What went Wong?
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 08/04/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"ALPHA's MR. WONG COMPLETE COLLECTION is six hour-length who-dun-its on a half-dozen individually boxed DVDs. Clearly, one double-sided disc would have sufficed.
In a classic example of miscasting, five installments of this series feature Boris Karloff as a tall, stiff, British-accented James Lee Wong. The sixth film, "Phantom of Chinatown," stars Keye Luke in the role of the Oriental detective.
MILL CREEK's BORIS KARLOFF - MASTER OF HORROR contains all 5 of his Wong movies, 3 episodes of the 1950s anthology TV show "The Veil," plus 4 silent and 8 sound films, all in a space-saving package.
Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film research website.
(5.5) Doomed to Die (1940) - Boris Karloff/Marjorie Reynolds/Grant Withers/William Stelling
(5.2) The Fatal Hour (1940) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers/Marjorie Reynolds/Charles Trowbridge
(5.9) Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers/Maxine Jennings/Evelyn Brent
(5.5) Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939) - Boris Karloff/Marjorie Reynolds/Grant Withers/Huntley Gordon
(6.1) The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers/Dorothy Tree/Craig Reynolds
(5.8) Phantom of Chinatown (1940) - Keye Luke/Grant Withers/Lotus Lang/Charles F. Miller"