Phantom of Chinatown

Pretty good who-dunnit thriller about the death of an archaeologist. After he returns from the Orient. The archaeologist presents a lecture about his findings, a hidden tomb. Funny thing, is that he points out certain people in the room that went with him during the expedition, so right then and there you know that the archaeologist is toast and the people he just introduced are suspects ha ha. Mr Wong, smoothly played by Keye Luke, gets to the bottom of things. I really like how he solved this, using calm logical ways instead of having obvious clues thrown at us. I also liked the clueless homicide detective who sort of played a foil to Wong's character who essentially just followed Wong while he went on his crime-solving ways. Nifty little movie here.

Final film in the Mr Wong series loses Boris Karloff and in its place has Keye Luke as James Wong detective. Luke best known as Charlie Chan's number one son was forever in support so its nice to see him in a lead role. It also gives mystery, and especially Charlie Chan fans a glimpse at how Luke might have played the classic detective.

The mystery here is rather bland. During a lecture about an expedition to China the professor giving the talk is killed right in front of everyone. The question is how was it done and by who. You'll have to see the film to find out the why and who, I will tell you why, and thats because of the information that is contained on a scroll that was found in a tomb that will lead to great riches. Its a been there done that sort of affair that reminded me of one of the Mr Moto movies. Its not bad, certainly the cast is game, however the script just doesn't have any real life in it. It just doesn't have any life in it.

Still, I have to say that bland or no its an okay time passer best left for a late night or rainy day movie marathon when these kind of movies seem oh so much better.

No offense to Boris Karloff, who had previously played Mr. Wong, but this film shows how an "oriental" action-thriller can be improved by casting a gifted Chinese actor in the role. Keye Luke is handsome, charming, dashing, brave, clever, and just downright sexy as James Lee Wong, and he meets his perfect match in Lotus Long, the mysterious Chinese secretary of a famous Anglo-American archaeologist. The ending, which would have featured some romance between Luke and Long had they both been Caucasians, is still satisfying, as Luke shows his feelings for Long with his eyes and smile. Lee Tung Foo also deserves mention in a fun turn as Wong's servant. Of the many oriental-exploitation films of the era, this is perhaps the best, featuring some fine Asian art objects, superb set decoration, social commentary about Westerm archaeological appropriation of cultural treasures, unusual documentary footage of an expedition to Mongolia, and real Chinese people playing Chinese people. It's by no means an "A" picture, and seeing the star-god Shou depicted as a "god of vengeance" is silly, but "Phantom of Chinatown" deserves a better reputation than others of its ilk.

Poverty Row programmers like this may now seem incredibly hokey, but at the same time they're fascinating time capsules of American mores of those bygone (and maybe not so bygone) days. This one is routinely scripted and handled with little inspiration (though lots of pace), yet it's quite idiosyncratic for its time. Most obviously, a real Asian (Keye Luke, better known as Charlie Chan's Number One Son) is finally given the opportunity to play an Asian detective. The screenwriters certainly take advantage of the unique casting, turning a lot of the expected racially-insensitive material on end -- Luke gets in a real zinger when he brashly compares the looting of a Mongolian sarcophagus to having a Chinese adventurer dig up and purloin George Washington's corpse from its tomb. Also relevant to the 21st century is the fact that the tomb raiders are not so much seeking the legendary Eternal Flame for cultural or historic reasons, but due to the conjecture that it is produced by a hidden treasure trove of priceless oil. Quite refreshing attitudes for a 40s B-movie, with some vivid scenes of Chinatown life and interesting travelogue footage of a seemingly authentic excursion to Northern China.

The 6 Mr Wong films(five of which with Boris Karloff in the title role) are not great films, however they are all far from bad either. Phantom of Chinatown may not have Karloff but it is for whatever foibles it has one of the better films in the series. The photography can lack finesse in places while the film is scripted competently if routinely though with a fair few bright spots. And Grant Withers still doesn't do much for me, going for shouting his lines and frozen facial expressions, though not quite as badly as in Mr Wong in Chinatown, rather than subtlety. The sets are very nicely done though, and the music score is jaunty and eerie as to expect. There is some humour here and it manages to be of the funny and witty kind, the Chinese treasures and Washington Bones comparison agreed is the most inspired. The story is not exceptional but it is diverting and has a good deal of mystery and suspense. It also doesn't try to do too much so it is not as convoluted as a couple of Karloff's entries were, especially Mr Wong in Chinatown(you may have guessed already that that it is my least favourite of the 6, though it's still not a bad film). Luckily too, despite there being the risk of being there Chinese are portrayed sympathetically and any stereotyping(if any at all) is equally tastefully done, nothing at all to be offended at. Phantom of Chinatown moves along at a brisk pace, so the film was never a dull watch. Keye Luke may not be as enigmatic as Karloff but he for obvious reasons is still much more convincing as a Chineseman. He had big shoes to fill and fills them admirably, giving a very charming and sometimes amusing performance. Lotus Long is also wonderfully mysterious, and while not of the outstanding kind the supporting cast are competent at the least. To conclude, a decent film and one of the better Mr Wong films, even without Karloff. 7/10 Bethany Cox