Mr. Moto's Gamble

Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Third in the Fox series has a boxer getting killed inside the ring. What first appears to be a simple accident turns out to be poison and soon Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is on the case. This film in the series really doesn't play out like the previous two and that's because this was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan movie but Oland was too ill at the time so the studio simply changed the script to Moto. The change really isn't too bad and this turns out to be another winner no matter who it was originally intended for. The movie contains a nice mystery to work with and there are plenty of possible suspects that pop up throughout the 72-minute running time. The gangsters and gamblers aspect was a nice one and they made for some good villains. Lorre is once again at his very best and we also get some nice supporting performances as well as brief appearances by George E. Stone and Lon Chaney, Jr.. Keye Luke, Chan's son, appears here as a student in Lorre's detective class and delivers a few nice smiles. Maxie Rosenbloom nearly steals the show as another student who can't help but steal things. The movie contains a lot of fun within its short running time so fans of the series will find plenty to enjoy and with the mix of boxing and gambling, those not familiar with the series should enjoy it as well.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is teaching a criminology course in New York when he gets involved with a murder case concerning boxers, gamblers, and poison. Also featuring Keye Luke as Lee Chan (Charlie Chan's #1 son).

The backstory of this movie is almost as interesting as the film itself. This started out as a Charlie Chan feature, and much of it was filmed, but star Warner Oland had some "issues" and left the set. He wouldn't return, and in fact would be dead a few months later. Fox felt too much had been spent already, so they took what they had, reshot a few scenes, and added a handful of new ones to make this into a Mr. Moto movie. Keye Luke's #1 son character was too integral, so they left him in, continuing to play the same character, establishing that Moto and Chan operate within the same cinematic world. Moto even has a line of dialogue where he says that he's been in contact with Charlie Chan about his son's schooling.

The end result movie is entertaining, although it bears more resemblance to the Oland/Chan films than to the two previous Moto features, which were more exotic, violent, and unpredictable. Moto still manages to toss a few people around like rag dolls, but he's more of the quiet center around whom the others gravitate. Maxie Rosenbloom is very amusing as a kleptomaniac who is taking Moto's detective course so that he can track down the people from whom he's stolen. Maxie and Keye Luke make for an unlikely but humorous duo.

Asian detectives, as far as 20th Century Fox was concerned, are interchangeable, so producers had no trouble turning this Charlie Chan film into a Mr. Moto one. Apparently there was some sort of problem between Fox and the current Chan, Warner Oland, so they did a switch. I know some people state the film was switched because Warner Oland died, but he didn't die until five months after this film was released.

Anyway, Mr. Moto is teaching a class in the science of investigation and who should one of his students be but Lee Chan (Keye Luke). And it's quite a cast: Lynn Bari, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, John Hamilton (Perry White from the TV Superman), Ward Bond, and Lon Chaney Jr.

Moto becomes involved in the death of a prize fighter after he's knocked out in the ring, but it turns out the man was murdered with poison on the opponent's glove.

Peter Lorre is just terrific, and while this isn't the greatest Mr. Moto film ever made, he's wonderful. Unfortunately, after Pearl Harbor, Mr. M kind of disappeared.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) investigates a murder during a boxing match, with unwanted help from Charlie's Chan's "Number One Son" Lee (Keye Luke). Most people probably know this, but originally this was intended to be a Charlie Chan film. But when troubled Chan star Warner Oland walked off the set, they reworked the story and turned it into a Moto movie. This explains the appearance of Lee Chan. It also explains why Mr. Moto is less edgy than in his first two films. Here he resemble a more traditional detective like Charlie Chan.

While I love Charlie Chan, Peter Lorre is kind of wasted in this type of role. He's better suited to roles with a little menace to them. Keye Luke is fine but the chemistry and rapport he had with Warner Oland is missing. Also appearing are Harold Huber, Douglas Fowley, and beautiful Lynn Bari -- each no stranger to the Charlie Chan series. In addition, there's Ward Bond, George E. Stone, and Maxie Rosenbloom. Lon Chaney, Jr. has a small part. Given the troubled backstory behind the movie, I'm surprised it turns out as well as it does. But a good cast goes a long way with these old detective movies.

Putting aside the racist implications of Fox's assumption that one yellowface detective is as good as another, plugging Mr. Moto into a Charlie Chan film only points out that Peter Lorre's Moto is both a more adaptable and infinitely more complex character than the stolid Chan. On one hand, it's quite out of character for the quick-witted Moto to go around mouthing lame aphorisms a la Chan, and Moto would never be as discourteous to anyone in his other films as he is to Lee Chan and his punchy sidekick Maxie Rosenbloom in this one. On the other hand, "Mr. Moto's Gamble" features a nice snappy story with more shape and suspense to it than the usual Moto scenario, and it's fun to see Moto interacting with other characters like a regular guy rather than as the enigmatic will-o-the-wisp of the earlier films. Unfortunately, the later Moto films tried to imitate the formula by giving him dopey sidekicks, which only weighed him down.