Mr. Moto Collection, Vol. 2

Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)      Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)
Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)     Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
 

In the realm of filmdom, Mr. Moto is no ordinary detective. He is short, relatively unattractive, and has a personal interest in the business of importing rare goods. His drink of choice is far removed from James Bond’s preference for martinis--Moto frequently chooses to imbibe a tall glass of milk. Still, behind the quiet demeanor and gentlemanly manners lies a quick-thinking spy with ninja-like agility and a flair for hand-to-hand combat. Even the guilt of murder has very little weight in his mind. Moto is a master of disguise and can cleverly manipulate even the most intelligent persons.

Writer J.P. Marquand, a columnist at The Saturday Evening Post, is responsible for creating Mr. Moto. Marquand, who was under orders to write mystery stories with an Asian hero, rather forcibly conceived the character. In light of the recent death of Charlie Chan author, Earl Biggers, Marquand was sent to Asia to gather background to form a series of stories. While in Asia, he encountered a short Japanese detective who would later become the inspiration for Moto. Marquand translated his original idea into several novels and their popularity quickly inspired the film adaptations. It’s widely considered that the books are superior to the films, but when the films first went into production, they were hardly one of Fox studio’s priorities and were assigned to a B-movie producer, Sol Wurtzel, to handle. The films may have much higher production values than the B-movie label suggests, but the series never fails to follow the formulaic structure that Wurtzel utilized regularly. Although Wurtzel is easily one of the lesser-known film moguls--largely because he stood in the shadows of William Fox and Fox’s predecessor, Darryl F. Zanuck--his B-movie unit consistently made a profit for Twentieth Century Fox, and the Moto films were amongst his finest achievements.

Wurtzel wisely recruited Norman Foster to direct the first film in the series, “Think Fast, Mr. Moto” (1937). Foster, an actor turned aspiring director, knew he had to pay his dues on lesser films before he could take on the responsibility of more substantial projects. In an effort to impress his superiors, Foster eagerly offered to share writing duties, which can be a particularly beneficial experience for an unproven director. Foster naively accepted the offer to direct the film without considering the possibility that the first film’s success might encourage the eventual formation of a series. Had he known that eight films would be eventually produced (five of which would have him in the director’s chair), Foster might have been less likely to sign up for such a project.

Of all the decisions Wurtzel made, assigning Peter Lorre to the role of Mr. Moto was likely his most informed. Originally, Foster wanted to abandon typical Hollywood procedures and hire a Japanese actor for the role of Moto, but once he was offered the chance to work with Lorre, he immediately accepted. Wurtzel and his superiors were also satisfied with the decision; Lorre had been signed to a contract but was underutilized because casting directors were rarely aware of Lorre’s range and versatility. In the years leading up to his first Moto film, Lorre was searching for a change of pace, which was his original reasoning for signing with Twentieth Century Fox.

Lorre’ mesmerizing performance in Fritz Lang’s masterful “M” (1931) was one of the many reasons for the film’s tremendous critical success. Unfortunately, instead of amassing a legion of fans, the public hated Lorre solely because of the character he portrayed onscreen. In a situation where an actor suddenly withdraws from his profession, one would usually question the actor’s talent. However, in Lorre’s case, his performance was so in tune with his character that the public had difficulty distinguishing between the two. Lorre didn’t just provide an impressive performance; it was his physical appearance that allowed him to fully realize his role. Lorre had an innocent and younger looking facial structure in his 20s, but simultaneously, he could appear dark and suspicious. These qualities were particularly important in playing a child murderer, and they’re specifically what attracted Lang to Lorre. Since Lorre and his character, Hans Beckert, had merged as one in the public’s eye, he was ridiculed in the streets and occasionally assaulted for the actions of his character. Lorre would tough it out for a few more years, but eventually Alfred Hitchcock gave him his ticket out of Europe by casting him as the villain in “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1934). Still, it was evident that Lorre was dangerously typecast, and he became adamant in attempting to re-define his acting ability. The last thing Lorre needed was his name to become synonymous with another new character, but that’s precisely what happened over the course of eight Mr. Moto films.

Although neither director nor star were particularly fond of the Moto films, it’s rather difficult to deny that the series was quite popular during the time of the original releases. Once the series was terminated, important opportunities lay ahead for both Foster and Lorre, but whether the Moto films were responsible is debatable. Lorre dreaded the association he had with the character but went on to provide Hollywood with some of the most legendary supporting performances. Amongst his finest are those of Joel Cairo in the landmark noir, “The Maltese Falcon,” and Ugarte in Michael Curtiz’s classic “Casablanca” (1941). Foster eventually had the good fortune of directing more illustrious projects including three additions to the Charlie Chan series--Moto’s better-known counterpart. Perhaps the two talented men hardly recognized it at the time, but they’re largely responsible for the establishing the benchmark for the present spy/detective genre (i.e. James Bond and Indiana Jones)--a reasonably impressive achievement.

Kurtis J. Beard
 

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