Boris Karloff made his debut as Chinese shamus James Wong in Mr. Wong Detective for Monogram in 1938. It was a popular, but short lived series of films, the last one starring not Karloff but Keye Luke an actual Oriental as the Oxford educated detective. Unlike his fellow oriental sleuths Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto, Karloff spoke in perfect Oxford educated English and not fortune cookie aphorisms.
Mr. Wong Detective has Boris Karloff hired by John Hamilton who is one of three partners in an industrial firm. He has the feeling that someone is trailing him and his life in danger. When he dies alone in the proverbial locked room with no gunshot, stab wound, or anything indicating foul play, it's a mystery beyond the comprehension of the cops in the person of Grant Withers. It sure puzzles Wong for the length of the film.
One of the reasons I rate this film so high even though it's a B film from Monogram without a whole lot of production values is the absolutely original method of murder the writers thought up for the script. There's also a nice really big red herring in the plot as well. I guarantee you will not be able to figure out exactly how the crime was committed even when you have a couple of the clues.
The other Wong films were OK, but not near as original as this one.
Mr. Wong Detective has Boris Karloff hired by John Hamilton who is one of three partners in an industrial firm. He has the feeling that someone is trailing him and his life in danger. When he dies alone in the proverbial locked room with no gunshot, stab wound, or anything indicating foul play, it's a mystery beyond the comprehension of the cops in the person of Grant Withers. It sure puzzles Wong for the length of the film.
One of the reasons I rate this film so high even though it's a B film from Monogram without a whole lot of production values is the absolutely original method of murder the writers thought up for the script. There's also a nice really big red herring in the plot as well. I guarantee you will not be able to figure out exactly how the crime was committed even when you have a couple of the clues.
The other Wong films were OK, but not near as original as this one.