Mr. Wong Movies

This is a little embarrassing. A couple times I have been randomly picking films out of my 50 Horror Movies box set (which is a medley of public domain art and trash) and come across a “Mr. Wong, Detective” film. Something about my undying love for mysteries, the 30s, and utter garbage comes together for me in these films. I have no illusions that they are good, but they do keep me interested. And if I had to pick an aspect of casual racism, I'd pick these films over anything with a caricatured black person.

Bela Lugosi's Mr. Wong fell victim to a lot of horrible things. Firstly, he was the bad guy, which pretty much gave the guys over at Monogram Pictures the liberty to make him as despicable as they wanted. He speaks in halted English and has a ridiculous underground lair. Not even his wife or daughter like him. However, Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong is a highly respected private detective. He is most often called in when the police are dealing with a crime where they need information from Chinatown, and he is more likely to get it than they. Mr. Wong always solves the crimes the police assume to be open and shut. He performs scientific analysis and picks up clues they overlook. As far as a stereotype goes, Wong doesn't really fulfill any racial caricatures. Now, this does not entirely redeem these movies, but they are an interesting relic that is decent entertainment as a mystery.

The best one I've seen so far is The Fatal Hour. The movie starts when the main cop, Captain Street, gets a phone call that his long-time friend has been killed while working undercover. The tone is somber, which removes a lot of the overblown “comedy” banter from the picture. People look at each other with sad understanding and Wong comes in mostly to console his friend. The characters deal with much heavier issues than normal, such as who will tell the officer's wife he has been killed. As the film progresses, solving the crime comes to the forefront over the personal issues, but it never comes back to the level of annoying chatter of the other films.

I would certainly not go so far as to recommend these pictures, but maybe I feel it should be noted that they are not the racist exploitation films that it would be easy to assume they are. In fact, I always find it a little comforting that Mr. Wong is the most respectable and well liked guy in the movie. People are comforted by his presence and cherish his friendship. He is intelligent without being cartoonishly wise or enigmatic, and he is capable without using any “Oriental secrets”. He's a down to earth kind of guy, heads above the rest of the San Francisco police force.

Recommendations:
The Fatal Hour, if you absolutely must

Le Corbeau

Le Corbeau
*****/5
Henri-Georges Clouzot

The French continue to casually make beautiful films with important social messages. I guess not "continue" since this film is from the '40s, but "consistently".

The story is of an anonymous informant who sends exposing letters to every person in a small town. The infrastructure and relationships crumble as treachery and secrets come to light. The mystery of "Who is 'Le Corbeau'?" is not nearly as thrilling as the human drama, which explores how easily people can be swayed to keep themselves safe. It was made as a response to the occupation of France, and therefore the comments are rather subtle, but not easy to miss.

I first thought of recommending The Exterminating Angel, which is one of my favorite films ever, but I'm not sure if that is the strongest connection I can make. Apparently, Godard's Weekend was inspired by The Exterminating Angel, so maybe I'll save the recommendation for that.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

The Passion of Joan of Arc
****/5
Carl Theodor Dreyer

I feel like Dreyer should have waited like 2 years to make this movie. It was really dialogue heavy, which is not necessarily a problem itself. But the fact that the actor's performances were interrupted by long intertitles was somewhat of a detriment to their intense performances. Had this picture been in sound, it could have been distracting to actually hear their words, though.

Even so, this movie is intense. It is an unyeilding portrait of suffering, specifically religious suffering, which is the most extreme.

As far as that goes, though, I have to admit, I liked Day of Wrath a whole lot better. The scenes of religious persecution obviously owe a lot to Joan of Arc, but the themes of suffering, religiosity, and human urges are better expresseed, I feel. There is also the advantage of Day of Wrath telling a story you don't know the end to.

Dreyer's trademark spare sets, atmospheric lighting, and haunting imagery are pervasive. He is one of my favorite filmmakers and consistently succeeds to bring chilling, deep stories to the screen.

Recommendations:
Day of Wrath

The American Astronaut

This movie would be the perfect double feature with Forbidden Zone. It was described to me as “a space-opera western” and that's just about how it is. A renegade spacer tries to collect a reward through a series of very silly trades. My only complaint was the end seemed a little loose. I would have gladly watched another hour of this movie if they wanted to wrap it up better. Still, that was not enough to make me dislike it in any way. Score!

Recommendations:
Forbidden Zone