"Mr. Moto's Gamble"

Tired once again cause I didn't get much sleep last night, and I can't sleep in on Tuesdays because Pearl's cleaning lady gets here early. So, if I nod off in the middle of the blog, just give me a little nudge and I'll continue.

I did watch a movie this evening : "Mr. Moto's Gamble" (1938), starring Peter Lorre as the ingenious criminologist. If you remember back to early 2017, I had discovered a lot of Charlie Chan movies in the Library database, and I had ordered and watched them. I got hooked, because I loved the puzzle every movie presented, and I loved Chan's methods of solving the puzzles. The supporting casts were excellent, Sidney Toler was great as Charlie Chan, and the format was concise. The movies were all around 72 minutes, and because you know all about The Era Of Great Screenwriting due to my endless harping on the subject, you know that every movie, though brief, featured a Ton Of Story and character.

Hollywood does what Hollywood does best, and in those days there was a Hollywood, and man, was it great.

The Charlie Chan movies are pure entertainment of course, and pure fun, and so was my first Mr. Moto film. I think Moto was a spin-off from Chan because Charlie Chan's famous "Number One Son" (Key Luke) was in "Mr. Moto's Gamble", playing a student in Moto's criminology class at an unnamed university. Moto becomes involved in a homicide investigation when a boxer dies after a heavily promoted match that attracted  a lot of bookies and betting action.

Following the Charlie Chan formula, Moto has proteges (his students) that want to help solve the crime, and - as in the Chan films - "Number One Son" is always eager to be center stage.

There are love interests (Lynn Bari, Jane Regan), and boxers and hoodlums. As with all short format films from that era, the scenes are brief and the dialogue rapid and energetic, with the exception of Mr. Moto's comparatively somnolent observations.

Like Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto is Asian (Chan is Chinese, Moto Japanese), and so - in 1930s Hollywood lore - they are automatically possessed of Great Wisdom. It isn't racism, and it really isn't even caricature because it's played straight. What it is, is a Hollywood promotion of respect for what was considered Ancient Knowledge from Far East societies that had only a half century earlier (1890s) still been closed off to the West. Some Chinese had emigrated to California, however, and some Japanese. And so the Great Asian Mystery was promoted via detective stories, and they did it very well.

Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto is the main attraction here. As awful a character as he portrayed in "M", his most famous role, he is just as great in an opposing role as a mild mannered Supreme Crime Solver who uses Ju Jitsu on bad guys.

Lorre was known for playing creeps, and it is great to see him play a good guy. This is what I said about Michael Shannon after seeing "Shape Of Water", that it would be nice to see him in a positive role, and there are many others whose versatility should be utilised.

I have already ordered me two more "Mr. Moto" movies from the Libe, and after I watch those I will order the other ones they have, four more I think.

I also have sent my first FOIA letter to the CIA regarding information on a deceased person, as I had mentioned I would be doing a few weeks ago. The only way you can request info on another person, without their consent, is if they are deceased. So I began with my Dad, for reasons also mentioned weeks ago. I will let you know of the response when I receive it, and at some point thereafter we will proceed with more requests about other persons.

See you in the morn.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)