Mr. Moto's Last Warning

Toby R. Beeny

Mr. Moto, the Japanese secret agent, is sent to Eygpt to uncover a mysterious plot. It is revealed that a group of international agents have gone there to sabotage a fleet of French vessels in order to start a war between Britain and France. As the bad guys are aware that Mr. Moto is after them, the movie proceeds to be a game of cat and mouse, with Mr. Moto trying to discover their plot while the saboteurs try to kill Mr. Moto. The intrigue deepens when Mr. Moto discovers that one of the villains is actually an undercover British agent (played by the versatile John Carradine), who has to try and avoid being killed himself.

One difference between Mr. Moto and other detective movies is that Mr. Moto is a master of Judo. This allows the secret agent to get into numerous “martial arts” sequences in which he proceeds to fight off multiple opponents. Bruce Lee it is not. Still, the multiple fights makes this film much more action oriented and fast-paced than the average detective flick. This can also be the film's weak point. For although we see bombs going off and underwater fights, it is sometimes difficult to discern exactly what is going on until you are well into the movie. The film rapidly switches scenes without really introducing characters or setting up the situation. Perhaps a theater-goer in 1939 would have had an easier time with it, from genre and B movie familiarity.

The boss villain has a dossier on Mr. Moto that lists his skills, which include being a master of disguise and proficient in magic. This, along with his martial arts skills, really add to the Eastern and mysterious aspects of his character. Although I don't think there were any cases of his using magic, he does often employ disguises to aid in his surveillance, while otherwise operating under the cover of an antiquities dealer.

The movie does suffer from a number of technical difficulties. The shots are often rather dark, probably to hide cheap or reused sets. Another issue is the sound. Especially in the first parts of the movie, it can be difficult to understand what the characters are saying. It is not just the low quality of the audio that is the issue, but the cornucopia of accents used in the film. Amusingly, Mr. Moto is one of the easiest to understand. Unlike some Asian-detective-types, Mr. Moto speaks in a clear, if effeminate, English. He states facts rather than aphorisms.

The movie does have an interesting Easter Egg in it. During a shot in which they are going into a theater, the camera pans down through the billing. One of the items showing is a Charlie Chan movie. This is perhaps not entirely surprising when one considers that both movies were produced by Twentieth Century Fox. Perhaps we are seeing a bit of early product placement?