The Mysterious Mr. Wong

Lugosi, despite his Hungarian accent, plays Mr. Wong, an evil Asian madman after "the 12 coins of Confucius" which, according to legend, will make him the ruler of a province of China. He outwits the cops, but not wisecracking reporter Jason Barton (Ford), who ends up solving Wong's mysterious murders. Well made, this was designed as a programmer to please Depression audiences eager for escape at the movies. Though produced by Monogram, the film has nothing to do with their "Mr. Wong" mystery series starring Lugosi's rival Boris Karloff. Typical of its time, the film's snappy dialog is filled with ethnic slurs. The climactic scene in Wong's torture chamber is a cla...