THANK YOU, MR. MOTO

Filmed during Hollywood's era of ethnicity be damned, Peter Lorre starred in a series of Mr. Moto films based on the novels by John P. Marquand. Marquand wrote six Mr. Moto books and there were eight films featuring his character produced between 1937-1939 by 20th Century Fox. Rarely did an Asian actor play a lead role in Hollywood, especially in these types of films.

Mr. Moto was a Japanese secret agent/detective and Marquand wrote the stories when the SATURDAY EVENING POST was looking for a similar series after the death of Earl Derr Biggers, who had been writing the successful Charlie Chan series for them.

Peter Lorre as the titular character in "Thank You, Mr. Moto".

Released on 24 December 1937, THANK YOU, MR. MOTO was adapted from the novel of the same name that had been published just the year before. The screenplay was written by Wyllis Cooper, the creator of the old time radio shows, LIGHTS OUT and QUIET, PLEASE. He scripted several Mr. Moto films, as well as the screenplay for SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. Having watched it recently, I found it to be a quaint and enjoyable movie.

Lorre as Mr. Moto in disguise in the opening segment of the film.
Makeup is by Ben Nye.

Second in the series, the film is typical of the mystery/detective stories that were cranked out by Hollywood by the busload during this period until film noir became the theme du jour in the next decade.

Lorre, Pauline Frederick in her last film as Madame Chung (another Caucasian playing an Asian) and Philip Ahn as Prince Chung. 

This and other Mr. Moto movies were populated by a host of regular character actors that could be seen in many productions, both before and after. Many found a second career when television became a viable form of home entertainment. Other than murderers, there are no monsters in Mr. Moto movies, but as you can see, some of these actors played in horror and other genre films and shows.

Lorre and the lovely Jayne Regan.

Here is a list of some of the more well-known supporting cast members in THANK YOU, MR. MOTO.

• Sydney Blackmer as (CHARLIE CHAN AT MONTE CARLO, THE LADY AND THE MONSTER, as Roman Castavet in ROSEMARY'S BABY, numerous TV shows including, THRILLER, THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. and THE OUTER LIMITS).
• John Carradine as Piereira (famous actor of stage and screen, including his performances in Universal's THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE BLACK CAT, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN, THE MUMMY'S GHOST, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA).
• Victor Wong as Chinese curio shop merchant (SHADOW OF CHINATOWN, KING KONG, SON OF KONG and MR. MOTO TAKES A VACATION).
• James B. Leong as Peiping cop (THE MASK OF FU MANCHU, SON OF KONG, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG, MR. MOTO TAKES A CHANCE and TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE).
• Philip Ahn as Prince Chung (THINK FAST, MR. MOTO, CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU, DRUMS OF FU MANCHU and many TV shows including as Master Kan in KUNG FU).

A review of THANK YOU, MR. MOTO from MOTION PICTURE HERALD (November 1937):

One sheet poster:

THE MANY FACES OF PETER LORRE

Many horror actors are instantly recognizable by the mere sound of their voice. For example, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price can easily be identifiable as soon as they speak. Another actor can certainly be placed on this list: Peter Lorre.

Born László Löwenstein on 26 June 1904, Lorre was of Hungarian descent and first acted at the age of 17 on stage in Vienna. He became a star after playing the role of a child-killer in Fritz Lang's M (1931). As a result of his Jewish name and heritage, he fled Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime and landed in Hollywood to continue his acting career.

Lorre played in over 100 movies and genre fans remember him in films such as MAD LOVE (1935), THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941), THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1946), and his trio of Roger Corman Poe horror comedies, TALES OF TERROR (1962), THE RAVEN (1963) and THE COMEDY OF TERRORS (1963).

But it was his mainstream films such as THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), CASABLANCA (1942), and THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944) that gained him international recognition. He was also popular as the Japanese detective Mr. Moto in a string of eight films from 1937-1939.

Lorre was awarded a star on the esteemed Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. He died from a stroke on 23 March 1964.

With an unforgettable face and singularly unique voice, Peter Lorre is assured a significant place in cinema history.

View the many faces of Boris Karloff HERE.

UGLY MUGS

Lon Chaney in A BLIND BARGAIN.

Last weekend I posted an interview with Peter Lorre from 1935. He had just begun his acting career in America and would become known for his eerie and eccentric roles in MAD LOVE (1935), THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941), THE BEAST WITH 5 FINGERS (1946), and the Corman Poe films such as TALES OF TERROR (1962) and THE RAVEN (1963). He also played supporting roles opposite Humphrey Bogart in two of the most famous films ever made, CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON.

Born Laszlo Lowenstein on 26 June 1904 in the Carpathian Mountains of Hungary to wealthy parents, they moved to Vienna when he was young, where he ran away from home and then fell into acting. After a film career of over 100 film appearances, Lorre passed away from a stroke on 23 March 1964 in Los Angeles.

Lorre was at his best when acting in comedy roles. But it was his peculiar features and "Falstaff physique" that fascinated and sometimes even terrifying movie-goers. A little noir underlighting and Lorre was as menacing as anybody. One could say, in colloquial parlance, he had an "ugly mug". Other actors were possessed of naturally-unpleasant looks, like Rondo Hatten, whose features were a result of the hormone-mutating disease, acromegaly.

Many more movie monster characters were made-up, defaced and deformed by makeup artists to reflect horrible burns, scars and "surgical mistakes" by insane "doctors". They were the "ugly mugs" that provided the scares in many horror films.

Shown today is a gallery of a number of these creepy countenances that have been depicted in monster movies over the years.

ASYPHX

CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS

CURSE OF THE FLY

DARK INTRUDER

DR. BLOOD'S COFFIN.

DR. X

FACE AT THE WINDOW

NIGHT WALKER

HANDS OF THE RIPPER

THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK

MUTATIONS

WOMEN SCREAMED AT THE SIGHT OF HIM!

Peter Lorre terrified film audiences. Was it because he was born in the Carpathian Mountains, home to Dracula and vampires? No, it was because of his role as Hans Beckert, perverted murderer of little girls in Fritz Lang's M (1931)! A woman was reported as having died in the audience while watching the film, and women literally screamed when they saw him on the street. Even his friends began to send their children to their rooms when Lorre came visiting.

M was Lang's first sound film and his most favorite. Besides the subject matter, it was notable for using a voice over track, as well as being one of, if not the first time in cinema history where a musical theme ("In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Edvard Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1") was used to intentionally identify a particular character in a film. It was adopted from the same technique, called leitmotif, used in classical music and has been used countless times since.

M was banned by the Nazis in 1934. Lorre, who was Jewish, fled Germany not long after the release of the film. Lang wisely fled two years later.

This article from the February 1935 issue of MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE, is quite possibly the first published interview with Peter Lorre in a movie fan magazine. It was conducted between his roles in Hitchcock's THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH and MGM's MAD LOVE. The article treats Mr. Lorre fairly and tones down the sensationalist angle. As a result, he seems to be very candid with his responses.

A rare glimpse into horror history!

CRACKED'S FOR MONSTERS ONLY NO. 5 (PART 2)