The boss of Dayton's Chemical Company approaches Mr Wong because he feels his life is in danger. This threat seems to be confirmed when Dayton's chauffer is knocked out and his car is stolen outside Wong's house. The next morning Dayton dies mysteriously in his locked office just after he has signed a clause in his contract agreement with his two business partners. The two partners benefit from his death through this new clause. Also Dayton has just been held at gunpoint from Carl Roemer who is disgruntled because Dayton has held onto Roemer's scientific formula.
There are also some villains who are anxious to divert Dayton's chemical exports to their own country's advantage. While Carl Roemer is being detained by the police Mr Wong gets to see Roemer's experimental workroom. Wong has to find the triggering point of how some invisible gas becomes lethal. The plot also includes intrigue about some exotic bark used in specially made cigarettes and how letters are being smuggled out of prison.
This is the first of five films with Boris Karloff as Mr Wong (1938-1940) for Monogram. Mr Wong is a cultured and educated detective residing in San Francisco. I enjoy Boris Karloff's interpretation of the Mr Wong character and I wish the series had been longer. I suspect that Karloff's fee per film demand got a bit too much for Monogram. This first Karloff Wong is not the best of the five but it is a re-watchable introduction to his character and his "humble home" as he calls it.
There are also some villains who are anxious to divert Dayton's chemical exports to their own country's advantage. While Carl Roemer is being detained by the police Mr Wong gets to see Roemer's experimental workroom. Wong has to find the triggering point of how some invisible gas becomes lethal. The plot also includes intrigue about some exotic bark used in specially made cigarettes and how letters are being smuggled out of prison.
This is the first of five films with Boris Karloff as Mr Wong (1938-1940) for Monogram. Mr Wong is a cultured and educated detective residing in San Francisco. I enjoy Boris Karloff's interpretation of the Mr Wong character and I wish the series had been longer. I suspect that Karloff's fee per film demand got a bit too much for Monogram. This first Karloff Wong is not the best of the five but it is a re-watchable introduction to his character and his "humble home" as he calls it.