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Rating:  -
As originally created by author John P. Marquand, Moto was an icy and distinctly lethal Japanese agent; 20th Century Fox, which had earlier created the extremely popular Charlie Chan series, toned down his more deadly qualities, cast German actor Peter Lorre in the role, and between 1937 and 1939 made eight films featuring the character. Although they did not really challenge the Chan films, they were popular in their own right, and it was not until American sentiment began to turn against the Japanese that 20th Century Fox dropped the character.
Made in 1939, MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING is the sixth film in the series, and it finds Moto (Lorre) working to foil an attempt to set the English and French against each other by blowing up the French fleet as it enters an English-controlled canal in the middle east. Although the film has a slow start, it is graced with a gifted cast that includes George Sanders, John Carradine, and Ricardo Cortez, and it soon comes up a snappy pace and proves unexpectedly watchable.
Over the years the Chan films have drawn considerable condemnation from Chinese Americans due to the fact that Chan was never played by an Asian actor; somewhat curiously, the Moto films have escaped the same degree of politically-correct derrision. This is all the more odd because Lorre is even less of Japanse than Oland and Toler were Chinese. Even so, Lorre is always interesting to watch, and his unexpected physicality (Moto is a master of judo) drives the film remarkably well.
MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING is the only film in the series presently in public domain, a circumstance that seems more accidental than intentional. The Alpha release is very much in line with that: the picture is shaky, particularly in the opening segments, and the sound is quite weak. Fans of the series would do better to go with the series editions now in release through 20th Century Fox--but no matter which copy you lay hands on, you'll find the film an enjoyable bit of flyweight fun. Recommended to fans of 1930s mysteries, thrillers, and espionage movies.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Dedicated to the negative voter, who can hardly wait for me to put another review so he can give it an unhelpful vote.
Rating:  -
Tepid entry in the collection. Lorre's Moto a bit of a bore.
Rating:  -
MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING (1939) is an interesting and entertaining final entry in the Moto series that starred Austrian- born actor Peter Lorre as the Japanese super sleuth. LAST WARNING takes place in Port Said, Egypt. A scrum of scoundrels are scheming to surreptitiously blow up Allied battle ships and foment distrust between France and England.
Chief scoundrel being Ricardo Cortez, here playing a foreign agent masquerading as a ventriloquist - Fabian the Great & Alf is the name of his act. Rounding out the cast is a number of skilled Fox contracts players - John Carradine, Virginia Fields, and George Sanders being among the more recognizable names.
This Alpha discount dvd of a public domain movie is pretty chopped up. The black and white images are murky, there are a number of scratches on the print, and for some odd reason the opening title sequence is missing. It's a chore to watch a film that's this physically beat up.
To the best of my knowledge, LAST WARNING is the only Mr. Moto title in the public domain, so this is the only chance most of us will have to catch the Moto fever. Even though Lorre's Moto is an intelligent character, Moto's usually undercover, disguised behind thick glasses and a sing-song, Good evening, preeze, persona. I doubt the title-holder of the other five movies featuring such a politically incorrect character will be releasing them anytime soon.
Too bad. This one was fun and had a lot going for it, even going so far as to include a couple of underwater scenes with Moto fighting a helmeted diver in the murky depths under a pier. A fun movie.
Rating:  -
This is a good entry in the Mr. Moto canon, which comprises 8 films made between 1937-39. It is not my favorite, however--Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, with excellent performances by Lionel Atwill and Joseph Schildkraut, is the best of those I've seen. However, they have been very hard to find, and I've only seen about half of them. Lorre is wonderful as the mysterious Mr. Moto, and the films are great fun and skilfully made, with a host of terrific character actors--in addition to Atwill and Schildkraut, Leon Ames, Jean Hersholt, Keye Luke, John Carradine, George Sanders, Virginia Field, Ricardo Cortez, Maxie Rosenbloom, and many others all turn in outstanding period performances. It is a real shame that more are not being made available--I know that art houses sometimes stage special showings, and I keep hoping that someone will release all eight on DVD. PLEASE!
Rating: -
The name of the uncredited Asian actor who plays the fake Mr. Moto is Teru Shimada.
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