blanche-2 Peter Lorre is "Mysterious Mr. Moto," a Japanese detective who seems to know everything that's going on. A very likable character, Moto, not surprisingly, stopped solving crimes after Pearl Harbor.In this, the fifth entry into the series, Moto escapes Devil's Island with another man, Paul Brissac (Leon Ames), as Moto is on the trail of an assassination group, of which Brissac is a member. Moto wants the top man. Since Brissac trusts him, Moto becomes his houseboy and gets a look at the rest of the group. But not the leader. The group is threatening the life of a man, Anton Darvak (Henry Wilcoxon), who has a steel formula the group wants. Moto works to protect him.The film has a very lively denouement, and Moto dons several disguises during the film. Peter Lorre is wonderful. Moto has it all over Chan, as it takes Chan time to figure things out. Moto seems to know it all pretty early on, and he's quite an active participant in whatever it takes to solve the crime.It's impossible to believe, however, that a man one step up from the village idiot, Anton Darvak, has any type of a formula unless it's for adding 2 and 2. He's not worth protecting, that's for sure.This is a short movie, and the main thing it's got going for it is Lorre. The plot isn't great. And as short as it is, some of it moves slowly. But what action there is, is very good.

JohnHowardReid This entry would more aptly be titled Mr Moto of London's Limehouse. Aside from the opening escape and the thrilling climax, most of the movie is set in an exuberantly realized Limehouse, peopled with a truly multitudinous collection of colorful Dickensian characters, who swiftly break into one of the most extraordinary mêlées ever captured in any movie, "A" or "B". The credit for the jaw-dropping handling of these vigorous action sequences belongs squarely to director Norman Foster, who has made the most of a somewhat faulty plot by moving it along with such action-full abandon, there is little time to reflect on the holes.Given half a chance, we might also notice that five of the twelve principal characters are both rather weakly written and portrayed: Mary Maguire, Henry Wilcoxon, Erik Rhodes, Leon Ames and Fred Vogeding do little to inspire audience applause. It's Peter Lorre, the ever-reliable John Rogers, the lovely Karen Sorrell, delightfully sinister Cecil Weston, enthusiastic Forrester Harvey, old-school-tie Lester Matthews, and would you believe a remarkably subdued Harold Huber, who do all the running.All Lorre's Moto excursions are well worth viewing. This one rates high on my list, though my personal favorite is Mr Moto's Last Warning.

classicsoncall It's interesting that this movie had a Scotland Yard connection, one might have expected Sherlock Holmes to make an appearance. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) assumes the identity of a Japanese houseboy to Parisian criminal Paul Brissac following their escape from a Devil's Island prison camp. Once situated in London, Moto begins his investigation into an international 'League of Assassins', who have targeted industrialist Anton Darvak (Henry Wilcoxon) for his newly developed steel formula.Moto manages to dodge Scotland Yard detectives as well as nasty League henchmen in order to uncover the head of the assassins. In one of those films where the least likely character turns out to be the criminal mastermind, you have to wonder why Frensham (Erik Rhodes) allowed himself to be positioned under the murder weapon, hostage to Moto in one of his many disguises. Say, didn't he remind you of Arte Johnson's dirty old man character from 'Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"?Now just over half way through watching the Mr. Moto films, I'm impressed as to how consistently better they seem to be compared against those of the other Oriental detective of the era, Charlie Chan. The Chan stories relied on repeated use of the old lights out trick and other ruses on the way to solving the mystery, whereas the Moto stories are a lot more physical, even violent, with Moto engaging in a fair share of the action. In this one, Moto delivers some crisp judo throws and takes some wild flying leaps tackling bad guy Brissac in the finale. Elsewhere on this board I learned that Lorre's stuntman for the martial arts sequences was a gentleman named Harvey Parry.Even though they're nearly seventy years old, it's still a kick to watch any of these old time detective mystery films. Peter Lorre is a blast as Mr. Moto, and any movie in the series from Twentieth Century Fox is recommended for fans of the genre.

bensonmum2 It's interesting to me that it's the "B" films of the 30s and 40s that seem to be so popular today. I sincerely doubt that anyone involved in the making of these movies could have imagined or cared that there would be an audience for their work almost 70 years later. Mysterious Mr. Moto is an enjoyable "B" that features everything you could ask for in one of these movies – a nice mystery, good action, sets that far exceed the film's limited budgets, exotic and quirky characters, and a sense of fun about the whole thing.Peter Lorre is back as the mysterious Japanese detective, Mr. Moto. In this installment in the series, Mr. Moto has himself imprisoned on Devil's Island so that he might gain the trust of one of the other prisoners who happens to be involved with a gang of international murderers for hire. They escape and head to America. Acting as the other man's servant, Mr. Moto is in a perfect position to put a stop to the group's activities.Mysterious Mr. Moto will never be confused with a deep, meaningful example of film-making. But it's not supposed to. It's a fun romp. And even if identity of the leader of the gang of murderers is obvious early on, it hardly matters. It's just fun watching Moto get to the answer. Lorre is as good as billed and he has a cast of familiar faces backing him up. Fans will recognize Harold Huber, Leon Ames, and Erik Rhodes from their numerous roles in other 30s "B" films. Each does a nice job of adding a bit of fun to the film.