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An almost forgotten part of Peter Lorre's film career is his series of eight, MR MOTO movies. In them he is an international man of mystery and he does police work just like Charlie Chan. They are good, old fashioned entertainment and I enjoy them all. Each volume has four movies. That saves having to buy them individually and the price I paid is a real bargain. I will acquire the next volume in good time.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
No pun intended. John P.Marquand's I.A. Moto in his series of books was always a secondary character and not a very likable one at that. There is a movie tie between his contemporary--Charlie Chan (Warner Oland). Oland fell ill during the filming of a Chan movie and #1 son Keye Luke's solo scenes were shot during Oland's absence. Oland unfortunately died and Fox was left with a great deal of footage in the can. After testing 30 actors, they selected Peter Lorre who was at the time, addicted to morphine due to painful gall bladder surgery was cast. They did little to change his appearance except a slight darkening of the skin and glasses. Lorre was too weak to do his own stunts so a double was brought in and the first Moto movie had a more softened Kentaro Moto playing a professor of Criminology whom Luke was a pupil that gave Fox the opportunity to use the footage from the unfinished Chan movie. If you are expecting a lovable oriental sleuth like Chan or James Lee Wong, think again. Moto, comes across as slow and bland which is only a cover for a very cunning and violent member of an odd International Police (which is never explained) to solve his crimes. He is not above employing killing when necessary. The Chan/Wong movies are basically complex mystery stories, whereas in the Mr. Moto films, the emphasis is on action. He is the complete opposite of his famous Oriental counterparts. So do not expect comic sidekicks as seen the Chan, Wong movies. Moto basically worked alone. When war broke out in Europe, Lorre resigned from the series in 1939 and the successful 2 year run was over and never made again. In the 50's, STOPOVER TOKYO killed the Moto character off. And an inferior 1965 release, sans Lorre was released and soon forgotten. The series never regained popularity due to the war and the anti-Japanese sentiment (and like all the oriental sleuths, none were oriental including the Austrian born Lorre. These four DVDS are a nice intro into the series and will probably have you searching for the second volume (8 movies were released, 4 to a box set and both very high priced). They have been digitally remastered and the transfers are very good with both sound and picture. For fans of Wong and Chan, this series is a different but nice change of pace and a must see. Please see my review of Mr. Moto Vol. II for a plot synopsis on each film.Read full review
Love the classics! Movies from the 30s-50s are my go-to entertainment - especially noir and mysteries. The dialog and characters are (typically) well-presented and I really enjoy seeing the images from the past of cities and the countryside (and noting how much things have changed since then).
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Mr Moto collection has Mr Moto Danger Island, Mr Moto’s Gamble, Mr Moto’s Last Warning and Mr Moto takes a Vacation in it. There are several more movies not in this collection, It is a great start.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The quality of these studio released 20th Century Fox DVD's are so much better than the bootleg Mr. Moto sets available. Well worth the extra cost.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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