Fri 2 May 2008
Movie Review – MR. MOTO’S LAST WARNING (1939).
Posted by Steve under Characters , Reviews , Suspense & espionage films[4] Comments
MR. MOTO’S LAST WARNING. 20th Century-Fox, 1939. Peter Lorre, Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field, John Carradine, George Sanders. Based on the character created by John P. Marquand. Screenwriters; Philip MacDonald and Norman Foster. Director: Norman Foster.
I’m told that Mr. Moto’s Last Warning, the sixth of eight Mr. Moto films – see below – is the only one that’s in the public domain. This explains two things. First, why I was able to buy a copy on DVD at this evening’s local library sale for only $2.00, and secondly why I paid too much, as I discovered later: You can watch the entire movie for free online. Click here.
Disclaimer: I have not watched the free version all the way through, but it appears that it’s the entire film that’s available.
Here’s a complete list of the Mr. Moto films:
* Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
* Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
* Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1937)
* Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)
* Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)
* Mr. Moto’s Last Warning (1939)
* Danger Island (1939)
* Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
As you see Peter Lorre and 20th Century-Fox stopped making them well before the US became involved in World War II, a wisely-taken cautionary move, as by nationality, Mr. Moto was very definitely Japanese. By profession, he was a secret agent for the “International Police,” and since he was very proficient in either judo or ju jistsu (I imagine there’s a difference) his movies were a lot more action-oriented than either Mr. Chan’s or Mr. Wong’s.
Exemplified quite well, thank you, by Mr. Moto’s Last Warning, in which any number of people are killed or very nearly so, including (surprisingly enough) some of the good guys, one in rather gruesome fashion. Because of a partially muffled sound track at the beginning, it took me a while to figure out what the story was about, but eventually all became clear, except for one question: what country were the bad guys (Cortez and Sanders, primarily) working for? Forthrightly, it is never stated.
Scene: Port Said, Egypt. Plot: To create an incident involving the incoming French fleet that will break the bonds of friendship between France and England. Mr. Moto, working undercover as an antiques dealer, gets wind of the plans and sends out the warning that’s stated in the title.
The movie is surprisingly well done. The actors are all pros at this sort of game, the script makes sense (not surprisingly, considering the hand of Philip MacDonald at the helm), and the comedic interludes are only a trifle overdone.
For the most part, the story takes itself seriously. I especially liked the bad girl to good girl transformation of Virginia Field as Connie, lover of Fabian (Ricardo Cortez), the ventriloquist (yes) behind the entire scheme.
That’s her in the lower right corner of the lobby card, the best I’ve been able to come up with. I’m also not sure how well the Peter Lorre image will come out. It looks not quite in focus to me, but it’s the best I can offer so far. Coming directly from the film, I think it should give you a better idea of how he appears in the movie, as compared to the DVD box or even the lobby card.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 am
Actually, “Mr. Moto’s Last Warning” is no longer in the public domain. It was remastered, along with the other seven Moto films that Peter Lorre made, by 20th Century-Fox a few years ago. The studio released the eight Motos, plus “The Return of Mr. Moto” (Henry Silva, 1965), in two box-sets, with new documentaries plus several Moto trailers. They’re both worth having, especially for the cleaned-up “Mr. Moto’s Last Warning”, which on my publc-domain VHS copy, is too dark to see much of anything, particularly the fight outside Connie’s place between Moto and several thugs attempting to rob Robert Coote.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Yes, I’ll probably buy the two box sets, sooner or later. There’s no doubt that I’d enjoy them.
But I still haven’t bought the Charlie Chan sets that have been coming out, and right now they’d have the edge, as far as priorities go, with the Moto’s soon after.
A question: I’ve always understood copyright law to say that once in the public domain, always there. On an individual basis, I’m sure there are always exceptions.
Could it be that the remastered version has its own copyright now?
PS. The link in Cheryl’s name leads to http://www.peterlorrebook.com/, where you’ll find a ton of information on Mr. Lorre. It’s worth everyone’s looking into, I’d say.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Thanks for the plug, Steve! The “PeterLorreBook” website is the official site of the authorized Peter Lorre biography “The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre” by Stephen Youngkin. As to copyright on “Mr. Moto’s Last Warning”, I’m not sure if 20th Century-Fox renewed the existing copyright or took out a new one. I only know they went to the expense of restoring the film and including it with the other Motos. One of the features on the Moto DVDs is a side-by-side comparison of the prints they had to work with and the finished restoration, including time spent.
May 5th, 2021 at 9:02 am
As originally created by author John P. Marquand, Moto was an icy and distinctly lethal Japanese agent; h Century Fox, which had earlier created the extremely popular Charlie Chan series, toned down his more deadly qualities, cast German actor Peter Lorre in the role, and between 1937 and 1939 made eight films featuring the character. Although they did not really challenge the Chan films, they were popular in their own right, and it was not until American sentiment began to turn against the Japanese that h Century Fox dropped the character. Made in 1939, MR. MOTO S LAST WARNING is the sixth film in the series, and it finds Moto (Lorre) working to foil an attempt to set the English and French against each other by blowing up the French fleet as it enters an English-controlled canal in the middle east. Although the film has a slow start, it is graced with a gifted cast that includes George Sanders, John Carradine, and Ricardo Cortez, and it soon comes up a snappy pace and proves unexpectedly watchable. Over the years the Chan films have drawn considerable condemnation from Chinese Americans due to the fact that Chan was never played by an Asian actor; somewhat curiously, the Moto films have escaped the same degree of politically-correct derision. This is all the more odd because Lorre is even less of Japanse than Oland and Toler were Chinese. Even so, Lorre is always interesting to watch, and his unexpected physicality (Moto is a master of judo) drives the film remarkably well. MR. MOTO S LAST WARNING is the only film in the series presently in public domain, a circumstance that seems more a df ccidental than intentional. The Alpha release is very much in line with that: the picture is shaky, particularly in the opening segments, and the sound is quite weak. Fans of the series would do better to go with the series editions now in release through h Century Fox–but no matter which copy you lay hands on, you ll find the film an enjoyable bit of flyweight fun. Recommended to fans of 19 mysteries, thrillers, and espionage movies. GFT, Amazon Reviewer