Mr. Moto's Last Warning

USA 1939
produced by
Sol M. Wurtzel (executive) for 20th Century Fox
directed by Norman Foster
starring Peter Lorre, Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field, John Carradine, George Sanders, Joan Carroll, Robert Coote, Margaret Irving, Leyland Hodgson, John Davidson, Holmes Herbert, Jacques Lory, Georges Renavent, C.Montague Shaw, E.E. Clive, Teru Shimada, Jimmy Aubrey, Neil Fitzgerald, Harold Goodwin, Jack Perry
screenplay by Philip MacDonald, Norman Foster, based on a character created by John P.Marquand, music by David Raksin

Mr. Moto

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Egypt: The French fleet is to join up with the British fleet for a joint maneuvre - but an unnamed power wants to cause war between France and the UK and to that end has sent its agents Norvel (George Sanders) and Fabian the Great (Ricardo Cortez) - a ventriloquist with a local vaudeville show no less - into the region to turn the coast of Port Said into a minefield. And to make sure their plan works, Norvel and Fabian even have famed Japanese detective Mr.Moto - who is now obviously also a secret agent - killed. But of course, they haven't killed the real Moto (as played by Peter Lorre) but only a double (played by Teru Shimada, who naturally looks much more Oriental than Lorre), while the real Moto, posing as an antiques dealer, is already hot on their trail, and he gets help from British agent Danforth (John Carradine) - who ultimately is found out though and sent down to the Ocean floor in a diving bell to suffocate.

Moto however plays his hand just right and in the end manages to make sure all the baddies get their just desserts, helped by Fabian's moll (Virginia Field), who has a change of heart once she learns that he's no ordinary smuggler but a real bad guy. And to make sure that the French fleet isn't blown to Kingdom Come, he sets off the mines prematurely ...

Robert Coote plays the very unamusing comic relief as an absent minded writer looking for adventures and inspiration.

A rather uninteresting espionage yarn that revolves around the Japanese super sleuth Mr.Moto, 20th Century Fox's generally inferior answer to its own Charlie Chan-series. Actually despite its interesting basic plot, Mr.Moto's Last Warning is a very boring, extremely contrived and utterly muddled story that totally lacks excitement and suspense. not really worth your time.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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