S-ro. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)

Sur julio 7, 1939, Twentieth Century-Fox Films released the final Mr. Moto “B” film starring Peter Lorre as Inspector Kentaro Moto. S-ro. Moto Takes a Vacation finds Mr. Moto accompanying the Queen of Sheba’s Crown from its discovery in an Egyptian archaeological site to a San Francisco museum. S-ro. Moto suspects the arch criminal Metaxess, who authorities believed was dead, intends to steal the artifact.

S-ro. Moto knows a member of the museum staff is Metaxess or his confederate. S-ro. Moto must discover Metaxess before the crown is stolen.

While this film is rather formulaic, Director Norman Foster did a good job of hiding Metaxess’ identity during the film. Foster is assisted in his task with a better than average cast of Joseph Schildkraut, Virginia Field and Lionel Atwill.

S-ro. Moto Takes a Vacation has a little less Ju-Jitsu than previous films. Kiel kutima, some of the racial stereotypes in these films are offensive.

S-ro. Moto Takes a Vacation ended this entertaining series. Unlike several of the more cerebral Asian detectives of the 1930s, S-ro. Moto performed many physical feats in his films. S-ro. Moto actually killed several criminals during the film series.

Tamen, the series had probably run its course after 8 Filmoj. Film historians often cite World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor as the reason the series ended. The critics surmised American audiences would not accept a Japan hero after the attack.

Timing throws doubt on this theory. All the movies were completed before 1939. Creativity and commercial success probably brought the series to an end.

S-ro. Moto Takes a Vacation only runs 62 Minutoj. If you liked the other Mr. Moto films, I would recommend it.

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