gridoon2024 Review of The Mystery of Mr. Wong

The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)

Pretty good mystery, though it cheats a bit at the end

[6/10 · 3 March 2011]

This second entry in the "Mr. Wong" series has a classic mystery setup: a game of charades at a party turns deadly when a gun supposedly loaded with blanks actually kills someone. Or is that really what happens? Luckily (or unluckily, for the murderer), the eminent detective Mr. Wong is among the guests, and is more than willing to help the police solve the murder. The sinister suspects, red herrings and other traditions of the genre are all present and accounted for, and while the direction may not be fanciful, it is efficient. Boris Karloff is very good as the calm, polite, observant, analytical Mr. Wong, helping you ignore the "wrong ethnicity" barrier. What is harder to ignore is that, in order to get to its admittedly unpredictable resolution, the script withholds vital information about the motive of the murderer; we never suspect him/her because we are given absolutely no reason to! Even with that reservation, I think most mystery buffs will find enough to enjoy in this film. **1/2 out of 4.