Mystery Monday: Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)

After the success of Think Fast Mr. Moto, 20th Century Fox wasted no time bringing Peter Lorre back as the deadly international spy. Released five months after the first film, Thank You, Mr. Moto concerns the search for seven scrolls that will lead to the Tomb of Genghis Kahn. And it's as much a corker of a thriller as it's predecessor.

Moto is in possession of one of the scrolls. After disposing of a would be assassin in the Gobi Desert and eluding the police in Peiping, Moto is invited to a garden party given by Colonel Tchernov. The party is supposed to be in honor of American Eleanor Joyce (Jayne Regan) but is really just a ploy to try to get six of the scrolls from Prince Chung (Philip Ahn). Moto kills Tchernov after he draws a gun on Chung for not selling. Eleanor, however, walks in as Moto makes it look like suicide. This causes her to be suspicious of Moto. Her suspicions grow when Moto is involved in a drive by shooting. But when the real villains go too far, they end up facing the wrath of Moto.

One of the joys of these movies is watching Lorre as Moto. We might know which side he's on, but the way he plays the character, it is completely believable that others may not be too sure of him. He's terrific in these, playing Moto in an almost shade of grey. Certainly, he's unique among the detectives in the movies at that time. Only The Saint seemed to straddle the fence and not quite as much as Moto. It's easy to see why Lorre went on to become such an icon.

Besides Lorre, Thomas Beck and Sig Ruman make their second appearances in a Moto film. Beck is again playing the lovestruck American who falls for the heroine while Ruman is the ill-fated Colonel Tchernov. Character actor John Carradine is a dealer in antiquities trying to sell a counterfeit scroll, first to Eleanor then Moto. But Philip Ahn as Prince Chung is the most notable of the supporting cast. Ahn in appeared in a number of serials in the 30s and 40s before later having quite a TV career. Some may remember him best as Master Kan on Kung Fu. As Chung, he is the most sympathetic character in the movie and his fate is actually heartbreaking.

Once again, Norman Foster keeps the proceedings movie. The Moto movies are probably the best paced B series ever and Foster's direction seems to play a good part in it. No silliness, no songs, just pure intrigue and mystery. It's a shame that all programmers weren't as good.

The next stop for the character was a film intended for one of his rivals. It will be most interesting to see how that one turns out.