Hitchcoc This sorry boxing movie was a great disappointment. Because of necessity, Peter Lorre must take up the mantle of Charlie Chan. In the first two films, he is a riveting character with a complex mind and a murderous impulse. Here he plays straight man to a bunch of gamblers and buffoons. A young boxer is trying to get a title bout when his opponent dies and he is charged with the murder. Lee Chan (Keye Luke) and Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom pair up to do the silly stuff. Moto even delivers lines like Chan. There are gamblers coming out of the walls, talking to the fighters before the bouts. John Hamilton, Perry White on "The Adventures of Superman," has a lot of irons in the fire as to a whole bunch of other bettors. It just becomes so weak as the thing goes along, including Chan trying to punch Rosenbloom so he can remember where he got a gun.

Dalbert Pringle Favorite movie-quote - "Who ever heard of a crooked cop?" To be perfectly honest, Peter Lorre is one of those actors who has always given me the creeps, big-time. To me, Lorre has the sort of "limited" screen persona that's clearly best suited for roles where the character is either seriously unhinged and/or operating from the wrong side of the law.In his Mr. Moto role, Lorre was neither unhinged nor of a criminal mind. On the contrary, Mr. Moto was an exceptionally brilliant professor of criminology whose deductions and quick-mindedness were positively uncanny.In fact, Mr. Moto's cool, collected and matter-of-fact demeanour was, at times, really too much to be believed (but, after all, this was just a movie), especially since it was Lorre who played the part.Had the story-line of this lighthearted, 1938, Whodunnit not been about the world of professional boxing (and the criminal element that gets involved when big bucks are at stake), then I doubt that it would have held my interest as much as it inevitably did.When it comes to the likes of pugs and palookas & chumps and champs, I really enjoy early-Hollywood boxing pictures where double-crosses, treachery and taking a dive are the name of the game.Mind you, with that said, I think this film would've faired a helluva lot better had another actor, other than Lorre, been cast in the Mr. Moto role.Anyways - I sure did like real-life professional boxer, Max Rosenbloom, in the part of the pickpocket, "Knockout" Wellington. And at a 72-minute running time, this strictly formulaic, little Murder/Mystery certainly did move along at a nice, brisk clip.

pfrank-4 Big problems here. As others have pointed out, this film started out as a Charlie Chan film, but he proved unavailable, so the studio rewrote it as a Mr. Moto caper; it even has Chan's "No. 1 Son" in a supporting role. Watching the picture, it's very easy to imagine Charlie Chan doing and saying everything that Mr. Moto says. This film lacks the martial arts and international intrigue of the better Mr. Moto titles, thus it is not a Mr. Moto film. If you are looking for a real Mr. Moto film, get a different movie. This one is a Charlie Chan movie, starring Mr. Moto. Most unfortunate. Charlie Chan is Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto is Mr. Moto; this film blurs the distinctions and should be shunned by all lovers of either detective.

John Wayne Peel Warner Oland made a reputation playing orientals which is what got him the role of Erle Derr Biggers Honolulu detective in the first place. Not bad for a Swedish American actor. Unfortunately, he lost the role in a very unexpected way. He died. Now, before you go and try to figure out who done it, don't bother. These things happen and not always through foul play. Now, Peter Lorre had made his name playing a child murderer in a little German film called "M" and that eventually brought him to the U.S. and this Hungarian Jew was suddenly thrust into the role intended for character actor J. Edward Bromberg (who coincidentally played a raja in a Moto film.) Amazingly, Loree, being the terrific actor he was became very believable as a Japanese detective well practiced in the art of jiu jitsu and karate. Now I have said all that to say that Lorre's Moto was thrust into this film when Olaand died and the Chan script was completed. With a little rewrite, it became the picture I am reviewing here, and it is a doozy. It even has the wonderful character actor John Hamilton (later to be famous as Perry White of the Daily Planet on the "Superman" TV series) as one of his many mayor/D.A./warden/person in authority role/ With the able comic relief of Keye Luke's number one son and over-sized, cauliflower pug 'Slapsy' Maxie Rosenbloom, and a dandy mystery.Now, I won't give you a spoiler here, but I will tell you that if you have watched enough whodunits as I have, you will see the same mystery kickers replayed dozens of times, or at least a couple. This particular murder puzzle I saw no less than three times counting this one. Once in a syndicated "The New Adventures of Charlie Chan" series starring J. Carroll Naish (another character actor who played all sorts of ethnics other than his own ethnic background) another TV show called "Burke's Law," and still another TV show featuring detective "Ellery Queen" played by the always talented late, great Jim Hutton.And it all happens in a boxing ring. Just watch the film and have fun with it. After all, we're not talking Shakespeare here. Just good, fun bloodless murder and fun characters you'll enjoy for company. I give it a 7 out of ten stars for that.