Mr. Wong, Detective | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | William Nigh |
Screenplay by | Houston Branch |
Based on | (James Lee Wong series in Collier's Magazine written by Hugh Wiley) |
Produced by | William T. Lackey |
Starring | Boris Karloff |
Cinematography | Harry Neumann |
Edited by | Russell F. Schoengarth |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Monogram Pictures |
Distributed by | Monogram Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 69 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Mr. Wong, Detective is a 1938 American crime film directed by William Nigh and starring Boris Karloff in his first appearance as Mr. Wong. [1]
Simon Dayton is in fear for his life and seeks the help of Mr. Wong to protect him. Just prior to meeting Mr. Wong, Dayton is found dead in his office in San Francisco without a mark on him. Several witnesses testify Dayton was alone in his office that was locked from the inside. Though the police view Dayton's death as due to a heart attack, Mr. Wong discovers a broken glass ball that contained poison gas.
Among the suspects are agents of a foreign power wishing to stop Dayton's chemicals being sent to use on the foreign power in the form of the same poison gas that killed Dayton, Dayton's business partners who will have Dayton's share of the business come to them after Dayton's death and the actual inventor of the chemical who has been cheated out of profits and recognition by Dayton.
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
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