gavin6942 Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) has himself imprisoned on Devil's Island so he can help his cellmate (Leon Ames) escape and thereby get the goods on a gang of international killers.Trying to determine where the racism begins, ends and is even refuted in the Mr. Moto pictures is a fun game. Certainly, Moto himself can be thought of as a racist invention because of his portrayal by white man. But then, he is portrayed as clever and likable, so it is not as though the creators meant to insult the Japanese.Further, the film actually shows men acting racist and presents them in a poor light. And a subtle jab is given to racism when Moto is able to easily get through a gate by merely being a house servant. Who is foolish here? On top of all this, we have a fairly decent detective story, a jail break, and a mighty impressive bar fight.

Michael O'Keefe This is the fifth installment of this mystery series created by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist J.P. Marquard. Considered by some as the poor man's Charlie Chan, but still interesting and enjoyable. The mild mannered Mr. Moto(Peter Lorre)agrees to help Scotland Yard by using a Devil's Island inmate's disguise to track down a gang of ruthless assassins. Moto must help his cell mate(Leon Ames)escape in order to get the low down on his unlawful friends. The Japanese sleuth always seems to complete his assignments relying on his wits and martial arts skills. Players include: Mary Maguire, Harold Huber, John Roberts and Henry Wilcoxon.

MartinHafer In the late 1930s, eight Mr. Moto films were made of varying styles. In some (the best ones if you ask me), Moto was a rather amoral character and often killed bad guys instead of arresting them. In the lesser films, Moto was almost like a clone of Charlie Chan--very sedentary and the sort of guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, this one is of the former type where Moto is a good guy but is more than willing to rub out his enemies to save the government the trouble of prosecuting them! What a guy, that Moto! The film begins with Moto escaping with a prisoner from Devil's Island (Leon Ames). It seems that Moto is so intent on infiltrating a gang of international assassins that he went to a heck of a lot of trouble to get himself locked up, befriending one of the founding members of the group and then helping him escape! Back in London, Moto pretends to be an ignorant and VERY stereotypical Japanese houseboy for Ames. Many, I'm sure, will be annoyed or shocked with Peter Lorre's performance in this dual role, as the houseboy (and escaped prisoner) is 100% stereotype--complete with phrases such as "so solly"! Uggh. Well, while I don't condone this, this was the 1930s and have learned to ignore these scenes--otherwise all the Moto films will make you go crazy! Moto's job is not just to discover who's the head of this mob and capture the entire gang, but he must also somehow protect a Czechoslovakian guy who is really, really stupid. First, he sounded about as Czechoslovakian as Winston Churchill. Second, he never takes the assassins' threats very seriously--even when they showed they really meant business. Even after they kill one of his friends right after they promise to demonstrate their power, this idiot insists he needs no help from Moto or the police!! Can anyone be that stupid? Apparently, in a B-film the answer is "yes".So far, this film is about average for a Moto film. However, towards the end it really picks up its pace and delivers a very shocking finale that only Moto could engineer. See it for yourself and see what I mean. Oh, that Moto! Overall, a bit better than average for the series despite having a really dumb character (if I were Moto, I would have let him die) and Lorre's rather obnoxious impersonation of a brain-dead Japanese servant.

ccthemovieman-1 This was my first look ever at Peter Lorre's "Mr. Moto" character, and I couldn't help but compare and contrast him to the famous "Charlie Chan" of a similar period. "Mr. Moto" is charming but isn't the comedian or the proverb-quoting Chan. I would have to watch a few more Moto movies before I could really compare the two fairly, as for quality and entertainment value, but what I saw in this film impressed me. My guess is that both of them are winners. I'm anxious to watch another Mr. Motor adventure, after seeing this.I think both characters did a lot - or at least I hope they did - to put Asians in a favorable light. Hey, Chan and Moto are the heroes in their movies, and the smart and courageous guys who solve the murders. These series had to be a boost to the Asian-American community.In this story, Moto pretends to be a fugitive from Devil's Island, one of two escapees who wind up in London. That was the idea all along for Our Man as he hoped his fellow man-of- flight, "Paul Brissac" would lead to him to bigger fish in the criminal world, specifically "The League of Assassins." Just when I thought this film was starting to get a tiny bit slow, it picked up nicely and had very good last 20-some minutes with a suspenseful ending. The actions were hokey but so what? The film is 70 years old so I don't expect state-of-the-art special-effects. In spots, it was so corny it made it fun. I was shocked how physical little Mr. Moto was, throwing bodies around like a WWF bruiser!Two quality actors, in addition to Lorre, had key roles in here: Leon Ames ("Brissac") and Henry Wilcoxon ("Darvak"). There's some good direction in here, too, by Norman Foster, who not only directed some Mr. Moto films, but a few Charlie Chan movies, too. He also married Claudette Colbert.In addition, the restoration job on the DVD transfer makes this a good-looking film.