Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This was the first of the eight Mr. Moto movies but not necessarily the best of the early group, although not bad. I thought the second and third ones were the best of the first grouping of four. This got bogged down a little too much early on with Thomas Beck's infatuation with Virginia Field ("Gloria Danton"). In subsequent Moto movies, the romance angle was lesser and Moto featured more, which is better. However, some of the sappy guy's lust for his girl turns out to tie in with the head crook, so all is not lost in having to sit through the dull romance spots. (Dull because the dialog was affected, especially Beck's as "Bob Hitchings," the son of the shipping magnate and the man pursuing Gloria.When the script featured the crime angle (smuggling), as in the beginning and in the last 25 minutes, it's interesting and gets involving. The long break in the middle of the film makes it easy for the viewer to lose track what exactly is going on here: who is smuggling what. We have to piece things together again when the action re-gains in the last third of the film. There is an interesting twist near the end and we hear Mr. Moto sum everything up a la Charlie Chan.The exotic setting is Shanghai and viewers can enjoy the hectic sets with lots of people running to and fro; obnoxious British and Americans making racist statements to the locals, treating them as insignificant young kids and, of course, all the Asians played by the Anglos. That was part of '30s Hollywood, and you just accept it.The last 40 percent of this movie makes up for any shortcomings and makes the viewing worthwhile. Mr. Moto is definitely one cool guy, who seems to have it all - except height. Peter Lorre was just great playing this role and I hope I get the opportunity to see all eight feature films in the series. I always enjoy his disguises, too, even though they don't fool us for a minute!

When I arrived home from work today, I found the Mr. Moto Collection waiting on me. I decided to watch the movies in order and start with the first in the series, Think Fast, Mr. Moto. It's the story of a diamond smuggling ring operating aboard a luxury liner between China and the U.S. The mysterious and ever present Mr. Moto is on hand to put a stop to the illegal activity. Think Fast, Mr. Moto is the kind of movie that's best enjoyed curled up on the couch late at night when you want to put your brain on hold and just be entertained. It's like that favorite old, ratty shirt – comfortable and always welcome. The plot in Think Fast, Mr. Moto may not make much sense (even after everything has been explained) but it's a lot fun. The film would hardly be as good without Peter Lorre in the title role. Unlike most everything I've see him in, Lorre gets the chance to be the hero here and is excellent in the role. The final cat and mouse game between Lorre and the always entertaining Sig Ruman is the highlight of the film (although I must admit that it's difficult to watch Ruman and not want to laugh as images of the Marx Brothers pulling off his toupee went through my head).I can't wait to watch the other three films in the collection.

This series of Mr. Moto films were very low budget films and during the year 1937 the country was not in prosperity like it is today. Actors like Peter Lorre had to find work and therefore, we find him in pictures like Mr. Moto. Lorre was also starting out his career in America and this was a great opportunity for Peter Lorre to become a great character actor! Peter Lorre (Kentaro Moto), "The Beast With Five Fingers",'46, did a great job of performing a role like Charlie Chan and manged to keep you guessing just who the criminal really was. Virginia Field, (Gloria Danton),"The Earth Dies Screaming",'65 gave a great supporting role and appeared in quite a few of these Mr. Moto films. Sig Ruman, (Nicholas Marloff),"Doom of Dracula",'66, played a different role and did all he could to trick Mr. Moto. If you look real close, you will see J. Carrol Naish,(Adram,Shop Keeper), who adds some mystery to the plot. These Mr. Moto films were usually shown as a second feature at the local movie houses along with Newsreels and Cartoons which created a big Saturday night treat for the local families during 1937!

The shame of the Japanese-American concentration camps has cast a shadow over the Mr. Moto series, giving it a sorry reputation as an artifact of Hollywood racism. The truth is that as far as European-in-yellowface portrayals of Asians went, Peter Lorre's Moto was far less racist and considerably more sympathetic than the clownish, epigram-spouting Charlie Chan. In fact, it's easy to forget Moto's Japaneseness altogether and just view him as yet another wondrous manifestation of the white-linen-suited, Austrian-accented Lorreness so prevalent between the wars in films like "Strange Cargo," "Island of Doomed Men," und so wieter. Audiences certainly took to the little fellow in this first entry in the series, which introduces Moto in all his enigmatic glory--the bemused, politely ironical man of action with his love of kittycats, preference for cow's milk over whiskey, and disdainful conviction that beautiful women only confuse a man. Though Lorre reportedly had no idea what the whole thing was supposed to mean and spent his time offstage disconsolately listening to his archenemy Hitler on the radio, the eight Moto films established him as one of Hollywood's most beloved personalities and gave millions of small men who wore glasses the hope that they, too, could be strong and adorable.