Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation(1939)

NR
07/07/1939 (US)Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller1h 5m
6.6

"ONLY MOTO WOULD CALL IT A VACATION! In an ancient, foreboding tomb alive with death he embarks on his strangest crime adventure!"

Overview

Mr. Moto is in Egypt to thwart a criminal mastermind determined to steal the priceless crown of the Queen of Sheba. When the precious treasure is transported to America, Mr. Moto must race against time to unmask the cunning thief who will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get what he wants.

Norman Foster

Director

Philip MacDonald

Screenplay

Norman Foster

Screenplay

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Part of the Mr. Moto Collection

Collection of movies featuring 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, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death of Charlie Chan's creator Earl Derr Biggers. In various other media, Mr. Moto has been portrayed as an international law enforcement agent. These include eight motion pictures starring Peter Lorre between 1937 and 1939, 23 radio shows starring James Monk broadcast in 1951, a 1965 film starring Henry Silva, and a 2003 comic book produced by Moonstone Books. The graphic novel Welcome Back, Mr. Moto by Rafael Nieves and Tim Hamilton published by Moonstone Books in 2008 (originally published in 2003 as a 3-issue comic book miniseries) portrays Mr. Moto as an American of Japanese descent helping Japanese-American citizens after World War II.

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C
A review by CinemaSerf
6.0

Written on June 22, 2022

Peter Lorre is on good form in this rather enjoyable antiquity adventure. His "Mr Moto" finds himself tangled up in a plot by some clever crooks to steal the recently discovered crown of the Queen of Sheba before it can be safely deposited in a San Francisco museum. The gang of would-be-thieves is lead by the enigmatic "Mr. Metaxa" (perhaps of Greek origin?) and Lorre must keep the bejewelled artefact safe and discover the true identity of the kingpin before he can safely resume his holiday. The foil is provided by the rather eccentric Brit "Featherstone" (GP Huntley) and that doesn't always work, but otherwise what we have here is a quickly paced action adventure, with just a hint of mystery and enough guesswork required on our part to keep it interesting. Lorre was in his element with these films - his almost boyish enthusiasm and vigour made for an entertaining watch and I heartily recommend this hour if you like short and sweet, well produced, crime drama.