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The Mr. Wong series by Monogram Studios was an attempt by this tiny poverty row studio to cash in on the success of Twentieth-Century Fox's Charlie Chan. In many ways, the two series were very similar, though Wong (played by Boris Karloff) was played less like a stereotypical Asian and the scripts, unfortunately, were generally not as good as the Chan scripts.<br /><br />Here, in a completely average film, Wong is investigating the death of a rich jerk who is proud that he owns a stolen treasure from China. Considering how arrogant and unlikable he is, it isn't at all surprising that he's soon murdered--and in a rather clever way. The actual mystery is only moderately suspenseful by B-mystery film standards, but the film's lack of comic relief may appeal to those who dislike this aspect of the Chan films.<br /><br />As for the acting, this film is unusual in that all the actors were good except for one whose performance really stood out from the rest--it was THAT bad. Dorothy Tree, who played the wife of the murdered man, was simply horrible. Every time she opened her mouth, she over-emoted and enunciated like she was in a diction class. When I checked her biography on IMDb I discovered two things--that she was a reasonably prolific actress AND that she was a singing and diction coach. That really helps to explain her performance as did a quote from Ms. Tree concerning the role of proper diction in advancing feminism--"more resonance, clear speech and a better vocabulary." Well, sometimes more isn't better! <br /><br />A decent time-passer--provided you don't mind wading through Ms. Tree's impassioned acting.<br /><br />By the way, the copy I watched clocked in at 70 minutes--2 minutes longer than the time listed on IMDb. |