Mysterious Mr. Moto | |
---|---|
Directed by | Norman Foster |
Screenplay by | Philip MacDonald Norman Foster |
Based on | Mr. Moto novel series by John P. Marquand |
Produced by | Sol M. Wurtzel |
Starring | Peter Lorre Mary Maguire Henry Wilcoxon Erik Rhodes |
Cinematography | Virgil Miller |
Edited by | Norman Colbert |
Music by | Samuel Kaylin |
Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 63 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Mysterious Mr. Moto, produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox, is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. [1]
The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, from an original screenplay by Philip MacDonald and Norman Foster.
It was originally known as Mysterious Mr. Moto of Devil's Island.
A daring escape from the French penal colony on Devil's Island by Mr. Moto, pretending to be Ito Matsuka, a Japanese murderer, and Paul Brissac, who belongs to a group of assassins. Brissac changes his name to Romero when they arrive in London and Moto stays on as his houseboy.
Moto then uncovers a plot to assassinate pacifist industrialist Anton Darvak.
Henry Wilcoxon replaced Michael Whalen in the cast. [2] It was an early Hollywood role for Australian actor Mary Maguire. [3]
Filming took place in March and April 1938, shortly after completion of Mr Moto's Gamble. [4]
During filming Peter Lorre, as Moto, impersonated a seventy-year-old German painter. [5]
The film was released in May 1938. The Los Angeles Times praised the "exciting action". [6] It arrived in New York in September. [7]
This film, along with Think Fast, Mr. Moto , Thank You, Mr. Moto and Mr. Moto Takes a Chance , was released on DVD in 2006 by 20th Century Fox as part of The Mr. Moto Collection, Volume One.
Peter Lorre was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before moving to Germany where he worked first on the stage, then in film in Berlin in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Lorre caused an international sensation in the Weimar Republic–era film M (1931), directed by Fritz Lang, in which he portrayed a serial killer who preys on little girls. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and his accented voice, Lorre was frequently caricaturized during and after his lifetime and the cultural legacy of his persona remains in media today.
Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death of Charlie Chan's creator Earl Derr Biggers.
Henry Wilcoxon was a British-American actor and film producer, born in the British West Indies. He was known as an actor in many of director Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associate producer on his later films.
The Mask of Dimitrios is a 1944 American film noir starring Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre, and Victor Francen. Directed by Jean Negulesco, it was written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same title written by Eric Ambler. Scott played the title role, of Dimitrios Makropoulos, in his film debut.
The Brasher Doubloon is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by John Brahm and starring George Montgomery and Nancy Guild. It is based on the 1942 novel The High Window by Raymond Chandler.
Mr. Moto's Gamble is the third film in the Mr. Moto series starring Peter Lorre as the title character. It is best remembered for originating as a movie in the Charlie Chan series and being changed to a Mr. Moto entry at the last minute.
Mary Maguire was an Australian-born actress who briefly became a Hollywood and British film star in the late 1930s.
Think Fast, Mr. Moto is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Norman Foster and featuring a mysterious Japanese detective named Mr. Moto. It is the first of eight films in the Mr. Moto series, all based on the character Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand. The film stars Peter Lorre as the title character, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck and Sig Ruman. Mr. Moto works to stop a secret smuggling operation.
Thank You, Mr. Moto is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Norman Foster. It is the second in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. It was based on the novel of the same name by the detective's creator, John P. Marquand. Mr. Moto battles murderous treasure hunters for priceless ancient scrolls which reveal the location of the long-lost tomb of Genghis Khan.
Mr. Moto's Last Warning is the sixth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto.
Lancer Spy is a 1937 American thriller film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Dolores Del Rio and George Sanders. Its plot concerns an Englishman who impersonates a German officer and a female German spy who falls in love with him.
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance is the fourth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, although it was the second one actually filmed, following Think Fast, Mr. Moto. Its release was delayed until after production of Thank You, Mr. Moto and Mr Moto's Gamble.
Lotus Long was an Asian-American film actress.
Mr Moto Takes A Vacation (1939) is a Norman Foster-directed entry in the Mr. Moto film series, with Lionel Atwill and Joseph Schildkraut and George P. Huntley, Jr, as Archie Featherstone, in supporting roles.
Stopover Tokyo is a 1957 American film noir crime film directed by Richard L. Breen and starring Robert Wagner, Joan Collins, Edmond O'Brien and Ken Scott. Filmed in Japan in CinemaScope, the film is set in Tokyo and follows a US counterintelligence agent working to foil a communist assassination plot.
Samuel Kaylin was a film composer who scored Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto movies for Fox Film and 20th Century Fox.
Herbert I. Leeds was an American film director.
Mr. Moto in Danger Island is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Herbert I. Leeds and starring Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt and Amanda Duff. It is part of the Mr. Moto series of films.
Bobbie Stoffregen, known professionally as Jayne Regan, was an American film actress. Her original name was sometimes seen as Bobby Stoffregen.
Adrian Michael Morris was an American actor of stage and film, and a younger brother of Chester Morris.