Phantom of Chinatown (1940)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Phantom of Chinatown (1940) * 1/2 (out of 4)An archaeologist returns from an expedition in China and is giving a lecture on a scroll that he discovered. Just as he starts to talk about the curse surrounding it he falls to the ground. At first people think he's just tired but it turns out that he was poisoned and now he's dead. Mr. Wong (Keye Luke) is put on the case and tries to determine what happened with the aide of Captain Street (Grant Withers).PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN would be the sixth and final film in Monogram's Mr. Wong series. The first two films with Boris Karloff were better-than-average "B" movies but his three follow-ups were fair at best. This sixth film had Karloff being replaced by Luke who was well-known for his appearances in the Charlie Chan movies but sadly this is the worst in the series.Yes, it's nice seeing an Asian actor in the lead role and many of the supporting parts are played by Asians as well. The problem is that Luke just wasn't very good here. In fact, he just wasn't the greatest actor out there and I had a major problem believing that he was the character. A smart and brilliant detective is not what I saw from Luke and this damaged the film. The screenplay didn't do the character much justice and the same is true for Withers who turns in his worst performance in the series.The biggest problem with the movie is the fact that the story and mystery are just way too bland for their own good. The film really gets off to a good start but after the man dies everything just falls apart. There's no drama, no tension and just nothing here that holds your attention. Even the 61-minute running time drags by.

The beginning of this movie has an archaeologist unearthing an ancient tomb and subsequently murdered for it. No, it isn't a mummy movie. It's a Mr. Wong murder mystery. The last Mr. Wong movie, actually. This is today what we would call a reboot. They replace Boris Karloff with the younger Keye Luke, thereby restarting the series with a young Mr. Wong. It's interesting to see an actual Asian playing the lead role in one of these Asian detective movies, where a white man always played the part because it was believed at the time audiences wouldn't go to see movies with a non-white leading man.Keye Luke was an amazingly personable actor but this movie does not give him a chance to shine, forcing him to play Wong as a rather stuffy bore. Luke receives assistance from the lovely Lotus Long. They could have used this opportunity of a reboot to breathe some life into the Wong series, which was pretty stale. But instead this is quite possibly the dullest of the lot. Perhaps if given this shot at a better studio, it would have led to a long-lasting series with Keye Luke as the lead. But this is Monogram, king of the cheapies, so it's not surprising it didn't work out. Grant Withers was the only constant in all of the Wong films. While his character was a walking cliché, Withers played the part well.On the whole, the series was watchable but forgettable, even with Boris Karloff as the star. If you haven't seen many (better) B detective series, you might enjoy the Wong films more. But I've seen pretty much all of the them, certainly all of the major ones, and Mr. Wong does not stand up well.

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.

Smilin' Leonard Maltin rates this one a bomb, but he couldn't be more wrong. It's a real forgotten gem and the best of the Mr. Wong detective series. Why? For whatever reason, the producers decided to cast Keye Luke--an Asian actor--in the role of the cinematic sleuth. Many similar films were made throughout the 30s and 40s, with Warner Oland and Sidney Toler cast as Charlie Chan and Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. Luke was preceded by Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff as Wong. This seems to be the only example of an Asian detective being played by an Asian actor, and I'd love to know how Luke's casting came about. He's merely adequate as an actor, but his work gives the film an appealing realism (albeit as much as a film about an eternal flame and a lost scroll can be realistic). There are also reasonably good supporting roles for Asian actors, including Lotus Long as the leading lady, Lee Tung Foo in a comic role, and other uncredited actors. Series regular Grant Withers is on hand, wearing a rather unattractive and ill-fitting hat, as the bumbling police detective who needs Wong's help to crack the case. The film actually seems to take place in a somewhat realistic world, San Francisco's Chinatown, where Asian-Americans miraculously man and operate the telephone exchange! At 61 minutes the film is brisk entertainment that will keep your attention. It also manages to feel fresher than better acted and better budgeted genre films of the same period. Strongly recommended to sleuthing fans.