Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Encyclopedia
Mr. Moto’s Last Warning is the sixth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...

 as Mr. Moto
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...

. The film is an original story featuring a character created by John P. Marquand
John P. Marquand
John Phillips Marquand was a American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley in 1938...

.

Plot

The British Navy in Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...

 is making plans for naval maneuvers with the French fleet. Plans are delayed because the British Secret Service has been warned about possible sabotage.

On a ship docking in Port Said is Madame Delacour (Margaret Irving) the wife of the French naval admiral. Delacour and her daughter Marie (Joan Carroll
Joan Carroll
Joan Carroll was a successful child star in movies between 1938 and 1948.-Biography:Born as Joan Felt, she became an accomplished child actress, scoring personal successes on Broadway in the hit musical Panama Hattie, and the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister...

) are befriended on board by the charming Eric Norvel (George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...

), the goofy Rollo Venables (Robert Coote
Robert Coote
Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex...

), and someone posing as Mr. Moto (Teru Shimada
Teru Shimada
Teru Shimada was an acclaimed Japanese-American actor who was cast most famously as Mr. Osato, a SPECTRE agent in the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice. His film career began in 1932 with the Night Club Lady. He appeared with Peter Lorre in the 1939 classic Mr. Moto's Last Warning...

). Norvel reveals his true nature when the ship docks and he lures Mr. Moto to his death. This “fake” Mr. Moto turns out to be a fellow agent of the real Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...

) who is posing as a curio dealer Mr. Kuroki.

Norvel takes Delacour and Venables to a variety show which features Fabian the Great (Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez
Jacob Krantz , known by his stage name Ricardo Cortez, was an American film actor who began his career during the silent era.-Life and career:...

), a ventriloquist. Fabian is the leader of the gang of saboteurs which includes Hakim (John Davidson
John Davidson (actor)
John Davidson was an American film actor. He appeared in 148 films between 1915 and 1963.He was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...

), Captain Hawkins (Leyland Hodgson), Danforth (John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...

), and Norvel. Danforth is actually a British Secret Service agent named Burke. Moto listens in on their conversation and is almost captured, but Burke helps him escape. Norvel is given the task of finding out from Delacour when the French fleet is due at Port Said.

Fabian is staying at a bar called “Connie’s Place” run by a British expatriate named Connie Porter (Virginia Field
Virginia Field
Virginia Field was a British-born film actress.Born Margaret Cynthia Field in London, her father was the judge of England's Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Robert E...

). Porter had been smuggled out of Britain by Fabian when she was on the run from the police but she doesn't know Fabian's true occupation. She thinks he is in a smuggling racket. The bar is across the street from Kuroki’s (Moto's) curio shop where Venables purchases a scarab ring. Venables is then mugged in the street only to be saved by Moto’s judo skills.

The suspicious Fabian thinks that Kuroki is actually Moto and so enlists Connie to follow him the next day. She sees Moto visit the Port Commandant's office where he learns about the salvage ship "The Vulcan" which is captained by Hawkins.

Fabian also discovers that Danforth is the secret agent, Burke. Fabian lures Burke to "The Vulcan" and reveals his plan to blow up the French fleet and blame it on the British. He then kills Burke by trapping him in a diving bell. Norvel gets the information that is needed and tells Fabian at the theater. Connie overhears the conversation and threatens to call the Port Commandant, but Fabian convinces her to go along with him.

Hakim tries to kill Moto with a bomb, but Moto escapes the explosion and follows Hakim to a warehouse. Moto enlists Venables to help but Venables is tricked by Norvel. After a fight, Moto and Venables are tied up in sacks and thrown into the ocean but not before Moto tricks Hawkins and grabs a piece of sharp metal. Connie can't bear to see such violence and goes to call the police. Fabian knocks her out and proceeds with his plans.

Moto escapes underwater and frees Venables who goes to inform the police. Norvel dives down to await a signal from Fabian but Moto overpowers him and prematurely detonates the explosives that were meant to destroy the French fleet. Resurfacing, Moto fights with Fabian but Connie shows up and shoots Fabian. Moto discovers the saboteur's plans in Fabian's dummy but never reveals to the audience what country tried to engineer a war between France and England.

Production notes

This is the only Peter Lorre Moto film which is in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...

. It is available at the Internet Archive

Cast

  • Peter Lorre
    Peter Lorre
    Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...

     as Mr. Kentaro Moto
  • Ricardo Cortez
    Ricardo Cortez
    Jacob Krantz , known by his stage name Ricardo Cortez, was an American film actor who began his career during the silent era.-Life and career:...

     as Fabian the Great
  • Virginia Field
    Virginia Field
    Virginia Field was a British-born film actress.Born Margaret Cynthia Field in London, her father was the judge of England's Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Robert E...

     as Connie Porter
  • John Carradine
    John Carradine
    John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...

     as Danforth - aka Richard Burke
  • George Sanders
    George Sanders
    George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...

     as Eric Norvel
  • Joan Carroll
    Joan Carroll
    Joan Carroll was a successful child star in movies between 1938 and 1948.-Biography:Born as Joan Felt, she became an accomplished child actress, scoring personal successes on Broadway in the hit musical Panama Hattie, and the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister...

     as Mary 'Marie' Delacour (as Joan Carol)
  • Robert Coote
    Robert Coote
    Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex...

     as Rollo Venables
  • Margaret Irving as Madame Delacour
  • Leyland Hodgson as Captain Bert Hawkins
  • John Davidson
    John Davidson
    John Davidson may refer to:* John Andrew Davidson , Canadian politician* John Davidson , American actor* John Davidson , Australian admiral...

     as Hakim
  • Teru Shimada
    Teru Shimada
    Teru Shimada was an acclaimed Japanese-American actor who was cast most famously as Mr. Osato, a SPECTRE agent in the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice. His film career began in 1932 with the Night Club Lady. He appeared with Peter Lorre in the 1939 classic Mr. Moto's Last Warning...

    as the Fake Mr. Moto
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