Phantom of Chinatown *** (1940, Keye Luke, Lotus Long, Grant Withers) – Classic Movie Review 5610

Following Doomed to Die (1940), Boris Karloff gives up his Mr Wong role for the sixth and last of the Monogram Pictures series based on the work of Hugh Wiley. Grant Withers, however, returns as police Captain Street of the San Francisco police department.

Keye Luke takes over as Chinese detective Mr James Lee Wong for the one and only time in director Phil Rosen’s 1940 American mystery thriller. Finally, then, here is a Chinese actor playing Mr Wong, and the same man who played Charlie Chan’s ‘number one son’ Lee in 20th Century Fox’s rival Warner Oland series.

It is very significant as the only Hollywood film of the period in which an Asian detective was played by a top-billed Asian actor.

Mr Wong and Captain Street are on the case after archaeologist Dr John Benton is murdered by poisoned water while giving a lecture on his recent expedition to China that recovered a valuable ancient scroll naming the location of rich oil deposits. Benton’s last words were ‘Eternal Fire’, referring to the scroll.

It is an excellent episode, with plenty of atmosphere, suspense, humour and a good mystery. And Keye Luke is a key factor in its success.

In an early ‘prequel’ story, this shows Mr Wong and Captain Street’s first meeting.

Also in the cast are Lotus Long as Benton’s secretary Win Lee, Charles F Miller as Dr John Benton, Huntley Gordon as Dr Norman Wilkes, Virginia Carpenter as Louise Benton, John Dilson as Charles Fraser and Paul McVey as Detective Grady.

What happened to Karloff?, you ask. Monogram had a contract with the distributors to deliver a sixth Wong movie, but Karloff had completed his six-picture contract with Monogram on the horror film The Ape (1940).

It is available for free download at the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/phantom_of_chinatown

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5610

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