Having seen the others of the Wong canon earlier, and this being the first, I believe it to be superior to those. Karloff appeared to take the role seriously. The plot to use the poison gas is clever. The potential for a terrorist act is always there. There are also lots of dynamics at work. Wong is so under control. He bides his time and lets the young police detective make a fool of himself, using heavy handed tactics on those he is interrogating. What's interesting is that Wong seems to have respect for this guy who knows nothing and acts so irrationally. Wong eventually moves in and gets the information he needs in a gentle manner. While much of this strains the limits of believability, it shows Karloff to be a pretty good actor. These series things are really throwaways and yet he seems to care how his character comes across. Whenever there is a closeup, it's hard to imagine him being Asian, but there was a lot of that going around in those days.
Review of Mr. Wong, Detective
