The Mystery of Mr. Wong

Priceless sapphire The Eye of the Daughter of the Moon was stolen from China.  The jewel is cursed, condemning it's possessor to death.  The gem ends up in the hands of antique dealer Brandon Edwards (Wallace), who knows the legend and expects to be murdered.  That evening he hosts a party along with his wife Valerie (Tree).  During the party he meets with private detective James Lee Wong (Karloff).  He knows someone will try to kill him and written down the name of the culprit, which is only to be read after his death.  Edwards locks the letter and the jewel in his office, and they return to the party.

Edwards is shot and killed during the party.  The police, led by Captain Sam Street (Withers), arrive to investigate the death.  Street and Wong discover that the jewel and the letter are missing, and suspect foul play.  The suspects include Valerie, who was afraid of her husband, his secretary Peter Harrison (Reynolds) who is in love with Valerie, singer Michael Strogonoff (Lebedeff), maid Drina (Long), and butler Sing (Gan).  Wong asks his friend Professor Ed Janney (Herbert), who was also a guest at the party, to help investigate.  Can Wong find the Eye of the Daughter of the Moon and the killer before more bodies appear?


The character of Mr. James Lee Wong first appeared as a series in Collier's Magazine.  Hugh Wiley wrote 12 short stories about Mr. Wong for the magazine from 1934 to 1938.  The character was popular enough for Monogram Pictures to make 6 films about him (Mr. Wong, Detective 1938, The Mystery of Mr. Wong in 1939, Mr. Wong in Chinatown in 1939, The Fatal Hour in 1940, Doomed to Die in 1940, and Phantom of Chinatown in 1940).  Five of the film were directed by William Nigh, with Boris Karloff in the title role.

The majority of the fine is confined to the Edwards home.  You know the murder was committed by someone in the house, and everyone remains in the house for the duration of the film.  The film is short and keeps your attention.  The mystery is good and gives the audience a pool of suspects with strong motives.  Boris Karloff is great as James Lee Wong, creating a compelling and intelligent character.  The rest of the cast is fine.  Grant Withers, who plays Captain Street, and Chester Gan, who plays Sing, are the only characters who appeared in this film and the previous Mr. Wong film.

Entertaining, but not great.

The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) 68 minutes
Director: William Nigh
Starring: Boris Karloff as James Lee Wong
Grant Withers as Police Captain Sam Street
Dorothy Tree as Valerie Edwards
Craig Reynolds as Peter Harrison
Ivan Lebedeff as Michael Strogonoff
Holmes Herbert as Professor Ed Janney
Morgan Wallace as Brandon Edwards
Lotus Long as Drina
Chester Gan as Sing
Hooper Atchley as Carslake