User reviews

Although originally intended as a Chan film maybe not surprisingly it's easy to switch to Moto Mode and enjoy what we've got. Not being a boxing fan is much harder to overcome!

A boxer is murdered mid-fight, under the eyes of the multitude and especially Moto's pair of roving eyes, the job is on to find whodunit and how. Peter Lorre was excellent as usual, even hampered with comedy duo no.2 Chan son Lee and kleptomaniac Knockout Wellington. Favourite bit : where someone shouts "Whoever heard of a crooked cop?" and everyone laughs uproariously - in disbelief! The best thing about this Moto though is the never ending stream of then current Fox background actors appearing, from Doug Fowley, chunky Cliff Clark, George E. Stone – even Lon Chaney Jr down to Paul Fix, Ward Bond, Fred Kelsey – why, everyone at the studio was here except Warner Oland!

A nice series entry [3/8], all well worth watching if you're a fan of the genre like me.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) investigates a murder during a boxing match, with unwanted help from Charlie's Chan's "Number One Son" Lee (Keye Luke). Most people probably know this, but originally this was intended to be a Charlie Chan film. But when troubled Chan star Warner Oland walked off the set, they reworked the story and turned it into a Moto movie. This explains the appearance of Lee Chan. It also explains why Mr. Moto is less edgy than in his first two films. Here he resemble a more traditional detective like Charlie Chan.

While I love Charlie Chan, Peter Lorre is kind of wasted in this type of role. He's better suited to roles with a little menace to them. Keye Luke is fine but the chemistry and rapport he had with Warner Oland is missing. Also appearing are Harold Huber, Douglas Fowley, and beautiful Lynn Bari -- each no stranger to the Charlie Chan series. In addition, there's Ward Bond, George E. Stone, and Maxie Rosenbloom. Lon Chaney, Jr. has a small part. Given the troubled backstory behind the movie, I'm surprised it turns out as well as it does. But a good cast goes a long way with these old detective movies.

Due to the illness of Chan star Warner Oland, this film's script had to be turned into a Mr. Moto movie. I feel this is the weakest entry in the Fox Moto series with Peter Lorre. The film is set in the New York boxing world. I've never been a fan of boxing--so the atmosphere did nothing for me. Lorre is his usual great self. That can't be taken away. And the film has the bonus of Keye Luke reprising his role as Charlie's Number One Son, Lee Chan, for the last time at 20th Century Fox. (He would play the Lee role twice more in the last two Monogram Chans.) But even with Lorre and Luke, this one is a bit weak. It might have been better if filmed with Mr. Oland as an actual Charlie Chan film. Still--it is worth seeing.

In the first two Mr. Moto films, Moto was a complex and rather amoral man. If someone tried to kill him, often Moto killed that person instead. Additionally, you weren't always sure who Moto worked for or his motivations. I liked this, as it made his character a bit mysterious and quite a bit unlike the studio's other Asian crime fighter, Charlie Chan. However, with MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE the transition to a Charlie Chan clone has occurred. Why? Well the answer is that this film originally WAS a Charlie Chan film and shortly into shooting it was obvious that Warner Oland (Chan) was not emotionally fit enough to finish the film. So, instead of scrapping the film, they just altered it slightly to make it a Moto film.

So was this a successful move by the studio? Well, in some ways definitely not. The comic relief for the film was provided by Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom--playing a guy even more annoying and unrealistic than Mantan Moreland would play in the later Charlie Chan films. Frankly, I hated Rosenbloom in the film because he detracted from the mystery with his antics. Additionally, it seemed very strange for the Japanese detective to be teamed with Charlie's #1 Son, Lee Chan (Keye Luke). In fact, you will probably notice that Moto treats Lee pretty much the way Charlie did and it just feels odd. And, since Moto was essentially playing Chan, he had much less to do in this film than in previous ones. Like Chan, he was NOT the focal point of the film and aside from a couple judo flips, you'd barely notice him in the film. In essence, Mr. Moto was dead.

Despite this obviously being a Chan film (and second-rate due to the dominant presence of Rosenbloom), the film is still pretty good--provided you don't mind that it's not a Moto movie. The mystery itself isn't bad (though the squirt gun angle was pretty dumb) and the film worked pretty well. While the mechanical gun at the end was overly complex, how Moto used this was pretty neat. Overall, I give it a 6. It's interesting and fun but suffers a severe case of too much Rosenbloom and multiple personality disorder!

By the way, there are some famous faces buried within the film. Ward Bond (famous for his many appearances in support of John Wayne) plays the Champion, George E. Stone ('Runt' from the Boston Blackie films) and a young Lon Chaney, Jr. is in a bit role.

For more on how this film came to be, watch the DVD extra included along with MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE. MR. MOTO MEETS MR. CHAN is indispensable for die-hard fans like myself to understand the very troubled process through which this film was made.

Asian detectives, as far as 20th Century Fox was concerned, are interchangeable, so producers had no trouble turning this Charlie Chan film into a Mr. Moto one. Apparently there was some sort of problem between Fox and the current Chan, Warner Oland, so they did a switch. I know some people state the film was switched because Warner Oland died, but he didn't die until five months after this film was released.

Anyway, Mr. Moto is teaching a class in the science of investigation and who should one of his students be but Lee Chan (Keye Luke). And it's quite a cast: Lynn Bari, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, John Hamilton (Perry White from the TV Superman), Ward Bond, and Lon Chaney Jr.

Moto becomes involved in the death of a prize fighter after he's knocked out in the ring, but it turns out the man was murdered with poison on the opponent's glove.

Peter Lorre is just terrific, and while this isn't the greatest Mr. Moto film ever made, he's wonderful. Unfortunately, after Pearl Harbor, Mr. M kind of disappeared.

I'd consider this one of the better of Peter Lorre's eight Mr. Moto films, with a good story of ringside gambling and crooks. The mysterious Japanese investigator must unravel what happened when a boxer was killed during a match. This one's got a well rounded cast too, beginning with Keye Luke making an appearance as none other than Charlie Chan's son, who is enrolled in a class which Mr. Moto is teaching. Also featuring Lon Chaney Jr. as a thug, and John Hamilton (Perry White on TV's SUPERMAN), too. Former real-life boxer-turned-actor Maxie Roosenbloom is the dimwitted comic relief. While watching and enjoying this entry I had the feeling that this was not in the same mold as previous Moto films I've seen. It was after the movie ended that I learned why via an informative bonus feature on the DVD -- MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE was originally scripted to be another Warner Oland Charlie Chan film for Fox, but Oland was having problems at the time, so the script was rebooted as a Mr. Moto film, with Peter Lorre practically doing Warner Oland. *** out of ****

Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Third in the Fox series has a boxer getting killed inside the ring. What first appears to be a simple accident turns out to be poison and soon Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is on the case. This film in the series really doesn't play out like the previous two and that's because this was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan movie but Oland was too ill at the time so the studio simply changed the script to Moto. The change really isn't too bad and this turns out to be another winner no matter who it was originally intended for. The movie contains a nice mystery to work with and there are plenty of possible suspects that pop up throughout the 72-minute running time. The gangsters and gamblers aspect was a nice one and they made for some good villains. Lorre is once again at his very best and we also get some nice supporting performances as well as brief appearances by George E. Stone and Lon Chaney, Jr.. Keye Luke, Chan's son, appears here as a student in Lorre's detective class and delivers a few nice smiles. Maxie Rosenbloom nearly steals the show as another student who can't help but steal things. The movie contains a lot of fun within its short running time so fans of the series will find plenty to enjoy and with the mix of boxing and gambling, those not familiar with the series should enjoy it as well.

Big problems here. As others have pointed out, this film started out as a Charlie Chan film, but he proved unavailable, so the studio rewrote it as a Mr. Moto caper; it even has Chan's "No. 1 Son" in a supporting role. Watching the picture, it's very easy to imagine Charlie Chan doing and saying everything that Mr. Moto says. This film lacks the martial arts and international intrigue of the better Mr. Moto titles, thus it is not a Mr. Moto film. If you are looking for a real Mr. Moto film, get a different movie. This one is a Charlie Chan movie, starring Mr. Moto. Most unfortunate. Charlie Chan is Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto is Mr. Moto; this film blurs the distinctions and should be shunned by all lovers of either detective.

Favorite movie-quote - "Who ever heard of a crooked cop?"

To be perfectly honest, Peter Lorre is one of those actors who has always given me the creeps, big-time. To me, Lorre has the sort of "limited" screen persona that's clearly best suited for roles where the character is either seriously unhinged and/or operating from the wrong side of the law.

In his Mr. Moto role, Lorre was neither unhinged nor of a criminal mind. On the contrary, Mr. Moto was an exceptionally brilliant professor of criminology whose deductions and quick-mindedness were positively uncanny.

In fact, Mr. Moto's cool, collected and matter-of-fact demeanour was, at times, really too much to be believed (but, after all, this was just a movie), especially since it was Lorre who played the part.

Had the story-line of this lighthearted, 1938, Whodunnit not been about the world of professional boxing (and the criminal element that gets involved when big bucks are at stake), then I doubt that it would have held my interest as much as it inevitably did.

When it comes to the likes of pugs and palookas & chumps and champs, I really enjoy early-Hollywood boxing pictures where double-crosses, treachery and taking a dive are the name of the game.

Mind you, with that said, I think this film would've faired a helluva lot better had another actor, other than Lorre, been cast in the Mr. Moto role.

Anyways - I sure did like real-life professional boxer, Max Rosenbloom, in the part of the pickpocket, "Knockout" Wellington. And at a 72-minute running time, this strictly formulaic, little Murder/Mystery certainly did move along at a nice, brisk clip.

Mr. Moto's Gamble finds our Japanese sleuth in the position of teacher and among his pupils is Keye Luke the son of that other Asian detective Charlie Chan. He's Charlie's number one son, but he's Moto's number one pupil and he says he will write a letter to Charlie saying so.

Peter Lorre and Keye Luke are at a prize fight when one of the fighters is knocked out and later dies of a poison delivered in a most unusual manner. There was a lot of syndicate money on this fight and originally the winner was held for manslaughter. However Dick Baldwin is released in time to face champion Ward Bond where there is more villainy afoot.

Maxie Rosenbloom who had given up the ring for a more lucrative career in movies plays a former boxer who is a kleptomaniac and hangs out with Keye Luke during the film. Maxie's taking ways are what ultimately leads to the unmasking of the murderer.

Many players who have done roles in gangster films are in the cast and provide us a load of red herrings as to the murderer. You'll have to see one of the better Mr. Moto features to see who does it.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is teaching a criminology course in New York when he gets involved with a murder case concerning boxers, gamblers, and poison. Also featuring Keye Luke as Lee Chan (Charlie Chan's #1 son).

The backstory of this movie is almost as interesting as the film itself. This started out as a Charlie Chan feature, and much of it was filmed, but star Warner Oland had some "issues" and left the set. He wouldn't return, and in fact would be dead a few months later. Fox felt too much had been spent already, so they took what they had, reshot a few scenes, and added a handful of new ones to make this into a Mr. Moto movie. Keye Luke's #1 son character was too integral, so they left him in, continuing to play the same character, establishing that Moto and Chan operate within the same cinematic world. Moto even has a line of dialogue where he says that he's been in contact with Charlie Chan about his son's schooling.

The end result movie is entertaining, although it bears more resemblance to the Oland/Chan films than to the two previous Moto features, which were more exotic, violent, and unpredictable. Moto still manages to toss a few people around like rag dolls, but he's more of the quiet center around whom the others gravitate. Maxie Rosenbloom is very amusing as a kleptomaniac who is taking Moto's detective course so that he can track down the people from whom he's stolen. Maxie and Keye Luke make for an unlikely but humorous duo.

Putting aside the racist implications of Fox's assumption that one yellowface detective is as good as another, plugging Mr. Moto into a Charlie Chan film only points out that Peter Lorre's Moto is both a more adaptable and infinitely more complex character than the stolid Chan. On one hand, it's quite out of character for the quick-witted Moto to go around mouthing lame aphorisms a la Chan, and Moto would never be as discourteous to anyone in his other films as he is to Lee Chan and his punchy sidekick Maxie Rosenbloom in this one. On the other hand, "Mr. Moto's Gamble" features a nice snappy story with more shape and suspense to it than the usual Moto scenario, and it's fun to see Moto interacting with other characters like a regular guy rather than as the enigmatic will-o-the-wisp of the earlier films. Unfortunately, the later Moto films tried to imitate the formula by giving him dopey sidekicks, which only weighed him down.

If you like Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto, you should like this movie. Unless, that is, you feel the need to get your critic's knife out and compare it to Citizen Kane. It's a B movie, folks - there are going to be wacky sidekicks and awkward plot twists. What you get is the usual made-in-four-weeks murder mystery in glorious black and white, with the usual Fox suspects as actors. Yes, Slapsie is an annoying character to me, sitting here in 2009. So are many of the son characters in Charlie Chan movies, but I can deal with them. At the time, B movies carried a formula, and the goofy sidekick was used as comic relief. At least they don't' break out in song, like they did in Marx Bros. movies. If you like this genre, you should like this movie.

Charlie Chan Star Warner Oland was Not Able to Continue with His Latest Entry in the Series.

So 20th Century Fox Morphed it into a Mr. Moto Movie.

In the Process Mr. Moto was Reined in and His Edgy Persona was Tamed and Turned into Mr. Moto Lite or an Imitation Chan.

But that isn't the Weakest Link in this Film that had a Decent Budget and a Lot of Studio Contract Players at Hand.

The Downfall from Top-Notch Entertainment from the B-Movie Detective Series is the Irritating, Over-the-Top Acting.

Extreme Emoting that Becomes the Yelling of Lines.

The Suspension of any Dis-Belief Goes Out the Window.

Especially when Harold Huber as Lt. Riggs is on Screen Screaming and Flailing About with the Most Overacting You're Likely to See in a Film from a Major Studio.

He isn't Alone in the Shenanigans.

There are Others such as Maxy Rosenbloom who comes Close to Taking the "Championship of the World of Over-Acting".

But the Title must Go to the Aforementioned Huber.

It is Breathtakingly Bad and Sinks the Movie Beyond the Depths of the Usual Low-Standards Set by the Nature of what it is.

The Movie Looks-Great for a "B" and the Movie is Intricate in its Plotting and the Boxing Arena Scenes are Good.

But the Combination of Over-the-Top Acting Presentations and Turning Mr. Moto into a Charlie Chan Homage makes this 3rd in the Series Moto Movie...

Slightly Below Average.

This sorry boxing movie was a great disappointment. Because of necessity, Peter Lorre must take up the mantle of Charlie Chan. In the first two films, he is a riveting character with a complex mind and a murderous impulse. Here he plays straight man to a bunch of gamblers and buffoons. A young boxer is trying to get a title bout when his opponent dies and he is charged with the murder. Lee Chan (Keye Luke) and Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom pair up to do the silly stuff. Moto even delivers lines like Chan. There are gamblers coming out of the walls, talking to the fighters before the bouts. John Hamilton, Perry White on "The Adventures of Superman," has a lot of irons in the fire as to a whole bunch of other bettors. It just becomes so weak as the thing goes along, including Chan trying to punch Rosenbloom so he can remember where he got a gun.

Pretty interesting meeting of icons, as it were, I kinda liked this one actually. Keye Luke was always a fave of mine, and putting Moto into the Palooka Joe milieu actually added something to the series mix I think. It's not as good's the first two in the run, but not bad-and you do get to see Ward Bond doing his Tough Guy thing early on too.

**1/2 outta ****

1938's "Mr. Moto's Gamble" began life as "Charlie Chan at Ringside," Warner Oland's 17th entry as the Chinese detective, but his sudden illness forced producer John Stone to quickly refashion the script as the 4th entry in Peter Lorre's Mr. Moto series, retaining Keye Luke as 'Number One Son' Lee Chan (a role he would vacate until the final days at Monogram). Back from "Charlie Chan on Broadway" is Harold Huber as a tough talking city inspector, Moto reduced to being a college instructor on the methodology of murder, embroiled in a new one when a fighter dies in the ring during a championship bout, suspects including his crooked manager (George E. Stone) and victorious opponent (Dick Baldwin). Also present is a notorious bookie (Bernard Nedell), whose most frequent winner is Nick Crowder (Douglas Fowley), betting on a 'hunch' while henchman Joey (Lon Chaney) collects the dough. Ward Bond gets a standout role as the overconfident heavyweight champion, Lynn Bari and Jayne Regan vying for Baldwin's affection. Lorre always delivers solid performances, but with each film there's less judo prowess, a general softening of the character that allowed for greater comic relief in future entries, not a good omen for more serious minded mystery buffs. Lon Chaney was nearing the end of his two year stint doing bit parts at Fox, a couple of lines in this credited role but quite minor.