Michael O'Keefe 20th Century Fox presents its first in a series of eight mysteries based on a character in novel's by J.P. Marquand. Kentaro Moto(Peter Lorre)boards a ship from San Francisco to Shanghai. Moto gives the impression he is involved with international jewel smugglers. Aboard ship is the ship line's owner's son Bob Hitchings(Thomas Beck), who falls heavy for an intriguing White Russian Gloria Danton(Virginia Field). Moto suspects trouble with this shipboard romance. Bob's father also happens to be a legitimate gem dealer and warns him there may be smugglers aboard. Moto gets the idea that Miss Danton may be involved with criminal activity. And wouldn't you know it...there is a known murderer also making this trip. The story gets rolling when the ship docks in Shanghai and Gloria is nowhere to be found. As this crime caper concludes the quiet and compactly built Mr. Moto reveals himself as a special agent of the International Police. At times a bit silly, but overall very interesting. Other players include: Sig Ruman, Murray Kinnell, George Cooper, J. Carrol Naish and John Rogers.

jemmytee Ah, the Thirties. What could be more elegant and enjoyable than an ocean liner to the Orient, with two heartbreakingly beautiful people having a shipboard romance while criminal intrigue sort-of-kind-of goes on around them and they are watched over by a genial Japanese man who may or may not be a good guy? And that's really about all there is to the slapdash plot of the first movie in the Mr. Moto series. Yes, there's something about diamond smuggling and murder, but the main point of this story seems to be to introduce the world to the polite but dangerous gentleman from Japan.And that is something that surprised me about this little movie (it clocks in at under 70 minutes) -- just how dangerous Mr. Moto is. Throughout the first hour he is presented as someone who's more interested in making an allegiance with the smugglers than stopping them. The movie begins with him in disguise looking into the San Francisco end of the smugglers, seeing -- but not reporting -- a murdered body and getting away so he can quietly head for Shanghai. He shows he's a black belt in jiu-jitsu by tossing a few disrespectful drunks around, including the son of the man who owns the ocean liner he's traveling on. And he kills a killer in such a way that no one can find the body...then calmly, albeit a bit sadly, continues his secretive journey. It's not until the last few minutes of the movie that his real purpose and superior intelligence is revealed. To have a Japanese man out-thinking all the sneaky Caucasian minds around him is really quite startling for 1937, considering the casual xenophobia of the time."Think Fast, Mr. Moto" may be an obvious attempt to capitalize on the hugely popular (and usually much better) "Charlie Chan" series of mysteries, but it works very well in its own right. Peter Lorre does a fine job (of course) pretending to be Japanese, but something that I've never understood is why Thomas Beck never got to be big in Hollywood. He has such a natural grace in front of the camera, and he's extremely good-looking. The same holds for Virginia Field, though she did have more of a career than he. The production values are above average for a "B" movie and the pace is relatively brisk. If they'd just done a better job with the script, it could have been on the same level as "Charlie Chan in Shanghai." But as it is, it's still surprisingly fun.

classicsoncall It's nice reading the largely warm and positive comments on this film, fans of the genre like myself seem to seek them out and enjoy them for the entertainment value they offer of a simpler time. I became a Peter Lorre fan with my first viewings of "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon", and was lucky to come by the entire Mr. Moto run over the weekend. 'Think Fast' is the first entry in the 20th Century Fox series, and as first impressions go, I'll be anxious to get through the rest of them.Right off the bat, comparisons to the Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong films of the same era offer a host of differences. The Moto character plainly enjoys getting a lot more physical with his adversaries, and I did a double take when he threw the steward Carson overboard on the cruise ship. This was one Oriental detective not afraid to mix it up Dirty Harry style.Though the ensuing films in the series may prove different, this one didn't seem to be as blatant in terms of racial references. I caught a single 'chop suey' remark, but it didn't come from any of the principal players, but a passenger on board the ship. Another consideration, whereas Charlie Chan was almost always assisted by a Number #1, 2 or 3 son, and Mr. Wong had Detective Street, Peter Lorre's Moto appears to work alone, though interacting with other characters in the story. In this one, Moto befriends the son of the cruise line owner, Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck).Keep an eye on the scenes that focus on the tattoo convincing Moto the costumed character in San Francisco and the steward Carson are the same person. In the earlier scene, the tattoo is shown on the inside of the disguised character's arm as he closes a door. However on board the cruise ship, when Carson reaches up to close a vent, the tattoo is on the top side of his arm below the wrist!In this, Mr. Moto's first film adventure, he successfully uncovers a diamond smuggling operation, with hints for the viewer along the way as to who the villains are. However there was one surprise a la Charlie Chan, when Moto slaps the cuffs on Wilkie (Murray Kinnell) it seems to come out of left field. Not that he couldn't have been involved, it's just that his involvement wasn't telegraphed along the way. Still, it made a lot more sense than a lot of Chan's solutions, which required the detective to explain how he managed to solve the crime.Anyway, I'm on board with Mr. Kentaro Moto, and will be looking forward to the rest of his adventures. Next in the series is "Thank You, Mr. Moto".

JoeKarlosi This was the first by 20th Century-Fox in a series of several films which tried to emulate the success of their own popular Charlie Chan series. THINK FAST, MR. MOTO introduced us to Peter Lorre's portrayal of a seemingly meek and mild mannered Asian man in glasses who secretly becomes a very clever and rough and tumble detective, excelling in martial arts and physical combat. The story involves jewel smuggling aboard a cruise ship, and while it comes off a tad clumsy the film remains brisk and enjoyable mainly because of Lorre's characterization, but also through the use of some very good seasoned professional actors (in this case, Sig Ruman and J. Carrol Naish). **1/2 out of ****