Saboteurs working on behalf of a hostile government seek to foment an international incident and drive a wedge between allies by blowing up the French fleet when it visits the British in Alexandria. The clever and ruthless leader of the gang (Ricardo Cortez), who performs as a ventriloquist as a cover, outwits a secret agent …
Read the full post →“<em>Mr. Moto’s Last Warning</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1939)”
Heirs of a shipping magnate are summoned to Shanghai with the prospect of splitting the old man’s fortune, but they’ll face some challenges along the way, including being abducted by the magnate’s erstwhile partner, who wants a share himself. Twists keep this one fairly interesting, and Kent Taylor does fine as the lead. Mildly recommended. …
Read the full post →“<em>Dangerous Millions</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1946)”
Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) investigates when a boxer is killed in the ring … but from poison rather than a blow. Originally planned as a Charlie Chan film and rewritten for the Mr. Moto series, but still with Charlie’s Number One Son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) on hand to help with the investigation, the mystery …
Read the full post →“<em>Mr. Moto’s Gamble</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1939)”
Absorbing tale of a man (Jim Brown), loyal to his dead boss (Dana Andrews), who undertakes to carry money from the sale of cattle back across the desert to his employer’s Mexican ranch. Along the way, he gets help from a gambler (Fred Williamson) in dealing with the many folks who are chasing the money …
Read the full post →“<em>Take a Hard Ride</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1975)”
On the island of Puerto Rico, Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), aided after a fashion by a wrestler named Twister McGurk (Warren Hymer), investigates murders connected with diamond smuggling. A well-crafted plot with plentiful suspects among the planters and officials — including the head of the island’s police force — and the story of a famed …
Read the full post →“<em>Mr. Moto in Danger Island</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1939)”
Some sort of inexplicable illness is carrying off inhabitants of a Cornwall village, and the young doctor there (Brook Williams) is unable to prevent the deaths. Fortunately for him and eventually for the rest of the villagers, famed doctor Sir James Forbes (Andre Morrell), whose daughter is a close friend of the young doctor’s wife, …
Read the full post →“<em>The Plague of the Zombies</em> (Hammer / Twentieth Century Fox, 1966)”
Mr. Moto goes undercover as a killer on Devil’s Island and helps another man to escape in order to get a line on an international gang of assassins, and he takes action when a Czechoslovakian industrialist is targeted. One character’s suspicions seem a bit overdone, but otherwise the gang’s activities are well portrayed, as are …
Read the full post →“<em>Mysterious Mr. Moto</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1938)”
A delightful comic entry in the 1960s heist genre, with Audrey Hepburn as the scion of a wealthy family that has its position through skillful art forgery and Peter O’Toole as the man whom she recruits to help her steal one of her family’s fakes, on loan to a museum, before an insurance evaluation can …
Read the full post →“<em>How To Steal a Million</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1966)”
James Coburn returns as super-cool secret agent Derek Flint, this time helping the ousted Lloyd Cramden (Lee J. Cobb) determine just what happened during a missing three minutes on a golf course and then working to foil the villains and effect a rescue from their island base. There’s plenty of silliness in evidence — witness …
Read the full post →“<em>In Like Flint</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1967)”
Intrigue and adventure in French Indochina, with Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) working as an archaeologist when the arrival of an American flyer (Rochelle Hudson) and two documentary makers (Robert Kent and Chick Chandler) sets the stage for a confrontation with those plotting armed rebellion. This movie has Moto once again adopting a disguise — and …
Read the full post →“<em>Mr. Moto Takes a Chance</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1938)”
