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Lunkhead's Lair • View topic - THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1935)

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1935)

Dig classic monster, horror & sci-fi flicks? Come howl at the moon with everything from Universal Monsters to low-budget fright fests. Don't forget the garlic and keep watching the skies!

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THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1935)

Postby Afa Dollah on June 21st, 2005, 3:36 pm

Image

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG
1935 68 min. B&W Monogram Pictures
Dir. William Nigh
Bela Lugosi – Wong
Wallace Ford – Jason Barton
Arlene Judge – Peg
Fred Warren
Lotus Long – Moon Flower

DVD by Alpha Video Classics
http://www.oldies.com

I didn’t order this DVD online, I found it in the B-MOVIES rack at the local big electronics store. If you’re actually taking the time to read this, you know the rack I mean. These guys are getting a reasonable amount of my money at five bucks a pop, which proves to me that there are people out there who actually know what a DVD should cost. That more than anything prompted me to include their link, plus they have a ton of flicks that will interest any B-movie fan. To be perfectly honest, I was looking for a copy of THE FATAL HOUR with Karloff as Mr. Wong, Detective to complete my collection of those Karloff Fan Feasts when I spotted this. Knowing, or rather hoping that sooner or later FATAL HOUR would show up; I grabbed it.

It turned out to be a pretty good grab. This is not to be confused with the aforementioned MR. WONG series, and it says so right there on the back of the DVD. The Mr. Wong of this movie is not only mysterious; he’s downright murderous! THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG is based on the novel THE TWELVE COINS OF CONFUCIUS by Harry Stephen Keeler, which I know absolutely nothing about. If I had twelve coins to put on it, I would bet that it’s a pulp of the yellow peril genre, along the lines Sax Rohmer’s FU MANCHU novels.

Like the evil and wily Manchu Fu, Wong will stop at nothing to attain his evil ends. He is after the Twelve Coins of Confucius, possession of which will make him the emperor of the land of Keelat and give him great mystical powers. But never fear, a wisecracking reporter, bane of Thirties super criminals everywhere, is on the trail!

After an opening explaining the legend of the Coins, the movie begins with a series of brutal murders in Chinatown. After each, a coin is taken from the body and a note consisting of a Chinese character is left. Flash! Another Murder in Chinatown! Police Blame Tong War!

A small group of Chinese meet, their goal to stop the Mysterious Wong from attaining his goals. “We must stop this evil Manchu,” the leader mutters.

Wong is gloating over the Coins in his possession when his henchmen enter, presenting him with two more coins. Only one coin left! He dismisses the cutthroats and enters the rooms of his niece Moon Flower, who fears and hates him. She defies him, saying he will never rule Keelat. Wong threatens her with his dungeons. “Wong has dared much! He will dare more!” Flash! An article by reporter Jason Barton says the police Tong War theory is wrong. Wong resolves to watch him closely.

Image

Another murder in Chinatown prompts Barton’s editor to send him out with the lead, “Ever run into a Chinaman named Wong?” “Ever run into one that wasn’t?” Boom crash. Barton takes a minute to flirt with the very tasty morsel Peg on the way out.

Barton arrives at the laundry of Sam Toy, victim of foul murder. He meets his old friend McGillicuddy the Irish Cop, whose beat is Chinatown. Barton pokes around the body and store while McGillicuddy expounds on the habits of the heathen Chinee.

Cut to the House of Wong, where one henchman reports that Sam Toy had no Coin on his person. “My Destiny!” rages Wong. “One coin left and you bring me…failure!” He throws the screaming Unfortunate Henchman down a trapdoor to spend a few hours with the hungry rats.

Barton is still searching the laundry. McGillicuddy tells him the heathens are a close-mouthed lot and hard to get much out of except for old Li See the Herb Dealer, who’s been in Chinatown forever and knows everything that goes on. He opens the door to shoo the curious crowds away, and the breeze blows up some papers. A curious Barton looks, and finds a note in Chinese on a laundry ticket.

He takes the note to the humble Herb Shop of Li See. Li See is Wong’s secret identity! The Humble Herb Shop is a front for Wong and his evil ends! Not to mention it’s a nice large property with secret passageways to the elegant House of Wong and the extensive underground dungeons! Barton shows Li See the note just long enough for him to see it is about the missing Coin, and tells him in Pidgin English that he will take the note to the University for a translation. Wong has a henchman follow him with orders that Barton is to die in an accident, and the note brought back.

Barton makes it to the Dept. of Orientology, closely followed by an extremely clumsy henchman. As he meets Prof. Chan Fu, the phone rings. It is Wong, who threatens Fu, telling him about the note. Barton tears the note and shows half of it to Fu, who tells him it refers to the Coins of Confucius. Barton leaves and researches the Coins and the legend. Prof. Fu contacts the Chinese attempting to stop Wong. He is in with them!

Peg is lunching at a counter with a reporter from a rival paper when Barton enters. He wastes no time in tricking his rival into leaving. Wisecracking flirtation follows, and the promise of a steak and mushroom dinner.

Wong enters the laundry of the dead Sam Toy to search for the last coin he needs to achieve his evil ends. Professor Fu is searching the laundry as well, but manages to hide. A third Chinese enters through the back. Wong shoots at him and misses, shattering a vase. Fu leaves the storefront in the melee, but Wong hears him and signals someone to kill him. Barton arrives as Fu is shot and Wong makes good his escape. He enters the laundry and finds the coin in the ruins of the vase. The Chinese who Wong shot at attacks him and steals the coin!

When Barton comes around, the leader of the good guy Chinese enters, and Barton tells his story. The coin is in good hands! Barton probes him for information about Wong, but the other man has no clue.

Barton goes to the Herb Shop of Li See, who questions him about the location of the note. McGillicuddy and the Good Guy Chinese enter. There are questions about the death of Sam Toy and the Mysterious Mr. Wong. McGillicuddy, with typical Irish copness, is totally oblivious to everything. He’s looking for Chinese cough drops. Barton and McGillicuddy leave, and Wong’s men capture the Good Guy, dragging him to the dungeons. He is the head of the Keelat Secret Service!

Peg and Barton are dining on steak and mushroom chop suey when the Chinese who took the coin from Barton passes it back just before he dies! They flee the chop suey house and evade numerous attempts on their lives. They eventually enter the Humble Herb Shop and find the secret passage, meeting Moon Flower, who betrays Wong to them.

Wong has the hot coals ready for work on the Keelatian when Barton, Peg and Moon Flower are all caught. Barton recognizes Wong as Li See. He and Peg are strapped down; Wong will deal with Moon Flower later. A convenient gong rings, prompting Wong and the henchmen to exit. Barton spots a cord in the torture cell. It is conveniently attached to a phone, which is something no torture cell should be without in case you need to call out for…well, Chinese.

Wong enters Moon Flowers room brandishing a particularly wicked looking knife. The panel slides ominously shut to black.

Barton, managing to place a phone call from his shackles, wisely decides to call the newspaper for help instead of the police. With McGillicuddy as a representative, who can blame him? A carload of well-armed, two-fisted newspapermen, guardians of the free press and democracy everywhere, are on their way to the humble Herb Shop of Li See!

Wong reenters the cell. He knows Barton has the coin and is determined to find it at any cost!

McGillicuddy enters the shop looking for more cough drops when the newspapermen arrive and storm the joint. He follows them, caught up in the rush.

Wong is heating up some long steel needles for use on the perhaps not so virginal white flesh of our hero’s main squeeze! He grabs her hand, preparing to insert the needle under her fingernail! “Talk!” he orders Barton!

Image

Enter the cavalry, and Wong dies in the shootout! Peg and Barton decide to tie the knot! All is well in Chinatown and Keelat is safe!

Although this probably amounts to a typical Monogram programmer, I enjoyed it. Lugosi’s performance carries the day as both Wong and Li See. His native accent fits the part like a glove, and he plays it to the hilt. Wallace Ford is good as the wisecracking Barton, and Arlene Judge is really a tasty piece. It looks like she was having a good time with this. Production values seem fairly high, the direction and lighting were good.

The quality of the print was pretty good. There are some scratches and splices apparent in the opening credits, but by the time the movie actually begins, it’s pretty clear. Better than a lot they used to show on Creature Feature back in the old days.

On the Official Afa Dollah B Movie Rating Scale, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG gets a Thumbs Up! This movie is definitely worth seeing. If you are a Lugosi fan, and you know who you are, you will really have fun with this one.
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WONG Man

Postby Lunkenstein on June 22nd, 2005, 9:07 pm

Afa, I have this on a Lugosi set and am about to watch it right now. I'll check your review out afterward. Thanks for posting it!
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Postby Afa Dollah on June 23rd, 2005, 12:57 pm

Well, it's not exactly horror or sci-fi, but I figured this was a good place for the write up since it has Bela in it. I'm interested to hear what you think about it when you get a chance to see it.

What else is on the Lugosi set?
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THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1935)

Postby Lunkenstein on June 23rd, 2005, 8:55 pm

Excellent write-up Afa. Kudos! Hope you don't mind that I added 3 pics to your article. Thought they looked cool woven in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I also enjoyed this film a lot. It has a really different atmosphere and the production is especially slick for Monogram. The film succeeds in exuding moodiness, while remaining fun as the story unfolds.

Bela keeps impressing me further as I get to see more of his films that did not air locally during my youth. He is deliciously evil here while turning in another fine performance. The rest of the cast does a nice job as well and that Arlene Judge is very attractive.

Barton spots a cord in the torture cell. It is conveniently attached to a phone, which is something no torture cell should be without in case you need to call out for…well, Chinese.

:laugh1: Love it.

In today's digital world, it's a joy being able to view and collect these fun films. My version of WONG is on a 10 film/ Lugosi set released by BRENTWOOD HOME VIDEO. I purchased it at Best Buy for $12.99. Here is the link from their website => http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6898306&type=product&id=1392319
These are the films included:
THE DEVIL BAT
WHITE ZOMBIE
THE GORILLA
THE CORPSE VANISHES
BLACK DRAGONS
HUMAN MONSTER
SCARED TO DEATH
MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG
THE DEATH KISS
BOYS FROM BROOKLYN

I had most of them already, but there were a couple I'd never seen, like WONG. Plus, not only do you get 10 films, but all 12 chapters of the Universal Lugosi serial THE PHANTOM CREEPS are included too. I'd never seen this before either, and had been wanting it in my collection for some time. A very sweet deal indeed!
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The Mysterious Mr. Wong

Postby son of metaldams on June 24th, 2005, 12:50 am

Nice review, Afa. I too own the Alpha MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG DVD, but unlike you, I can barely get any enjoyment out of it. Alpha is inconsistent with their quality, and this DVD unfortunately suffers from poor audio. I had the same problem with Alpha's THE HUMAN MONSTER. I subsequently ended up buying the Roan Group version of THE HUMAN MOSTER (packaged with another William Nigh Monogrammer called MYSTERY LINER - haven't watched it yet), and while the audio quality wasn't perfect, it was MUCH better than Aplha's copy. That said, THE HUMAN MONSTER is a 1930's British film, so that alone is a handicap in understanding all the dialogue. For THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG, and American film, there is no excuse. I'll have to check out the Roan Group version of THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG so I can enjoy a coherent viewing of the film. That way, I can add a real opinion.
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Postby Afa Dollah on June 24th, 2005, 11:11 am

Lunk, thanks a lot for adding those photos, they look fantastic and add a lot to the writeup.

You're right about being able to see all these films. It's clear that I have only seen a small percentage of Lugosi's total volume of work, and have misssed some real gems. Back in the flatlands the only Lugosi films we ever saw were Universal titles, one of the Dracula films or maybe WHITE ZOMBIE, and then only on Creature Feature. I get sort of excited seeing all these other titles like THE GORILLA or ONE BODY TOO MANY, and serials like RETURN OF CHANDU. (Anyone seen that, BTW? I'm curious....)

metal, that sucks about the audio on your Alpha DVD. I've had a little trouble with some of the lower end DVD's so I know where you're coming from. I got lucky with this one. I'm certain that when you get a chance to view THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG that you will enjoy it. Lugosi is just great in it, and the pacing and production values are good for one of these programmers. And as both Lunk and I pointed out, Arlene Judge is a very tasty morsel.

I for one am looking forward to seeing some more of these Lugosi B-Movies. I may have to search for the Lugosi set mentioned by Lunk while I'm out and about this weekend. If anyone has some other titles they would like to point me towards, said person will earn my eternal gratitude and will not be thrown into the dungeons for rat snacks. :happy1:
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films

Postby Lunkenstein on June 24th, 2005, 9:05 pm

Lunk, thanks a lot for adding those photos

You're welcome Afa. Glad you like them.
serials like RETURN OF CHANDU. (Anyone seen that, BTW? I'm curious....)

Haven't seen it yet, matter of fact, THE PHANTOM CREEPS is the first Bela serial I've had the chance to view. Only watched the first couple chapters so far, but it's loads of fun.
If anyone has some other titles they would like to point me towards, said person will earn my eternal gratitude and will not be thrown into the dungeons for rat snacks.

Not sure if you're aware, but on 09/06/2005, Universal will be releasing "The Bela Lugosi Collection - (The Franchise Collection)".

The films included will be:
Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Black Cat
The Raven
The Invisible Ray
Black Friday

Truly exciting news, except the initial packaging appears to completely diss Karloff, which is ridiculous as 4 of the 5 are team classics and should give equal billing. The important thing though is that these films are getting released, and for that I'm thankful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Metal, I hear ya on DVD quality. The cheapy sets are always hit or miss. Roan does have the reputation of putting out the best versions. I tried to find their official site, but not sure if they fall under a company named "Troma" now. Here is a link I found for 84 films in the Roan catalogue => https://buy.tromamovies.com/index.php?cPath=4_5&sort=2a&page=1
And here is the link for Roan's MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG => https://buy.tromamovies.com/product_inf ... cts_id=237 Wow! And for just $4.95
I definitely want to order their Karloff THE APE/BRITISH INTELLIGENCE DVD, cause my APE version is brutally spliced every 30 seconds or so.
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Bela, now we're talking!

Postby son of metaldams on June 24th, 2005, 9:55 pm

"I get sort of excited seeing all these other titles like THE GORILLA or ONE BODY TOO MANY, and serials like RETURN OF CHANDU. (Anyone seen that, BTW? I'm curious....)"

Bela is wasted in both THE GORILLA and ONE BODY TOO MANY because he plays a thankless red herring butler role in both. THE GORILLA is especially painful because one has to endure the antics of The Ritz Brothers. For Lugosi completists only.

I'm not a big fan of serials in general, but I suppose RETURN OF CHANDU (in which Bela plays a good guy!), and THE PHANTOM CREEPS are entertaining enough. Be warned though, because SHADOW OF CHINATOWN and THE WHISPERING SHADOW (one of the rare times I thought Bela acted unconvincingly) are poverty row torture fests. I know the Monograms and THE DEVIL BAT are poverty row as well, but are MUCH more fun to watch.

Afa, have you ever seen THE DEVIL BAT? I am actually going to make it double as my next horror review for this site and my next comedy review at Stoogeworld because THE DEVIL BAT works as both. Hands down one of the greatest camp-fests ever created. I've watched it dozens of times by now - it's that fun!

As for the Bela Lugosi DVD collection, I am a bigger Lugosi fan than Karloff (At his best, Karloff is as good as anybody, but he simply mails in too many roles for me to enjoy his entire filmography as much as Lugosi's.), but agree Karloff got screwed in the billing. They should've added Karloff's TOWER OF LONDON (which I'm dying to see), and billed it as a Lugosi/Karloff collection. Still, I'll buy this set as soon as it's available.
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DEVIL BAT review

Postby Lunkenstein on June 24th, 2005, 10:05 pm

Great Doug! Looking forward to your DEVIL BAT review. It really is one the most fun, if not THE most fun, poverty row title. I've watched it loads of times myself and never tire of it. Just as I need my KILLER SHREWS fix, I also need my DEVIL BAT fix.

P.S. After you post your review, would you like me to add a couple pics like I did with Afa's WONG review?

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Postby Afa Dollah on June 25th, 2005, 11:57 am

That Lugosi set looks great, I'll have to plan for that.

metal, thanks for the advice about those other flicks. I've seen them at Frys but think I'll stick to the Monogram titles for now and some of the ones mentioned by Lunk. On the old board you had mentioned "the Monogram Nine," which I assume are nine Lugosi flicks. Would you mind posting the titles again? That should keep me out of trouble for awhile. Many thanks in advance.

I saw THE DEVIL BAT for the first time last Hallween week during TCM's marathon. Great stuff! Lugosi as the angry perfume designer. Love the giant bats too. It's definitely something I'll be checking out again. In fact, I may have to pick up a copy later this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing your reviews.
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The Monogram 9

Postby son of metaldams on June 26th, 2005, 11:01 pm

THE INVISIBLE GHOST
SPOOKS RUN WILD (with The East Side Kids)
BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT
THE CORPSE VANISHES
BLACK DRAGONS
THE APE MAN
GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE (with The East Side Kids)
VOODOO MAN
RETURN OF THE APE MAN

You can find the first seven for cheap anywhere, and they are mostly fun Bela flicks (The East Side Kids ones aren't quite as good, though SPOOKS is much better). The latter two aren't in the public domain, and are therefore difficult to find.
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Postby Afa Dollah on June 26th, 2005, 11:50 pm

Thanks Doug, I appreciate that. I picked up an AMC Monsterfest Collection DVD this afternoon, it's the BELA LUGOSI CLASSICS COLLECTION 2, which has 4 movies on 2 discs. Seven bucks!

THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942)
INVISIBLE GHOST (1941)
PHANTOM SHIP (1935)
SCARED TO DEATH (1947)

Looking forward to seeing these, and searching out Collection #1, which I'm sure has THE DEVIL BAT on it. There was a Karloff collection as well that looked pretty good. I only remember THE APE and THE TERROR from that one. Maybe THE GHOUL? Hmmmmm, I'll check it out later. Thanks again!
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Lugosi film thoughts

Postby son of metaldams on June 27th, 2005, 1:05 am

THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942)

Cult Classic. The scene where Bela yells at and whips a retarted necrophiliac while little Angelo Rossito jumps up and down in glee is a true classic moment of cinema - at least in my world.

INVISIBLE GHOST (1941)

Bela gets to stretch his acting chops a bit more by convincingly playing a nice guy when not possessed by his dead wife. He does a nice job, and Clarence Muse as the black butler gets a more dignified portrayal than most black actors were allowed in the 1940's.

PHANTOM SHIP (1935)

100% proof Bela could do more than variations on Dracula. A real revelation. Made by Hammer Studios 20 years before they became famous!

SCARED TO DEATH (1947)

This film makes no sense and is fun because of this. Bela's only technicolor role. Also has George Zucco, Nat Pendelton, and our favorite dwarf - and Lugosi's favorite actor to work with - Angelo Rossito (the same guy who gets wine thrown in his face in FREAKS).
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