Think Fast, Mr. Moto

On a freighter going from San Francisco to Shanghai, Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) solves mysteries caused by a gang of smugglers. First of the series.

Director Norman Foster was given this B-movie assignment, but it is probably better remembered today than many of the A pictures that came out at the time. With Peter Lorre, a strong (if under-appreciated) actor taking the lead, this was guaranteed to be something special.

Say what you will about the racism, sexism, or anything else of this nature. Such things have to be overlooked sometimes, and this is one of those times. The film is just too clever to be faulted.

This was the first by 20th Century-Fox in a series of several films which tried to emulate the success of their own popular Charlie Chan series. THINK FAST, MR. MOTO introduced us to Peter Lorre's portrayal of a seemingly meek and mild mannered Asian man in glasses who secretly becomes a very clever and rough and tumble detective, excelling in martial arts and physical combat. The story involves jewel smuggling aboard a cruise ship, and while it comes off a tad clumsy the film remains brisk and enjoyable mainly because of Lorre's characterization, but also through the use of some very good seasoned professional actors (in this case, Sig Ruman and J. Carrol Naish). **1/2 out of ****

... loosely based on the books by John Marquand, from 20th Century Fox and director Norman Foster. After a series of murders occurs in San Francisco, the mysterious Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) boards a cruise ship to China, where he befriends Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck), the son of the owner of the cruise line. Bob has fallen for a moody passenger named Gloria (Virginia Field). Once they make landfall in China, things get dangerous for them all.

This initial outing in the series is different in at least one respect: Mr. Moto's motives and allegiances are kept a mystery for most of the picture. In fact, he's even presented as a possible suspect, or at least in league with the villains. Despite it being another regrettable instance of casting, Peter Lorre is outstanding as Moto, charming, funny, mischievous, and just a little creepy. His performance elevates what would have been just another routine mystery programmer of the day.

WITH THE SUCCESS and high popularity of the CHARLIE CHAN Series of movies, the logical next step was for some one to bring us another outstanding sleuth of Oriental extraction. There would be inevitable comparisons and "copycat" accusations. Certainly there is some similarity and there are some definite signs of, if not stealing, at least borrowing from the established CHAN franchise.

BUT THAT IS where the similarities end. For Moto is much more of a solitary operator; even though he does employ some operatives in this, the first movie in the series. Also, Moto's deducting appears to be much more introspective, silent and quietly disarming to friend and adversary alike.

THAT THE CHARACTER proved to be popular enough to have his own series of seven more entries into the series was largely due to the performance of the former Laszlo Lowenstein; now known to the world as Peter Lorre.

BUT THIS STAR'S tour de force, excellent production values, talented & ample supporting cast and memorable musical score wasn't enough to carry the series for more that its three years and eight movies. For the year was 1937 and the Imperial Japanese war machine was already conducting a war of conquest against China; after having conquered Manchuria in 1931.

THE ATROCITIES OF Pearl Harbor, Manila and Singapore, among others, would soon follow. The days of a Japanese super sleuth on our movie screens were numbered.

The first of the Lorre Moto's is also the best, and from under the opening titles to the snappy ending you do have some fast thinking to do. The production values were high, the script intelligent and the acting ... fairly good, all adding up to a non-condescending film. Moto's effortless jujitsu was always a laugh, though.

On the other hand it is chock full of the usual racial, sexual and social stereotypes that bother lots of serious people nowadays. But for it not to be present would be like meat without fat: pretty tasteless and indigestible. All present-day Austrians might be outraged by Peter Lorre's casting as a Japanese, and a warning should be given before every screening. I should have been warned that the ship's English steward would be Battling Burrows' son (see "Broken Blossoms" 1919)!

Dapper Moto is going after an international gang of smugglers operating out of Shanghai, where he seems to be up against the whole population much the same as Chan was 2 years earlier. Sig Rumann plays an ugly customer but Thomas Beck and Virginia Field never looked more handsome and lovelier playing the romantic leads. I don't know how many Moto's and Chan's in total they appeared in, but I tend to look out for Beck in every one just in case!

TFMM fills just over an hour pleasantly, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to the 21st century.