''Mr. Moto's Gamble'' is the third film in the

Mr. Moto Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the ''Saturday Evening Post'', whi ...

series starring

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

as the title character. It is best remembered for originating as a movie in the

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...

series and being changed to a Mr. Moto entry at the last minute.

Plot

In San Francisco, policeman Lieutenant Riggs (

Harold Huber Harold Huber (born Harold Joseph Huberman, December 5, 1909September 29, 1959) was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television. Early life Huber was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in ...

) takes Mr. Moto, a detective and Lee Chan (

Keye Luke Keye Luke (, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He was known for playing Lee Chan, t ...

), a student, to a prizefight between Bill Steele (Dick Baldwin) and Frank Stanton (Russ Clark), where the winner will take on the champion, Biff Moran ( Ward Bond). However, the fight is fixed and gangster Nick Crowder ( Douglas Fowley) bets big money that Stanton won't make it to the fifth round. He goes down in the fourth and dies shortly afterward. Bookie Clipper McCoy (

Bernard Nedell Bernard Jay Nedell (October 14, 1898 – November 23, 1972) was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1916 and 1972. He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California. He was married to actress Olive Blak ...

) loses a fortune. Moto proves that it was murder and it is revealed that $100,000 was won in bets around the country against Stanton. Moto works with Lt. Riggs to solve the murder as the championship fight looms. Comedy is provided by Horace Wellington (

Maxie Rosenbloom Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 6, 1906 – March 6, 1976) was an American professional boxer, actor, and television personality. Nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie", he was inducted into '' The Ring's'' Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972, the International Je ...

), a kleptomaniac, and Lee Chan. Moto promised to reveal the murderer's identity on the night of the big fight, but the murderer has plans, too, with a concealed gun, to kill Moto.

Cast

as Lee Chan *

Dick Baldwin Richard G. Baldwin (January 9, 1911 – October 28, 1996) was an American film actor. He was married to the actress Cecilia Parker Cecilia Parker (April 26, 1914 – July 25, 1993) was a Canadian-born American film actress. She was best ...

as Bill Steele *

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

as Penny Kendall * Douglas Fowley as Nick Crowder *

Jayne Regan Bobbie Stoffregen (July 28, 1909 – March 19, 2000), known professionally as Jayne Regan, was an American film actress. Her original name was sometimes seen as Bobby Stoffregen. Regan was the daughter of Herman C. and Anna Stoffregen. From ag ...

as Linda Benton *

as Lieutenant Riggs *

as Horace Wellington * John Hamilton as Philip Benton * George E. Stone as Jerry Connors *

as Clipper McCoy * Ward Bond as Biff Moran *

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

as Joey * Paul Fix as Gangster * Adrian Morris as Policeman * Pierre Watkin as District Attorney *

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

as Deputy Sheriff Burt (uncredited) *

Gladden James Gladden James (February 26, 1888 – August 28, 1948) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1911 and 1946. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio and died in Hollywood, California, from leukemia. Family In 1914 he ...

as Cashier (uncredited) *

Lester Dorr Lester Dorr (born Harry Lester Dorr; May 8, 1893 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor who between 1917 and 1975 appeared in well over 500 productions on stage, in feature films and shorts, and in televised plays and weekly series. Even ...

as Reporter (uncredited)

Production

In June 1937, Fox said the first three movies in the Mr Moto series would be ''Think Fast, Mr Moto'', ''Thank You Mr Moto'' and ''Mr Moto's Gamble''. At the same time, the studio announced three Charlie Chan movies starring

Warner Oland Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund; October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American ...

, ''Charlie Chan on Broadway'', ''Charlie Chan at College'' and ''Charlie Chan in Radio City''. In July, Fox said

Rochelle Hudson Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...

film called ''Charlie Chan at Ringside'' starring Warner Oland as Chan and Keye Luke as Number One Son.

was cast on the strength of her performance in '' Thank You, Mr Moto''. The cast would also include

and be directed by Norman Tinling. Filming started in January 1938, but Oland left the film due to illness that month and the production was suspended. In March 1938, Fox announced Oland would return to the role and appear in ''Charlie Chan on the Clipper Ship''. However he never recovered from his illness and died in August 1938. Sidney Toler took over the role of Charlie Chan in the ongoing film series. Fox had spent an estimated $100,000 on the film already when shooting had to be called off. Wanting to salvage something of the situation and reluctant to cast a different actor as Charlie Chan, Sol Wurtzel, head of Fox's B movie unit, had the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

rewritten as a Mr. Moto movie. Two Charlie Chan regulars appeared in the film –

, who plays Charlie Chan's son Lee, and

, who plays Lt Riggs. Lee Chan is Moto's student in his criminology class at San Francisco University. Moto mentions that he has heard from Charlie Chan in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. Moto says he and the head of the homicide squad are mere amateurs compared to Charlie Chan. Filming recommenced in January 1938.

had a small role. Filming finished late March 1938, the fourth movie shot in the Moto series.

Release

The film was released relatively quickly in April 1938. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' liked the fight sequences but called it "an otherwise unexciting film". The next film shot in the series would be ''

Mysterious Mr. Moto ''Mysterious Mr. Moto'', produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox, is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, from an original screenpl ...

''.

Home media

This film, along with ''

Mr. Moto in Danger Island ''Mr. Moto in Danger Island'' is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Herbert I. Leeds and starring Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt and Amanda Duff. It is part of the Mr. Moto series of films. The film was based on the novel '' Murder in Trinid ...

'', '' Mr. Moto's Last Warning'', '' Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation'' and (as a DVD extra) ''

The Return of Mr. Moto ''The Return of Mr. Moto'' (also known as ''Mr Moto and the Persian Oil Case'') is a 1965 British crime film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Henry Silva, Terence Longdon, and Suzanne Lloyd. Plot Mr. Moto is brought in by British intelli ...

'', was released on DVD in 2007 by 20th Century Fox as part of ''The Mr. Moto Collection, Volume Two''.

References

External links

* * * * {{Mr. Moto 1938 films American black-and-white films 1938 crime drama films American mystery drama films 20th Century Fox films 1930s mystery drama films American crime drama films Films directed by James Tinling 1930s English-language films 1930s American films