Mysterious Mr. Wong (Roan Group)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C- Film: C
Monogram Pictures (with its great future city opening) had
aspirations to be a bigger studio, if only they could have a big hit or what we
now consider a franchise. Not to be
confused with the Mr. Wong detective series that should have been a
huge, long running hit with Boris Karloff, Mysterious Mr. Wong (1935)
was the studio’s attempt to have a Fu Manchu-type film to sell. They even got Bela Lugosi in the title role,
but the film is so muddled that it becomes a missed opportunity.
This was Lugosi’s debut film with the studio despite only
just having done Dracula four years earlier. Unfortunately, his work with the smaller company did not yield
the same results that John Wayne’s did with Republic. Director William Nigh would later helm some of those Mr. Wong
detective series that The Roan Group (who released this DVD) once had in print,
but only does so much with the hackened tale about a race to find 12 valuable,
ancient keys. Only diehard fans need
apply, but Lugosi, Monogram and Nigh have all done better.
The 1.33 X 1 black and white image is soft and although
the print is not in bad shape considering its age, the DVD was pressed in
1999. The Dolby Digital Mono is not bad
either, but not great either. Except
for some minor text extras, this is a basic edition.
- Nicholas Sheffo
