1940’s The Fatal Hour is the fourth movie in which Boris Karloff would play San Francisco detective Mr. Wong. For those who haven’t seen the previous installments, this poverty row production puts him in makeup that lengthens his eyes. Fortunately, he doesn’t do an Asian accent. Still, it is understandable if actors in yellowface is something viewers don’t want to see.
The mystery this time is the death of a cop known to Karloff. He was also a friend of police detective Grant Withers, the only other actor to appear in all four installments of the series to date. Another actor returning is Withers’s reporter girlfriend Marjorie Reynolds, the only female lead to appear in more than one of these.
The cop who died was last seen in a bar while wearing a sailor’s outfit. Hey, I’m not going to judge what the guy does in his free time. But he was actually on the clock and was following leads to uncover a jade smuggling organization.
There had been a carved jade piece from the Ming Dynasty in the dead man’s possession. Karloff goes to a jeweler (Hooper Atchley) who is supposedly an expert in such pieces, but says he can’t appraise any pieces of real value. Atchley claims his store doesn’t even carry anything worth more than $50. Really, the store isn’t doing well and, in a bizarre subplot, it is hoped its fortunes can be reversed through a promotional stunt involving a long radio commercial disguised as a murder mystery program.
It is no surprise Atchley is involved in the smuggling racket overseen by Frank Puglia, the owner of that club where the dead cop was last seen (in a sailor’s suit–can’t forget that). Assisting in the illegal operation is Lita Chevret, but she is starting to get second thoughts now that she has fallen for Atchley’s son. I like this complication, as it distinguishes her from the femme fatale stereotype.
An interesting aspect of the picture is a radio which has an accompanying remote control. I didn’t know there was such a product that long ago. Also, the remote is shockingly large and far from portable. One wonders why a person would bother with it at all unless they planned on being stationary, yet some distance from the radio, for a long time. Even weirder, the control on it is a dial like telephones used to have. That this device is called a “mystery control” is rather endearing.
This isn’t the best film of the Mr. Wong series so far, as the first is still superior. But this one is a lot of fun. I especially like how the film seems to be aware of how silly it is, with Karloff explaining how he entered Puglia’s office without anybody noticing: “The secret stairway in the back, like a haunted house.”
I’m surprised Puglia would have that hidden entrance to his office, as I can imagine somebody sneaking up on him from behind while he’s working at his desk. He already has subpar powers of observation and is curiously inattentive as to where his gun is at a given time. It goes missing at one point, and he comments he last saw it lying on top of his desk the day before. So, he just lets it sit out there in the open and a whole day lapses before he notices it is gone. To think this guy is a criminal mastermind.
Similar to the other Mr. Wong features, The Fatal Hour is just over an hour, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It doesn’t need to be a solidly constructed mystery for it to be enjoyable; even so, it had some surprises, such as the truly shocking death of a seemingly very minor character near the end. Also, I have seen enough of these kinds of films to immediately identify the killer, though the reasons why it is this person are concealed, thus not entirely playing fair with the audience. Yet another trifle in a series of frivolously enjoyable mysteries, of which I am looking forward to the next, and last, entry.
Dir: William Nigh
Starring Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers
Watched as part of the Kino Lorber blu-ray set Mr. Wong Collection