''Mr. Moto's Last Warning'' is the sixth 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, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...

as Mr. Moto. The film is an original story featuring the character 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 '' T ...

. ''Mr. Moto's Last Warning'' is the only Mr. Moto film in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

Plot

The British Navy in

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

is making plans for naval manoeuvres with the French fleet. Plans are delayed because the British Secret Service has been warned of possible sabotage. On a ship docking in Port Said is Madame Delacour, wife of the French naval admiral. Delacour and her daughter Marie are befriended by the charming Eric Norvel, the goofy Rollo Venables, and someone posing as Mr. Moto. Norvel reveals his true nature when the ship docks and he lures Mr. Moto to his death. This "fake" Mr. Moto turns out to be a fellow agent of Mr. Moto, posing as a curio dealer, Mr. Kuroki. Norvel takes Delacour and Venables to a variety show featuring Fabian the Great, a ventriloquist. Fabian is the leader of the gang of saboteurs, which includes Hakim, Captain Hawkins, Danforth, and Norvel. Danforth is actually a British Secret Service agent named Burke. Moto listens in on their conversation and is almost captured, but Burke helps him escape. Norvel is given the task of learning from Delacour when the French fleet is due at Port Said. The suspicious Fabian thinks that Kuroki may actually be Mr. Moto. Fabian enlists his girlfriend Connie, who is unaware he is an agent, to follow Mr. Moto the next day. She sees Moto visit the Port Commandant's office where he learns of the salvage ship "The Vulcan" captained by Hawkins. Fabian also discovers that Danforth is the secret agent, Burke. Fabian lures Burke to "The Vulcan" and reveals his plan to blow up the French fleet and blame the British. He then kills Burke by trapping him in a diving bell. Norvel gets the information needed and tells Fabian at the theater. Connie overhears the conversation and threatens to call the Port Commandant, but Fabian convinces her to go along with him. Hakim tries to kill Moto with a bomb, but Moto escapes the explosion and follows Hakim to a warehouse. Moto enlists Venables to help, but Venables is tricked by Norvel. After a fight, Moto and Venables are tied in sacks and thrown into the ocean, but not before Moto tricks Hawkins and grabs a piece of sharp metal. Connie can't bear to see this violence and goes to call the police. Fabian knocks her out and proceeds with his plans. Moto escapes underwater and frees Venables, who goes to the police. Norvel dives down to await a signal from Fabian but Moto overpowers him and prematurely detonates the explosives meant to destroy the French fleet. Resurfacing, Moto fights with Fabian but Connie shows up and shoots Fabian. Moto discovers the saboteur's plans in Fabian's dummy but never reveals to the audience which country tried to engineer a war between France and England.

Cast

as Mr. Kentaro Moto (a.k.a. Mr. Kiroki) *

Ricardo Cortez Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career. Early years Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...

as Fabian the Great *

Virginia Field Virginia Field (born Margaret St. John Field (sometimes mis-transcribed Margaret Cynthia Field); 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. Early years Virginia was an only child, born in London. Her father was Sir J ...

as Connie Porter *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...

as Danforth (a.k.a. Richard Burke) *

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

as Eric Norvel *

Joan Carroll Joan Carroll (born Joan Marie Felt, January 18, 1931 – November 16, 2016) was an American child actress who appeared in films until retiring in 1950. Childhood career Carroll was born Joan Marie Felt to Wright and Freida Felt on January 18, ...

as Mary "Marie" Delacour (credited as Joan Carol) *

Robert Coote Robert Coote (4 February 1909 – 26 November 1982) was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of ''My Fai ...

as Rollo Venables *

Margaret Irving Margaret Irving (January 18, 1898 – March 5, 1988) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1898, Irving is best remembered today for her roles as Aunt Gus in the 1950s sitcom '' The People's Choic ...

as Madame Delacour *

Leyland Hodgson Leyland Hodgson (5 October 1892 – 16 March 1949), also known as Leland Hodgson, was an English-born American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in London on 5 October 1892, Hodgson entered the theatre in 1898. In his early 20s Hodgs ...

as Captain Bert Hawkins * John Davidson as Hakim *

Teru Shimada Teru Shimada (島田輝 ''Shimada Teru'', born Akira Shimada (島田明 ''Shimada Akira''); November 17, 1905 – June 19, 1988) was a Japanese-born American actor. A '' Nikkeijin'' (first-generation Japanese-American), Shimada emigrated to the ...

as the Fake Mr. Moto

Production notes

The film was announced in April 1938. The title was then changed to ''Mr. Moto in Egypt'' before it eventually became ''Mr Moto's Last Warning''. In April, the studio announced they were considering giving a lead role to

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

, who was making ''

Rose of Washington Square ''Rose of Washington Square'' is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con a ...

'' for the studio. This role eventually went to Ricardo Cortez. The previous Moto film, ''

Mysterious Mr. Moto ''Mysterious Mr. Moto'', produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox, is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, from an original screenpla ...

'', had finished shooting in April 1938. Filming on this one started in June 1938.

also appeared in the first film of the series, ''

Think Fast, Mr. Moto ''Think Fast, Mr. Moto'' is a 1937 American mystery 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 create ...

''. John Carradine had previously appeared in '' Thank You, Mr. Moto''. Carradine's part was to have been played by

Miles Mander Miles Mander (born Lionel Henry Mander; 14 May 1888 – 8 February 1946), was an English character actor, writer, director and producer in the post-war period of early British cinema during the 1920s to mid-1930s, as well as a playwright an ...

but he was delayed by retakes on ''

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

'' and had to be replaced. While filming a fight scene on the film, stunt man Harvey Perry was knocked out for five minutes. When Ricardo Cortez made the film he announced he was retiring from acting and had signed to Fox as a director.

Reception

The film was released in January 1939. The ''New York Times'' thought the "method" used by Moto was "a little tough on the audience" but praised the "rousing old fashioned climax". The ''Los Angeles Times'' gave the film "faint praise" saying it was "routine".

Home media

This film, along with '' Mr. Moto in Danger Island'', '' Mr. Moto's Gamble'', '' Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation'' and (as a DVD extra) ''

The Return of Mr. Moto ''The Return of Mr. Moto'' (also known as ''Mr Moto and the Persian Oil Case'') is a 1965 British B movie, second feature ('B') crime film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Henry Silva, Terence Longdon, and Suzanne Lloyd. It was written by ...

'', was released on DVD in 2007 by 20th Century Fox as part of ''The Mr. Moto Collection, Volume Two''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Moto's Last Warning 1939 films American black-and-white films American mystery films Films directed by Norman Foster 20th Century Fox films 1939 mystery films 1930s American films