James Lee Wong, known simply as Mr. Wong, is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Hugh Wiley (1884–1968). Mr. Wong appeared in twenty magazine stories and a

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

of six, the first five of which starred English actor

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

as Wong, the last with Chinese-American actor

Keye Luke Keye Luke (; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American actor, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He portrayed Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 ...

in the role, the first Asian lead.

Description

In his story "No Witnesses", Wiley describes Mr. Wong as six feet tall, educated at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and "with the face of a foreign devil-a Yankee". In the stories, he is an agent of the

United States Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

and lives in San Francisco.

Short stories

Films

The Mr. Wong character was featured in a series of films for

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

. The first five starred

and were directed by

William Nigh William Nigh, born Emil Kreuske (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955), was an American film Film director, director, screenwriter, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye". Biography Nig ...

. All the films co-starred

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959), known professionally as Grant Withers, was an American film actor. He began working in motion pictures during the last years of the silent era. Withers moved into sound films, ...

as Wong's friend, Police Captain Street. Karloff also played the Chinese character Dr. Fu Manchu in ''

The Mask of Fu Manchu ''The Mask of Fu Manchu'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code film directed by Charles Brabin. Written by Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf and John Willard (playwright), John Willard, it was based on the List of works by Sax Rohmer, 1 ...

'' (1932) and General Wu Yen Fang, in ''

West of Shanghai ''West of Shanghai'' is a 1937 American adventure film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff as a Chinese warlord. It is based on the 1920 Porter Emerson Browne play '' The Bad Man''. Three other films, all titled ''The Bad Man'', ...

'' (1937), just prior to the first Mr. Wong. The sixth film featured Chinese-American actor

in the title role, the first time an American sound film used an Asian actor to play a lead Asian detective (although Karloff had some Indian ancestry). Luke had formerly played one of

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, 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 ...

's sons in the Chan mysteries and Kato in ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell (director), James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas i ...

'' 1939 serial. In the

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

of the Mr. Wong series, the young "Jimmy Wong" (Luke) was introduced to Police Captain Street, whom Karloff's character worked with in the previous films. A 1940 article, ''Keye Luke Sleuths on his Own'', in the ''Hollywood Citizen News'', announced that Luke had been signed for four Mr. Wong pictures a year. However, due to Karloff's departure, exhibitors lost interest and the series ended.p.82 Everson, William K. ''The Detective in Film'' Citadel Press, 1972

Comics

From 1939 to 1940 a comic of the film ''The Mystery of Mr Wong'' appeared in four consecutive issues of ''Popular Comics'' (Dell, issues 38–41, 1939–40).

References

External links