy this one, although there's no question that it's not quite as good. Still, for a "B" movie from this era there are enough entertaining moments to make it worth watching and especially if you're a fan of Karloff.As you'd expect, Karloff is the main reason to watch the picture as he turns in another good performance as Mr. Wong. He's certainly not believable as an Asian but I guess this was to be expected. With that said, he doesn't even appear to be trying to come across as Asian but I still enjoyed his performance for the laid-back approach that he took with the character. Grant Withers returns as Captain Street but the screenplay doesn't offer him as good as a role. The supporting cast is mostly good with the exception of Dorothy Tree who plays the victim's wife.The biggest issue with this film is the fact that the story itself isn't quite as interesting as that of the first film. There's really not as many interesting supporting characters and this here takes away from the whole film. With that said, it's a "B" movie and on that level it's entertaining enough for what it is.

gridoon2018 This second entry in the "Mr. Wong" series has a classic mystery setup: a game of charades at a party turns deadly when a gun supposedly loaded with blanks actually kills someone. Or is that really what happens? Luckily (or unluckily, for the murderer), the eminent detective Mr. Wong is among the guests, and is more than willing to help the police solve the murder. The sinister suspects, red herrings and other traditions of the genre are all present and accounted for, and while the direction may not be fanciful, it is efficient. Boris Karloff is very good as the calm, polite, observant, analytical Mr. Wong, helping you ignore the "wrong ethnicity" barrier. What is harder to ignore is that, in order to get to its admittedly unpredictable resolution, the script withholds vital information about the motive of the murderer; we never suspect him/her because we are given absolutely no reason to! Even with that reservation, I think most mystery buffs will find enough to enjoy in this film. **1/2 out of 4.

MartinHafer The Mr. Wong series by Monogram Studios was an attempt by this tiny poverty row studio to cash in on the success of Twentieth-Century Fox's Charlie Chan. In many ways, the two series were very similar, though Wong (played by Boris Karloff) was played less like a stereotypical Asian and the scripts, unfortunately, were generally not as good as the Chan scripts.Here, in a completely average film, Wong is investigating the death of a rich jerk who is proud that he owns a stolen treasure from China. Considering how arrogant and unlikable he is, it isn't at all surprising that he's soon murdered--and in a rather clever way. The actual mystery is only moderately suspenseful by B-mystery film standards, but the film's lack of comic relief may appeal to those who dislike this aspect of the Chan films.As for the acting, this film is unusual in that all the actors were good except for one whose performance really stood out from the rest--it was THAT bad. Dorothy Tree, who played the wife of the murdered man, was simply horrible. Every time she opened her mouth, she over-emoted and enunciated like she was in a diction class. When I checked her biography on IMDb I discovered two things--that she was a reasonably prolific actress AND that she was a singing and diction coach. That really helps to explain her performance as did a quote from Ms. Tree concerning the role of proper diction in advancing feminism--"more resonance, clear speech and a better vocabulary." Well, sometimes more isn't better! A decent time-passer--provided you don't mind wading through Ms. Tree's impassioned acting.By the way, the copy I watched clocked in at 70 minutes--2 minutes longer than the time listed on IMDb.

bkoganbing A prize sapphire has been stolen and received by collector Morgan Wallace right off a freighter in San Francisco bay before docking, thereby eluding customs. It's been stolen during the Japanese occupation in Nanking and Wallace is naturally in fear of his life as a result. It's no accident he's invited the great scholar and criminologist James Lee Wong as played by Boris Karloff to a reception that evening creating The Mystery Of Mr. Wong.Despite I think was a grammatically incorrect title and given this is a production from Monogram Pictures, this is not a bad mystery and very topical at the time. The news of the war waged on the Chinese by Japan was in the papers all the time.When the murder of Farley is actually committed it's during a game of charades where guest Grant Reynolds shoots Farley during a sketch and the man doesn't get up. In a manner worthy of Agatha Christie there are a whole host of subjects present at the mansion. It was just the killer's bad luck to do this with Wong present.One of these days I'll be bowled over when I find out that someone actually decides to call of a planned crime when some famous detective appears unplanned on the screen. Don't these people go to the movies?