''Mysterious Mr. Moto'', produced in 1938 by

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

, is the fifth in a series of eight films starring

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

Mr. Moto 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'', whi ...

. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by

John P. Marquand John Phillips Marquand (November 10, 1893 – July 16, 1960) was an American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for '' ...

, from an original screenplay by

Philip MacDonald Philip MacDonald (5 November 1900 – 10 December 1980) was a British-born writer of fiction and screenplays, best known for Thriller (genre), thrillers. Life and work MacDonald was born in London, the son of author Ronald MacDonald and actress ...

and

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. It was originally known as ''Mysterious Mr. Moto of Devil's Island.''

Synopsis

The film opens with a daring escape from the French penal colony on

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953 in the Salvation Islands ...

. Mr. Moto, pretending to be Ito Matsuka, a Japanese murderer, is in the company of 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.

Cast

as Mr. Kentaro Moto *

Mary Maguire Mary Maguire (born Hélène Teresa Maguire; 22 February 1919 – 18 May 1974) was an Australian-born actress who briefly became a Hollywood and British film star in the late 1930s. Early life Maguire was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Mic ...

as Ann Richman *

Henry Wilcoxon Harry Frederick Wilcoxon (8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984), known as Henry Wilcoxon, was an actor born in Roseau, Dominica, British West Indies, and who was a leading man in many of Cecil B. DeMille's films, also serving as DeMille's associat ...

as Anton Darvak * Erik Rhodes as David Scott-Frensham *

Harold Huber Harold Huber (born Harold Joseph Huberman, December 5, 1909September 29, 1959) was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television. Early life Huber was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in ...

as Ernst Litmar *

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry L. Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rememb ...

as Paul Brissac (alias Romero) *

Forrester Harvey Forrester Harvey (27 June 1884 – 14 December 1945) was an Irish film actor. From 1922 until his death year Harvey appeared in more than 115 films. He was credited for about two-thirds of his film appearances, but some of his roles were un ...

as George Higgins * Fredrik Vogeding as Gottfried Brujo *

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

as Sir Charles Murchison * John Rogers as Sniffy *

Karen Sorrell Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

as Lotus Liu

Production

Henry Wilcoxon replaced Michael Whalen in the cast. It was an early Hollywood role for Australian actor Mary Maguire. Filming took place in March and April 1938, shortly after completion of ''Mr Moto's Gamble''. During filming Peter Lorre, as Moto, impersonated a seventy-year-old German painter.

Reception

The film was released in May 1938. The ''Los Angeles Times'' praised the "exciting action". It arrived in New York in September.

Home media

This film, along with ''

Think Fast, Mr. Moto ''Think Fast, Mr. Moto'' is a 1937 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. Marqu ...

'', '' 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''.

References

External links

* * * * {{Norman Foster 1938 films 1930s mystery films American black-and-white films American mystery films Films directed by Norman Foster Films set on Devil's Island Films set in London 20th Century Fox films Films scored by Samuel Kaylin 1930s American films