Karloff

 

THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES-1940-Dr. Mason (Roger Pryor) demonstrates his "frozen therapy" which he says can cure cancer by freezing the patient. All the doctors there agree. Dr. Harvey (Charles Trowbridge), head of the hospital is pissed at the publicity and takes the project away from Mason sending him on vacation. He and his nurse Judith (Jo Ann Sayers) decide to investigate the home of Dr. Kravaal, a scientist who disappeared 10 years before and had also been doing experiments with frozen therapy too.. After being warned to stay away from Kravaal's house, the duo find the doc's secret lab and the doc himself (Boris Karloff) frozen in a chamber. They revive him and in a flashback he relates how some locals wanted him arrested and how he, a coroner (Byron Foulger), DA Hawthorne (John Dilson), a sheriff and the nephew of Kravaal's patient became frozen. Later he revives them but when the nephew destroys his formula Kravaal kills him. He then holds everyone prisoner until he can replicate the lost formula. He wants to experiment on his hostages with most of the story taking place in the underground lab. 

Far fetched but enjoyable little mad scientist tale. One of several Karloff made for Universal in the early '40's. Fast worker Nick Grinde directed Karloff in THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG before this and BEFORE I HANG later the same year.

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Mr. Wong

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG-1938-Famous Asian American detective James Lee Wong (the very un-Asian Boris Karloff) investigates the murder of  industrialist Simon Dayton (John Hamilton) even though the cause of death seems to be natural causes. The big mouthed  Capt. Street (Grant Withers) works with Wong but usually disagrees with him. Later another partner Wilk (Hooper Atchley) is killed alone in a locked room. The only clue seems to be shards of shattered glass. Their chief suspect is Karl Romer (John St. Polis), a guy who says he was cheated out of a stake in the trios' company. The third partner Meisle (William Gould) seems like a good lead but then he's killed the same way. And then there's the mysterious Countess (Evelyn Brent) and her friend The Baron. A nosy reporter Bobby Logan (Marjorie Reynolds) manages to get in Wong's way several times. There's not much action in this first in a series of 5 quickly made Monogram mysteries (the first 4 directed by William Nigh who apparently didn't mess around) but Karloff is fun to watch and the manner in which the victims are killed is a doozy!

The Wong character was created by Hugh Wiley and was popular in its time (there were even some comic books). In the stories (a dozen or so from 1934-1941 in Collier's) Wong was a agent for the US treasury but in the films he's a regular private eye. Withers and Reynolds would reprise there roles in the sequels.

Big note: Some of my Mr. Wong info came from http://www.thrillingdetective.com/index.html

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Basil Before Sherlock

THE BISHOP MURDER CASE-1930-Basil Rathbone portrays detective Philo Vance in this early talkie. It involves several mysterious murders (one by bow and arrow). Vance uses a lot of analytical theorizing and there’s a comic know it all sergeant who helps out. I wonder if anyway remembered this when Rathbone was picked to first play Sherlock Holmes (in 1939) ?

Co-Star Leila Hyams was later in FREAKS and ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. She was a popular actress in the early ‘30’s but her screen career lasted only around ten years. Other co-star Roland Young later played “Topper” in a series of films and future director Delmer Daves has a small role.

Director Nick Grinde’s career began in the 1920’s. He was a fast competent worker but mostly his output remains undistinguished except for three of Boris Karloff’s “mad doctor” films. He uses several nice techniques in TBMC and keeps it from being more than just a filmed play as many early talkies were.

The Philo Vance character was created in 1926 by S.S. Van Dine (real name: Willard Huntington Vance) and was featured in 11 novels. TBMC was the fourth adaptation of a Dine novel to feature the Vance character. William Powell played him in the first three (and would play him once more in 1933) but this was the only time Rathbone portrayed him.

Warren William Paul Lukas Edmund Lowe and others would play him in the future but the last film
featuring the character would be in 1947.



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