STAGE STRUCK (1948)

Kane Richmond and Audrey Long

STAGE STRUCK (1948). Director: William  Nigh.

Benny Nordick (John Gallaudet of Docks of New Orleans) who runs a night club and a acting school racket, murders hopeful Helen Howard (Wanda McKay) because she knows too much about his sleazy operation. Nick Mantee (Kane Richmond) helps Nordick cover up the crime and becomes his partner. Ignoring the advice of Lt. Williams (Conrad Nagel of All That Heaven Allows) and his assistant Sgt. Ramey (Ralph Byrd), Helen's sister Nancy (Audrey Long)  takes it upon herself to go undercover at Nordick's school. Dodging persistent passes from Mantee and suspicious glances from Nordick, she tries to find out what she can. Stage Struck is a passable Monogram entry with an interesting cast, most of whom were down on their luck. Lt. Williams' reason for being tough with Helen after she learns of her sister's murder makes no sense, and his piousness gets a little tiresome as well. The leads are fine in this cheap production, and Anthony Warde, Pamela Drake and Evelyn Brent [Holt of the Secret Service] have smaller roles and are equally effective. I've no doubt that acting and modeling schools that are more interested in taking gullible people's money than helping their careers still exist in every major city. Richmond and Byrd, of course, were major serial heroes. Richmond amassed over 100 credits, but this was his last film; he retired from movies to work in the fashion industry. Byrd did a few more films and died rather young in 1952.

Verdict: Distinctive Nagel, Byrd and Richmond help put this over. **.

DOOMED TO DIE

Henry Brandon, Catherine Craig, William Stelling

DOOMED TO DIE (1940). Director: William Nigh.

Cyrus Wentworth (Melvin Lang) is bitterly opposed to his daughter Cynthia's (Catherine Craig) marriage to Dick Fleming (William Stelling) because he is the son of his shipping rival, Paul Fleming (Guy Usher). Paul is hoping to consolidate both firms, especially after there's an accident at sea which claims many lives. Naturally the Flemings are the top suspects when Cyrus is murdered, but Cynthia sticks by her fiance. Of course Captain Street (Grant Withers) is convinced Dick is guilty, but reporter "Bobbi" Logan (Marjorie Reynolds) gets James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff) on the case. Other characters embroiled in the mystery include Matthews (Wilbur Mack), who works for Wentworth; attorney Victor Martin (Henry Brandon); and insurance adjuster Baldwin (Tristram Coffin). Doomed to Die is not awful and moves fast, but it's just blah; it's a series that ran out of gas early on. One of the problems is that the blustery character of Captain Street and his prickly relationship with Bobbi wore thin. The considerable talents of Henry Brandon [Captain Sindbad] are completely wasted in this movie. This was the penultimate Mr. Wong movie, and the last to star Boris Karloff. Keye Luke replaced him for Phantom of Chinatown. Catherine Craig is much better in this than she was in Spy Train.

Verdict: One last gasp for Karloff's Mr. Wong. **.

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. ***.

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG

Lugosi surveys the scene as Wong

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1934). Director: William Nigh.

"Wong has dared many things -- he will continue to dare!"

According to legend, when Confucius was on his deathbed he gave twelve special coins to his friends. Whichever man collects all twelve coins will gain great power. A series of murders of "Chinamen" in Chinatown have police convinced that they are victims of Tong wars, but reporter Jason Barton (Wallace Ford) isn't so sure. Wong (Bela Lugosi) is a mysterious figure who runs about in disguise, and is behind more than one kidnapping; he even has a torture chamber hidden in his house. This all sounds like it might be fun but that's far from the case. Boris Karloff was given the entertaining and memorable The Mask of Fu Manchu to star in, but poor Bela Lugosi was handed this piece of crap for his "yellow peril/Oriental fiend" undertaking. [This is not to be confused with Karloff's "Mr. Wong" series.] There is far too much of Barton and a gal pal, Peg (Arline Judge) bantering and cracking wise and far too little atmosphere and mystery. The film runs a little over an hour but seems interminable at times. Attitudes toward the Chinese are horribly condescending and racist -- the dead "Chinamen" aren't even looked upon as particularly human --  and we've even got the fat, dumb Irish cop stereotype (Robert Emmett O'Connor) to boot. You can overlook these politically incorrect elements in old movies when they're entertaining, but when they're like The Mysterious Mr. Wong they just seem more glaring. Lugosi is fine, and aside from a few Oriental extras, is the only worthwhile thing in the movie.

Verdict: Another crappy movie that wastes the considerable talents of Bela Lugosi. *.

MYSTERY LINER

MYSTERY LINER (1934) Director: William Nigh. 

A dull, flat Monogram cheapie set on an ocean liner in which a device called an "S 505" is being tested and people are either strangled or have their necks broken with ropes. Zeffie Tilbury plays a very unpleasant old lady who treats her grandson, Edgar (Jerry Stewart), the way you shouldn't treat a dog. Noah Beery is Captain Holling; Edwin Maxwell is Major Pope; and Gustav von Seyffertitz is the sinister Von Kessling with a secret. 62 minutes seems like two hours, and nothing remotely interesting ever seems to happen, despite a couple of murders. Inspired by an Edgar Wallace story that had to be immeasurably better. 

Verdict: Like watching paint dry. 1/2 *.

ALLOTMENT WIVES

ALLOTMENT WIVES (1945). Director: William Nigh.

In another unsympathetic role in a Monogram picture, Kay Francis plays Sheila Seymour, who runs a racket in which women marry several G.I.s a piece in order to get their money. Paul Kelly is Major Peter Martin, who is investigating the racket, and Otto Kruger is Francis' partner and lover, Whitey. Sheila has an adversary in Gladys Smith (Gertrude Michael), who knew her years ago before she became a society dame and blackmails her, even going so far as to inveigle Sheila's daughter Connie (Teala Loring) into joining her own allotment racket. Francis and the others give okay performances, but a movie that should have been fun is kind of dull and disappointing. Joan Crawford could have made a lot more of the Sheila Seymour role.

Verdict: Kay at poverty row. *1/2.

DIVORCE

DIVORCE (1945) Director: William Nigh.

Diane Carter (Kay Francis), an adventuress who has married and divorced four wealthy men, returns to her home town and discovers that her ex-beau Bob Phillips (Bruce Cabot) is happily married and has two adorable little boys. Diane and Bob go into business together, and it turns out that Diane is better at helping him realize his ambitions than his pretty wife Martha (Helen Mack) is. Martha soon realizes that she is right to be suspicious of their relationship.... This was one of three films Francis did for Monogram studios, the last of her career, and it's not very memorable. She gives a good performance but plays a character so unlikable that she practically sneers in Martha's face when Bob tells her he's in love with her, Diane. This is the kind of movie that wants us to believe it's a happy ending if the husband goes back to the wife, even though Bob not only shows bad taste in choosing Diane over Martha, but neglects his two little boys and proves all around a stinker. Cabot is fine as the heel of a husband, and Helen Mack is lovely as Martha. Despite some good dialogue, the script is superficial and the characters one-dimensional.

Verdict: Watchable for Kay but no great shakes. **.

MR. WU (1927)

MR. WU (1927). Director: William Nigh.

Lon Chaney is excellent in this handsomely produced silent film in which he essays elderly Grandfather Wu, and then his grandson, Mandarin Wu, as an adult. Mandarin Wu has a daughter Nang Ping (Rene Adoree) who falls in love with the Caucasian Basil Gregory (Ralph Forbes), with tragic results. If there's any problem with Mr. Wu is that what begins as a credible enough and reasonably compelling drama turns into a kind of Fu Manchu variation, with the script turning Wu into the evil, sadistic stereotype of the "Yellow Peril" variety. It's one thing to adhere to traditions, but Wu is a complete fanatic, which the film never really makes clear. Still, even these scenes, bolstered by the performance of Louise Dresser as Basil's mother, hold the attention and are well-done for what they are. John Arnold's cinematography is of a high order. Some shots, consisting of several elements, are so strikingly composed that they almost achieve a 3D effect. Anna May Wong has a small role as Nang Ping's attendant and friend, Loo Song. This was seen accompanied by an excellent original score by Marie Newman.

Verdict: Definitely worth a look, but watch out for Wu. **1/2.

BLACK DRAGONS

BLACK DRAGONS (1941). Director: William Nigh.

Bela Lugosi is, as usual, superior to his material in this movie but Black Dragons is not as awful as some critics may lead you to believe. Lugosi shows up at the tail end of a party of powerful men, and takes immediate mind control of the head of the household, who is hiding a sinister secret. This man never leaves his bedroom, instead giving out orders [actually Lugosi is giving the orders] to members of his staff. He doesn't even come out to see his pretty niece when she shows up out of the blue. One by one Lugosi begins to kill off the man's associates, leaving a small Japanese dagger in their hands to mark the occasion. A young inspector (Clayton Moore of Lone Ranger TV fame) and an undercover lady agent pretending to be the suspicious niece (Joan Barclay) team up informally to try to get to the bottom of things. Why is Lugosi murdering these individuals? The answer is very clever and original but won't be revealed here. Black Dragons is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but it holds the attention, and Lugosi's commanding presence and interesting delivery is a definite asset. Click here to read a review of a major biography of Bela Lugosi:

Verdict: Has its moments. **1/2.