Story: Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) is no strangers to walk in clients at his business, given his well known skills as a detective, but his latest walk in never walked out. A woman (Lotus Long) enters the office to hire Mr. Wong, but before she can even meet the detective, she is killed by a mysterious dart. While the poisoned projectile kills the woman, she manages to write down a message for Mr. Wong as she collapses, leaving behind a sheet of paper that has “Captain J” and nothing else. As it turns out, the woman was Princess Lin Hwa and knowing her identity, Mr. Wong is able to develop some leads and even a couple of suspects, but can he manage to solve this case with so little to go on?

Entertainment Value: This is the third time out for Mr. Wong in this series and as before, this volume turns out to be a brisk, enjoyable murder mystery. I think in general, this sequel falls in line with the others, as it is a solid watch, even if not that innovative. The story is passable and unfolds in interesting ways, but as with the earlier movies, don’t expect a whirlwind of twists and turns here. Mr. Wong in Chinatown is a little more straight forward even than the previous films, which I didn’t mind at all, since the narrative was competent and it was fun to watch the mystery get unraveled. No real bells & whistles to speak of, but all the elements here, from writing to visuals to the cast, are all well executed. If you’ve enjoyed the Mr. Wong series to this point, Mr. Wong in Chinatown is likely to be another worthwhile watch.

Boris Karloff returns for a third stint as the master detective and he continues his solid run in the role, with another capable effort. Karloff doesn’t have much challenge from the straight ahead material, so he does his usual competent performance. I think Karloff could have handled more depth of course, likely to effective ends, but even in a role without much depth, he makes the character memorable. He isn’t only three time casting choice however, as Grant Withers is back as the often rude and obnoxious detective Bill Street. I think the scenes between Karloff and Withers are some of the series’ highlights and I was glad to see Withers back. He is a terrific performer and his presence is a welcome, entertaining part of the franchise. The cast also includes Marjorie Reynolds, Lotus Long, Huntley Gordon, and George Lynn.

The Disc: As part of The Mr. Wong Collection on Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics, Mr. Wong in Chinatown looks fantastic here. I was impressed with how clean the print looked, while grain was still intact, so this was a sharp, natural image. The black & white visuals show crisp contrast and pitch perfect balance, so this movie looks quite good in this release. The set also includes four other Mr. Wong features.

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