lovely little bits of fluff

Hey, so I'm the follow-up post, more than four years later! I have seen all of the Mr. Wong series, having taped them off TV in the mid-1980's. At the time (I was a teenager), I watched them over and over again. I liked the sedate and classy Mr. Wong, who never failed to solve crimes amidst the obnoxious Capt. Street and the inevitable den of classily dressed criminals. YR

I found these movies on Netflix, because they were similar to the Charlie Chan movies [and I don't know how I found those...] I like them, too, and frequently put them on, either to watch or just enjoy the dialogue in the background. After seeing Boris Karloff in so many horror films, it's fun to see him do something so different -- and do it well, too. I actually prefer the other James Lee Wong movies, for the better chemistry between Det. Street and the journalist.

I am a fan of the Mr Wong movies. I think they only made the five. At least that is the number that I have on dvd. Two of the films haven't got Mr Wong in the title. So make sure that you get 'The Fatal Hour' and 'Doomed To Die' if you want all five Boris Karloff Mr Wong movies.

I found myself watching this movie over and over again, as you say ... sort of like eating comfort food. I loved discovering Boris playing against the Frankenstein's monster type for which I guess he is best known.

I actually have the following collection: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TV-Classics-The-Worlds-Most-Famous-Detectives-Sherlock-Holmes-etc-4-DVD-Set-/371466433035 Where I got it or why I don't remember, but everything seemed lovely, as you say, and new when rewatched after a hiatus of some years and my first discovery was of Boris in a Dick Tracy movie in which he played the complete opposite of Mr. Wong ... and not so like Frankenstein's monster, either. Since, as a kid, I never found the Karloff and Lugosi horror films all that scary, I never watched them enough to realize Karloff has a wonderful British accent, as, again, you say. I find his Wong so comforting.

Grant Withers is a revelation, too. I feel he loved his art so much he had a complete characterization of Street even though this was even then perhaps sort of a B movie. Maxine Jennings was a doll. The whole ensemble played so well together. Someone here mentions how Wong always suavely foils criminals who are elegantly dressed ... that is fun. Although they couldn't help looking rather cheap in this one ... again, kudos to the acting and directing.

I also loved all the actors' business. Really good stuff, and not just another movie the babysitter had on when watching Bill Kennedy in Detroit when I was home sick from school. Although there were some dandies on there.