dougdoepke
Wacky programmer that fails for the most part. Looks like WB was trying to rival Charlie Chan with the much prettier Anna Mae Wong, except Mei Lei (Wong) uses astrology to crack cases instead of logic. Well that is a different approach, and the script's not shy about reinforcing Mei Lei's star-gazing powers. To make their premise go down easier, science is treated as supplementary to Libra, Taurus, et al, and not in conflict with them. I wonder how that goes down at Cal Tech or MIT. Wong is the best thing about the 65-minutes, treating a troublesome part with genuine authority. It's really she who deserves top billing even though Lindsey and Lane furnish abundant eye candy. Maybe my planets are in the wrong house, but I found the whodunit a messy bore. There's not much action, while the talkfest seldom leaves interior sets. All in all, I can see why there were no movie sequels, at the same time the ladies went on to bigger and better things. Anyway it's an oddball idea even for adventurous WB. (In passing-- Watch for Clayton Moore, TV's Lone Ranger {1949-57}, in a minor part as Ass't DA, but don't look for the mask or Tonto.)
Dewey1960
This supremely entertaining B-mystery from Warner Bros features a wonderful lead performance by Anna May Wong as an astrologer in San Francisco's Chinatown who helps the police solve a murder by using her uncanny star-gazing talents. Anyone even remotely interested in astrology will find the story-line quite pleasing (and pretty accurate, given the participation of Manly Hall, a noted astrologer of the day). Even those without much interest in astrology (except those who are stubbornly judgmental and predisposed to be negative about these things) should find this fast-paced, amusing mystery a cut well above the average. The adroitly talented supporting cast--including Margaret Lindsay, Lola Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, James Stephenson and Olin Howland--give the film an additional sheen. Highly recommended; definitely check it out whenever it turns up on Turner Classic Movies.
cinema_universe
This B-movie murder mystery is unquestionably different than most films of it's time. The clap-trap about using astrology as a crime fighting tool is an odd gimmick, but what the heck?This sort of programmer benefits from the unusual astrology "window-dressing", and though it is supposedly solved by using astrology, this pat little mystery can be figured out by the characters simply using their heads, anyway!The cast is entirely competent, and the pace is swift. The pre-war San Francisco Chinatown background, the hidden passage-ways in the Chinatown home, and Miss Wong's monkey, all add to the enjoyment of this film.As a devoted fan of B-movie murder yarns of this period, I may be somewhat prejudiced, but I loved watching this film, and highly recommend it to fellow fans of the genre. --D.--
Arthur Hausner
Since I've always felt that astrology can be described at best as fraudulent, the goings on here annoyed me very much. Tell Anna May Wong your birthday and she can look up your chart and tell you everything about you. She tells James Stephenson he has two days to live; Jeffrey Lynn that his wife will have twins; Inspector Charles Wilson that there will be two more murders, etc. It goes on and on and she's never wrong! Mind you, she says these predictions are only generalizations, because she doesn't have the exact time of your birth. The opening scenes has Manley P. Hall (the one who concocted the original story) on-screen telling how astrology enables you to predict the future and he cites laughable examples of it. He also explains the 12 signs of the zodiac and the characteristics of the people born under those signs. To me it was all nonsense. You might note that the character of each of the 12 credited actors was born under a different zodiac sign which was specified on-screen.The film is well directed by William McGann, who sets a nice pace for the 65 minute length of the film, and it was somewhat fun to watch the mystery unfold. But I cringed every time Wong opened her mouth with some item seemingly picked out of the air. If you believe in astrology, you may like this film. I didn't.
AD
