This was the first of a modest series of Monogram films to star horror heavyweight Boris Karloff as an Asian sleuth, most likely to try and capitalize off the highly successful Charlie Chan saga from Fox. As a Karloff fan myself, he was my sole reason to take the plunge with this series and this film is pretty much an average affair. The British Boris doesn't seem authentic at playing a Chinese detective, and I had a difficult time buying into him as such with his blackened, slicked-back hair-comb. The plot itself is intriguing enough, with Mr. Wong trying to find out how a poison gas is killing people, and who's the mastermind behind it. I've read that MR. WONG, DETECTIVE is the "best" of this bunch, which leaves me concerned as to what may lie ahead. ** out of ****
Review of Mr. Wong, Detective
