Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)

How sad is this?

Excellent but underrated film

Beautiful, moving film.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The U.S. government asks Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) to go to Puerto Rico to investigate diamond smuggling after an earlier investigator is murdered.This was the final film of Mr. Moto, at least until his very brief revival decades later (with mixed results). As much as Peter Lorre excelled in the role, it ran its course and few have probably mourned the loss.The script was initially a Charlie Chan story, but quickly turned into a Moto tale. What does this say about the two that they could be interchangeably altered so easily? What is interesting is that for all the concerns of racism this series may provoke (with a German portraying a Japanese man), the possibly more racist portrayal is the black boat captain. Looking back today, it is often surprising how few black actors their were in mainstream films, and those that were present were treated as comic relief.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) investigates diamond smuggling in Puerto Rico with comic relief sidekick Twister McGuirk (Warren Hymer). Pretty good entry in the Moto series. The second-to-last, sadly. Lorre's flawlessly fun, as usual. A lot of people don't seem to like the addition of a sidekick for Moto and I sympathize with that. However, it's really not that bad if you like Hymer's shtick, which I do. If you judge it on its own and not by comparison to the best of the series, I think you'll like it. Exceptional supporting cast features Jean Hersholt, Leon Ames, Richard Lane, Douglas Dumbrille, Robert Lowery, and Paul Harvey. Amanda Duff fulfills the movie's quota for pretty. Ward Bond appears in the opening scene as a wrestler who gets tossed around by Mr. Moto. Also, watch how they drive those big old cars around those tight street sets. I kept expecting someone to clip a building!

Watched three Mr. Moto movies: One was "The Mysterious Mr. Moto". The 2ns one was, I think, "Mr. Moto's Last Warning".Maybe the best of the three was this one, "Mr. Moto in Danger Island: (1939) Danger Island is apparently Puerto RicoMr. Moto (Peter Lorre). Geez, I thought it would never end. But still, in this series, if you're a Lorre fan (I am)… I give it a "6". Not as high as others rated it.Mr. Moto picks up a sidekick, a wrestler named Twister Mcgirk, when he goes to Puerto Rico to investigate diamond smuggling and a missing investigator. (I didn't know diamond mines were big in Puerto Rico but that is explained). Twister's grammar makes Slip Mahoney (Bowery Boys) sound like Laurence Olivier.I saw Ward Bond among the wrestlers but he wasn't in the credits.I've been to Puerto Rico; I didn't see any swamps or quicksand but… okay. Maybe I missed it. All I saw was luxury hotels and beautiful beaches. Oh, and I didn't see any Puerto Ricans in this movie.

Moto #7/8 finds us in "Porto Rico" with a great print, some nice sets and atmospheric photography and a sterling cast giving the flimsy plot all they had.Moto played as ever by Peter Lorre is called in by the Government in cahoots with the Governor to root out an international gang of diamond smugglers, discovers straight away that one the Governor's confidantes must be one of the baddies, if not the top dirty dog. Just picture the high profile suspects: Leon Ames, Douglas Dumbrille, Richard Lane, Jean Hersholt, Charles Brown or even Robert Lowery, all shifty and at each others throats from the word go but which one is guilty? At least Moto's sidekick wrestler Warren Hymer has no doubts, even if he is paradoxically also continually bewildered. Mention ghosts and Willie Best makes an appearance! The dialogue was surprisingly witty, the production values high - from the delightful evening party to the beads of sweat on various foreheads. The running gag was supplied by McGurk's unstinting admiration for Moto always besting him at judo - he sure took some beating and shooting at in here!Great non-heavy entertainment as usual, an excellent entry in the series.