The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)
Directed by William Nigh and released on March 8, 1939, The Mystery of Mr. Wong is a classic American Poverty Row detective whodunit produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures. Starring screen icon Boris Karloff alongside Grant Withers, Dorothy Tree, and Holmes Herbert, this taut 68-minute mystery serves as the second entry in Monogram’s popular six-film Mr. Wong series, blending stolen ancient gems, parlor-room murder, and sharp deductive reasoning.
Plot Overview
Wealthy gem collector Brandon Edwards (Morgan Wallace) comes into possession of the priceless “Eye of the Daughter of the Moon,” a legendary, curse-laden sapphire stolen from a Chinese temple. Paranoid that his life is in grave danger, Edwards seeks counsel from renowned Asian-American detective James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff), confiding that a mysterious secret society will stop at nothing to reclaim the sacred stone. Before Mr. Wong can intervene, Edwards hosts a high-society parlor game party at his mansion, during which the lights suddenly vanish—and a fatal gunshot rings out in the pitch darkness.
When the lights flick back on, Edwards is slumped over dead in his chair, and the famous sapphire has vanished without a trace. Police Captain Bill Street (Grant Withers) arrives on the scene and promptly arrests Edwards’ disgruntled butler, considering the murder an open-and-shut case. However, Mr. Wong recognizes a much more intricate conspiracy at play among the party’s eccentric guests—ranging from a desperate rival collector to an unfaithful wife and an international smuggler. Through methodical forensic examination and psychological cunning, Mr. Wong sets a clever trap to expose the real killer and recover the stolen gem.
Cast
- Boris Karloff as James Lee Wong (Mr. Wong)
- Grant Withers as Captain Bill Street
- Dorothy Tree as Valerie Edwards
- Holmes Herbert as Ed Harrison
- Craig Reynolds as Peter Harrison
- Ivan Lebedeff as Michael Luvalle
- Lotus Long as Drina (Housekeeper)
- Morgan Wallace as Brandon Edwards
- Chester Gan as Sing (The Cook)
Production Notes & Trivia
- Franchise Momentum: Released just five months after Mr. Wong, Detective (1938), The Mystery of Mr. Wong capitalized on the massive commercial success of Monogram’s flagship mystery franchise, solidifying Karloff’s post-Frankenstein versatility as a cerebral detective.
- Literary Roots: The character of Mr. Wong was created by author Hugh Wiley in a series of popular short stories for Collier’s Weekly. Screenwriter Scott Darling adapted Wiley’s characters for Monogram’s cinematic run.
- Lotus Long’s Return: Actress Lotus Long, an American-born performer of Japanese and Hawaiian heritage who frequently appeared in classic Hollywood Asian roles, played Drina in this film and later co-starred in Phantom of Chinatown (1940).
- Speedy Poverty Row Shoot: Typical of Monogram Pictures’ ultra-efficient production pipeline, the entire movie was filmed on recycled studio sets in less than two weeks under the veteran direction of William Nigh.
