WALL STREET COWBOY

WALL STREET COWBOY (1939). Director: Joseph Kane.

Roy Rogers, playing himself in this "modern" western, never actually gets to Wall Street, so banish those images of the cowboy walking into the boardroom and busting ass. Instead Roy learns that there's gold on his property, and there are nefarious forces who want to acquire the land and cheat him out of it. Gabby Hayes -- as "Gabby," naturally -- is along for the ride as Rogers' pal, and we've got the perennial Pierre Watkin as the no-nonsense, blustering John Hammond, who always seems ready to be furious with Roy and his pals until his daughter, Peggy (Ann Baldwin), intercedes. Craig Reynolds [The Perils of Pauline] plays a lawyer-type helping the bad guys who gets socked by Roy, Adrian Morris [Fighting Marines] is another creep, and Louisiana Lou, a singer in a bar, is played by, well, Louisiana Lou. Roy [Son of Paleface] substitutes for a downed jockey at one point and rides in a steeple race.

Verdict: About standard Roy Rogers movie. **.

THE FATAL HOUR

Hands up! Grant Withers and Boris Karloff

THE FATAL HOUR (1940). Director: William Nigh.

Police captain Bill Street (Grant Withers) is disheartened to learn that old friend and fellow cop Dan O'Grady has been murdered and his body dumped in the river. Criminologist James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff) thinks there's little he can do as the case seemingly has no connection with the Chinese-American community, until Street reminds him that many Chinese objects have been smuggled; O'Grady himself was investigating a smuggling racket. The people the two men investigate include dealer Frank Belden (Hooper Atchley); his son (Craig Reynolds of Romance on the Run), who is in love with adventuress Tanya (Lita Chevret); radio actor Griswold (Jason Robards Sr.); financier Forbes (Charles Trowbridge of Mysterious Dr. Satan); and crooked club owner "Hardway" Lockett (Frank Puglia of The Boogie Man Will Get You), who owns the Club Neptune. Street has a love-hate thing going with reporter Roberta Logan (Marjorie Reynolds). The actors, especially Karloff, are swell, and Tristram Coffin has a small role as a desk clerk in a hotel. The Fatal Hour has a fairly clever murder scheme but the movie is not very memorable. One of the characters is inexplicably murdered in police headquarters right outside Street's office.

Verdict: Pleasant time-passer but little else. **.

THE MYSTERY OF MR. WONG

A well-composed cast shot from "Mr. Wong"

THE MYSTERY OF MR. WONG (1939). Director: William Nigh.

"I confess I'm completely at a loss."

James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff) is invited to the home of Brendan Edwards (Morgan Wallace), who shows him the fabulous and cursed sapphire known as the Eye of the Daughter of the Moon. Not much later, Edwards participates in a parlor sketch [during a Charades-like game called "Indications"] in which he gets shot by a jealous husband, but in a plot twist used in other films, Edwards is really killed. At first there seem to be real bullets in the gun, but this is just the first of a number of interesting twists in the movie. Suspects include his wife, Valerie (Dorothy Tree of City in Darkness); his secretary Harrison (Craig Reynolds of Romance on the Run); the musician Strogonoff (Ivan Lebedeff); and the maid, Drina (Lotus Long); among others. Wong is assisted by his old associate Professor Janney (Holmes Herbert of Daughter of the Dragon) as well as Captain Street (Grant Withers). Karloff is excellent, as usual, there's a good wind-up, and the picture is quite entertaining.

Verdict: Snappy Mr. Wong mystery. ***.

ROMANCE ON THE RUN

Edward Brophy and Donald Woods

ROMANCE ON THE RUN (1938). Director: Gus Meins.

When the famous "Czarina's Tears" necklace is stolen, insurance man Ridgeway (Andrew Tombes) is horrified to discover that his secretary, Dale (Patricia Ellis), renewed the policy while he was in Boston. Ridgeway hastily calls in private eye Barry Drake (Donald Woods) to get back the necklace for $10,000. Drake gets the necklace and takes the money, but it turns out that the necklace is a phony. So Dale rushes after him and his valet Whitey (Edward Brophy) even as they rush after the thieves, Lily (Grace Bradley) and Charlie (Craig Reynolds). The "romance" of the title is that Barry and Dale are supposedly falling in love after initial mutual hostility, but we see precious little evidence of this. Woods can handle this kind of light material with aplomb, but this material isn't just light, it's paper-thin, and an interesting enough premise is completely wasted. William Demarest plays a cop who's also looking for the necklace. Director Gus Meins' best-known film is Laurel and Hardy's wonderful Babes in Toyland. Ellis isn't bad; she made only three more pictures after this, including Block-Heads, also with Laurel and Hardy. Woods did several "Mexican Spitfire" films with Lupe Velez, and starred on television as Craig Kennedy, Criminologist.

Verdict: A couple of minor titters and little more, but the cast is game enough. **.