This movie was better written than the other Mr. Wong movies. Keye Luke's part was written without the racial bias you see in the other movies. They made him completely American, of Chinese heritage, no hokey accents, just a solid character. Cheers
Not lost on me, since watching Key Luke in the Mr. Wong, Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan movies, is that among his natural acting talents, he had such obvious physical dexterity/nimbleness. Male model material- stayed in top physical shape as one can easily see throughout the aforementioned three series.
Keye Luke (1904 - 1991) was the first major Chinese American film star and the first given a contract by RKO, Universal and MGM. He became famous playing Lee Chan "number one son" of Charlie Chan in the 1939 - 1941 Green Hornet series. He was also an accomplished artist. He had a long film career as well as appearances in several TV series including, for example, an episode of The Golden Girls in 1986 as one of Sophie's love interests.
Thank you, Russell. I always enjoy learning about people's lives. As a child I very much enjoyed the Charlie Chan movies and remember him playing the part of number one son. Did not know he played a part in The Golden Girls. Thanks again. 😃
Jimmy Stewart was a GREAT actor. So were Betty Davis, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Deborah Kerr, Myrna Loy, & Greer Carson, to name a few......Keye Luke, on the other hand, was highly accomplished & very good at his craft.
It’s lovely seeing men all wearing suits, and the women looking smart with hats and gloves. Now a days you can go out in your pyjamas because people have no respect or manners anymore I never watch tv for years so I rely on UA-cam and wonderful people downloading quality films like these to watch instead Thank you so much for downloading a lovely film where the actors had to act and not rely on cgi, swearing, sex or violence. You can keep you Brad Pitt’s and Angelina Jolies I’d rather watch Keye Luke any day.
They are pleasant to watch. Not loud,bloody and vulgar. I have many playlists on UA-cam. Charlie Chan, Wong, Moto, Universal Monster films and noir detective films. Love em all
I love the scene when Captain Street & Wong arrive at Wong's apartment & Wong's butler/housekeeper begins wildly speaking in Chinese; Wong asks him to stop & speak English instead....as respect that Captain Street is there as well & obviously, can't understand Wong's servant.
The start of the film brought back memories of a camel ride I went on in Tunisia... My then partner walked like John Wayne for hours afterwards. He wasn't too happy, had the hump all day 😂 Thanks for posting these films. They help to get me through my lonely nights.. ❤️
also keye lee was in a variety of shows for many years .. but the one role i always loved him in was chan's #1 son 😊 he played that role very well .. 😊
According to Wikipedia he appeared or did voice in over 100 movies and over 100 times in television. He was also an artist known for book covers and book illustrations. Wow! What a talent!
At 26:00 minutes-did anyone else notice the price of gas? 10 1/2 cents-cost JImmy $2 to fill the tank! I think this is the first time I've seen Keye Luke in a completely serious role. He carries serious off as well as he does humorous.
@@jjennings6161 LOLOL. 4 loaves if bread for a dollar; going to the "picture show" with fifty cents and that would get you in, buy a drink and popcorn, and still have some change...
So cool and humorous and synchronous in a way to see Keye Luke as Wong, finally the lead detective his character always wanted to be as #1 son in the Chan films. Only the 2nd time during the Asian detective frenzy, the 1st being the 1926 Chan serial, that an Asian was cast in the lead as opposed to Karloff, Orland, Lorre, Toler, et al.
@@johnolson4127 Thanks. I think my "talent" is more along the lines of being over-enthusiastic w/too much time on my hand and in all honesty somewhat pedantic. But yes, Key Luke: what an amazing actor. Years prior to my discovery of the Chan and Wong films I had enjoyed Mr. Luke in a variety of other roles beginning, I believe, with his part in the Kung Fu TV series as the unforgettable Master Po, although he's been involved in a myriad of other projects. As a child, Mr. Luke's Master Po made quite a positive impression indeed. In any case, thanks for your positive reply to my comment. Appreciated.
It's awesome to see old movies where they do not ridicule people by their ethnicity. They let the actors act. And not give them ridiculous racists lines.
@randall2020 I never mentioned the sexual nature of this movie. I classify as Male by the way. Prude is feminine meaning brave and excellent or proper. Now who is silly? Me or You?
This is one of the best Mr Wong movies yet. Altho, Hollywood History struck again--Gcd of Vengeance; I don't think so. Archeology looked like fun back then.
Keye Luke was an accomplished artist and a great actor. I found him much better than Boris Karloff in this role. He comes across as a really nice person and a great representative of his culture. I gather he was in real life too!!
It’s interesting that many films of this era use Buicks. I wonder if product placement was the reason? Of course Buicks were quite the stylish cars in the forties.
Phantom of Chinatown, released 18 November 1940 (USA), 22 April 1941 (London, UK) 18 August 1941 (UK). Keye Luke as James Lee 'Jimmy' Wong; Lotus Long as Win Len; Grant Withers as Police Captain Street; Charles Miller (as Charles Miller) as Dr. John Benton; Huntley Gordon as Dr. Norman Wilkes; Virginia Carpenter as Louise Benton; John Dilson as Charlie Frasier (as John H. Dilson); Paul McVey as Detective Grady; John Holland as Mason; Richard TerryToreno (as Dick Terry); Robert Kellard as Tommy Dean; Willy Castello (as William Castello) as Jonas; Lee Tung as FooFoo; Lynton Brent, Radio News Broadcaster; Morgan Brown, Lecture Guest; Jack Cheatham, Hospital Stakeout Cop; Heinie Conklin, Detective in Refrigerator; William Gould, Hospital Stakeout Cop; Bruce Mitchell, Police Officer Stationed at Front Door; William J. O'Brien, Lecture Guest; Victor Wong as Charley Won.
It was a pretty ludicrous scene altogether. Nearly fell over when I heard the voice-over proclaim 'after centuries of archaeology' (paraphrase, not a direct quote), as there had been no such thing as the science of archaeology for centuries. A few upper class gentlemen of western societies had been amateur archaeologists of a sort in the 18th c. (including Thomas Jefferson), but archaeology as we know it didn't begin till the later 19th c.-- hardly the centuries proclaimed by the introductory narrator. And really, the archaeology practiced in the late 19th c. was largely a matter of grave-robbing & desecration of sacred sites of colonized peoples, a practice that continued through the 20th c. for that matter. As a major founding father in the field, Boaz, pointed out, the western sciences committed to the study of non-western cultures were sciences based on the west's colonization of mainly indigenous peoples. The opening scene of the archaeologists was crude but in many ways an appropriate jab. After 'many centuries of archaeology', this bunch of yahoos has made a great discovery by ripping apart tombs. Someone involved in the making of this film didn't think too highly of the field of archaeology.
Keye Luke should have played Mr. Wong in every Wong movie for this great series. I never believed he was given the fair chance. Monogram studio puts Boris Karloff in as Mr. Wong. Totally unjustified to Keye Luke, a very capable American actor 😊
In most every film from this 40s-50s era, cigarettes are treated as Cheap commodities. Maybe in California/Hollywood... But for the most of the USA during this period, tobacco was like store-bought beer or whiskey. These folks take a puff or two and chunk them. In 1940, a One US Dollar Bill was (in today's money) equal to $16.50 + in todays money. People don't chunk pennies when they're worth that much unless it is Hollywood.
5 років тому
@stopthecrazyguy + Well, yes, taxes, but the taxation to such a degree really began in the '70s, maybe late 60s, with the warning labels and making smoking in enclosed spaces (including bars) illegal. It just became "in your face" that cigarette (tobacco smoke) was a medium of disease and painful death, and a huge burden on the health system that in many ways even broader than "second hand smoking" shifted the costs to non-smokers. The biggest part of the increase in tobacco prices in the US since, say, 1960 is due to taxes, I'm pretty sure, not inflation, nor cost gouging. Seems in the fifties and early sixties, everything cost between $0.20 and a quarter, e.g., a gallon of regular gas, the Saturday matinee at the movies, a pack of smokes. Cup of Joe in a coffee shop was only a dime, and in the fifties, bottled sodas from vending machines moved from a nickel to a dime. A beer was a quarter. I quit drinking and I quit smoking (the hardest thing I've ever done, BTW), but I daily drink at least 5 or 6 cups of Joe, high quality compared to Folger's, Maxwell House, etc., which we did back then.
" Karloff" ( real name was something Scottish but I see his daughter uses " Karloff" in interviews so maybe he got a name change) was not only a versatile actor ( just typecast in routine shock flicks) and a very cultured gentleman, he by all accounts I know was one of the nicest people in the whole movie biz. He played Wong like Black , Asian and etc. opera singers sing plenty of White characters ( Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, Wagner's Flying Dutchman's " Senta" etc etc etc) nowadays; nobody cared. Music and acting, not polemics. " Boris" wouldn't have deliberated offended anyone anyhow. A really interesting man.
This is the most subdued I've ever seen him, though he wasn't _always_ a complete hard-head even in the Karloff movies. In one of them, though (Mr. Wong in Chinatown, which was the first Mr. Wong movie I saw,) he was so rough that I wondered how he ever got the job.
He was also in 3 episodes of M.A.S.H. One was the trader with the push cart who made the instrument which Hawkeye needed as a clamp.The other 2 I'm not clear on so I won't try to name them.
This was over 10 years before all of those Hammer films of the 50s - 60s, let alone the Grindhouse movies of the 70s and whatnot. But yeah, it's a whole other world back here that I appreciate.
There were six Mr. Wong movies made between 1938 and 1940. The first five started Boris Karloff and were directed by William Nigh. Only the final movie starred Keye Luke as a young James Lee Wong. This movie was directed by Phil Rosen. Keye Luke had already appeared in seven Charlie Chan movies as Chan's "number one son" Lee Chan when this movie was made. He continued to work extensively in film and television until his death at age 86 in 1991. There's a Wikipedia article "Mr. Wong (fictional detective)". According to this article, "Phantom of Chinatown" was the first time an Asian actor played a lead Asian detective in an American sound film.
He's gentler here, actually. In one of the Wong movies, he was being so rough that I was wondering how he landed the job. Though, that particular one was the first Mr. Wong movie I ever saw, too.
Later role for Key Luke. He became the Master Po of Kwai Chiang Kaine in Kung Fu 1972 tv series. I think it was his line when he said "when you walk through this paper and leave no trace, then you will have learned."
The actor called 'Keye Luke' is he the one playing Jimmy Lee Wong?' I could swear he's the same actor who played the Jimmy Chan character (number 2 son) for years with Sidney Tyler, and his name was Sen Yung, later Victor Sen Yung. Inscrutable!
You're mistaking a few people and characters here. Keye Luke played Charlie Chan's first son, Lee Chan. Victor Sen Yung (usually) played Jimmy, Charlie Chan's 2nd son. Benson Fong played both Tommy and Edward, Charlie Chan's 3rd and 4th sons. I think Edward only showed up in one movie, "The Jade Mask." That said, there's a bit of a retcon later on, in the 1947 - 1949 movies where Roland Winters was Charlie Chan. In those, Victor Sen Yung (who, again, normally played # 2 son Jimmy) was Tommy.
"What did she have, chop suey?" Not too politically correct but then again it was filmed in 1940. A decent film with Keye Luke doing a nice job as James Lee Wong.
I believe the woman playing the Supervisor @ The Chinese Telephone Exchange is the SAME woman who played Sidney Toler's wife in several of the Charlie Chan films. Can anyone confirm?
This movie was better written than the other Mr. Wong movies. Keye Luke's part was written without the racial bias you see in the other movies. They made him completely American, of Chinese heritage, no hokey accents, just a solid character. Cheers
I prefer Karloff as mr. Wong !! No offense to keye Luke!
In the books, Chan likes to fool people by putting on the hokey accent and acting out the stereotype as a diguise.
Faking an accent is sometimes part of an actor's job. It's ACTING.
sheesh 😒🙄
I agree. Dignity!
💜☮️🙏🏻💯@@scarygary-qq1pj
Always enjoy Grant Withers. Never changes. The quintessential film detective. England, February, 2024.
Love these old movie! Class, not trash with a plot!
Great movie! I so enjoy Keye Luke. He was an accomplished artist and a good actor! Thank you for posting!
Not lost on me, since watching Key Luke in the Mr. Wong, Mr. Moto and Charlie Chan movies, is that among his natural acting talents, he had such obvious physical dexterity/nimbleness. Male model material- stayed in top physical shape as one can easily see throughout the aforementioned three series.
Keye Luke (1904 - 1991) was the first major Chinese American film star and the first given a contract by RKO, Universal and MGM. He became famous playing Lee Chan "number one son" of Charlie Chan in the 1939 - 1941 Green Hornet series. He was also an accomplished artist. He had a long film career as well as appearances in several TV series including, for example, an episode of The Golden Girls in 1986 as one of Sophie's love interests.
You are SPOT - ON regarding Golden Girls episode. Great job & excellent memory, too!
I guess that you would call me an old movie tragic! Many thanks.
Thank you, Russell. I always enjoy learning about people's lives. As a child I very much enjoyed the Charlie Chan movies and remember him playing the part of number one son. Did not know he played a part in The Golden Girls. Thanks again. 😃
He was also Master Po in Kung Fu
Anna May Wong ?
Keye Luke was always a solid star. Great actor.
Jimmy Stewart was a GREAT actor. So were Betty Davis, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Deborah Kerr, Myrna Loy, & Greer Carson, to name a few......Keye Luke, on the other hand, was highly accomplished & very good at his craft.
He was Cato (or Kato) in both Green Hornet serials.
Thanks for posting
This classic movie
It’s lovely seeing men all wearing suits, and the women looking smart with hats and gloves.
Now a days you can go out in your pyjamas because people have no respect or manners anymore
I never watch tv for years so I rely on UA-cam and wonderful people downloading quality films like these to watch instead
Thank you so much for downloading a lovely film where the actors had to act and not rely on cgi, swearing, sex or violence.
You can keep you Brad Pitt’s and Angelina Jolies I’d rather watch Keye Luke any day.
So far I've likes everyone of these I've saw. Old movies are the only ones I like.
Classic B & W films are my FAV.....by far!
They are pleasant to watch. Not loud,bloody and vulgar. I have many playlists on UA-cam. Charlie Chan, Wong, Moto, Universal Monster films and noir detective films. Love em all
Here for the cars.
Stayed for the acting!
One of the best films I've seen in a long time, thank you xx
I love the scene when Captain Street & Wong arrive at Wong's apartment & Wong's butler/housekeeper begins wildly speaking in Chinese; Wong asks him to stop & speak English instead....as respect that Captain Street is there as well & obviously, can't understand Wong's servant.
Wong's butler or house boy was on Bonanza for years. He played Hop Sing, their cook. Cheers
@@cargilekm Old news but thx anyway. Role played by Sen Yung....believe was actor's name.
Monogram delivered some great early films. thanks 🍕🍕🎥🎥🎥
Man Keye was a smoothie with the ladies in this one. :)
The start of the film brought back memories of a camel ride I went on in Tunisia... My then partner walked like John Wayne for hours afterwards. He wasn't too happy, had the hump all day 😂 Thanks for posting these films. They help to get me through my lonely nights.. ❤️
also keye lee was in a variety of shows for many years .. but the one role i always loved him in was chan's #1 son 😊 he played that role very well .. 😊
Loved him dearly on bonanza and the 1st gremlins
According to Wikipedia he appeared or did voice in over 100 movies and over 100 times in television. He was also an artist known for book covers and book illustrations. Wow! What a talent!
At 26:00 minutes-did anyone else notice the price of gas? 10 1/2 cents-cost JImmy $2 to fill the tank! I think this is the first time I've seen Keye Luke in a completely serious role. He carries serious off as well as he does humorous.
I can remember gas wars at 11cents a gallon.
@@jjennings6161 LOLOL. 4 loaves if bread for a dollar; going to the "picture show" with fifty cents and that would get you in, buy a drink and popcorn, and still have some change...
Yeah, but it had lead in it, and the smell of that car exhaust was completely unfiltered.
So cool and humorous and synchronous in a way to see Keye Luke as Wong, finally the lead detective his character always wanted to be as #1 son in the Chan films. Only the 2nd time during the Asian detective frenzy, the 1st being the 1926 Chan serial, that an Asian was cast in the lead as opposed to Karloff, Orland, Lorre, Toler, et al.
Thanks for that. I knew of all but the '26 Chan you cite; will look for those.
Inconvenient Truth Dept. for some out there, T oler was Asian. Sami. What most people still call Laplander. As Asian as any Chinese guy.
I loved most of the Mr. Motos with Peter Lorre, I'm sure you've seen them?
Love Keye Luke. TY for sharing your talent ❤
@@johnolson4127 Thanks. I think my "talent" is more along the lines of being over-enthusiastic w/too much time on my hand and in all honesty somewhat pedantic. But yes, Key Luke: what an amazing actor. Years prior to my discovery of the Chan and Wong films I had enjoyed Mr. Luke in a variety of other roles beginning, I believe, with his part in the Kung Fu TV series as the unforgettable Master Po, although he's been involved in a myriad of other projects. As a child, Mr. Luke's Master Po made quite a positive impression indeed. In any case, thanks for your positive reply to my comment. Appreciated.
keep calm everyone , and just enjoy a 78 year old movie for what it is.
Best advice ever!!
Agreed!
78 year old CLASSIC FILM!
Great old movie!
Thanks!
It's awesome to see old movies where they do not ridicule people by their ethnicity. They let the actors act. And not give them ridiculous racists lines.
Thanks for posting. Entertainment and a little bit of how it used to be.
Keye Luke, what a great career, definitely a big part of my life
Classic mystery, good anytime movie.
I JUST ENJOY THE MOVIES WITHOUT A LOT OF VIOLENCE OR SEX...THEY ARE GOOD ENTERTAINMENT. THANKS FOR POSTING.
But the modern public is groomed to voyeurism, so Hollywood provides for it. It's a matter of popular culture.
The whole movie was about murder and attempted murder.
@randall2020 I never mentioned the sexual nature of this movie. I classify as Male by the way. Prude is feminine meaning brave and excellent or proper. Now who is silly? Me or You?
@@jackhammer9018 Prude is defined as excessively modest or proper in speech, conduct or dress. I have lots of dictionaries. Which one are you using?
And without vulgar language 🙂
He also was an extraordinary artist.
Love the old American cars.
So do I ! They were gorgeous.
Still enjoy this Classic Mr Wong Phantom of Chinatown Which has a good ending like a fortune cookie #Classic #film
Keye Luke was great in this and as Charlie chan no 1 son one of his later rolls was Mr wing in the gremlins he passed away in 1991 RIP 💕
This is one of the best Mr Wong movies yet. Altho, Hollywood History struck again--Gcd of Vengeance; I don't think so. Archeology looked like fun back then.
I remember Keye Luke playing Kato in the series "Green Hornet"
From what I have found in my studies of the depression gas stayed around 10 cents a gallon.
What a joy what a thrill the movie was great expectation on the movie 🎥 Thank you 🍿You and your family have Kairos day🌟10 stars
Love all these movies, the cars are incredible,,
Keye Luke was an accomplished artist and a great actor. I found him much better than Boris Karloff in this role. He comes across as a really nice person and a great representative of his culture. I gather he was in real life too!!
Can't say he was much better ...just put a different 'spin' on the role.
Grant Withers sure made the rounds in the "'WONG" movies, I think of the "James Lee Wong", Boris Karloff.
It’s interesting that many films of this era use Buicks. I wonder if product placement was the reason? Of course Buicks were quite the stylish cars in the forties.
excellent film. really enjoyed it . Many thanks
He was in an episode of Star Trek TOS
Excellent ! Thank you.
thank you delightful movie!
Phantom of Chinatown, released 18 November 1940 (USA), 22 April 1941 (London, UK) 18 August 1941 (UK). Keye Luke as James Lee 'Jimmy' Wong; Lotus Long as Win Len; Grant Withers as Police Captain Street; Charles Miller (as Charles Miller) as Dr. John Benton; Huntley Gordon as Dr. Norman Wilkes; Virginia Carpenter as Louise Benton; John Dilson as Charlie Frasier (as John H. Dilson); Paul McVey as Detective Grady; John Holland as Mason; Richard TerryToreno (as Dick Terry); Robert Kellard as Tommy Dean; Willy Castello (as William Castello) as Jonas; Lee Tung as FooFoo; Lynton Brent, Radio News Broadcaster; Morgan Brown, Lecture Guest; Jack Cheatham, Hospital Stakeout Cop; Heinie Conklin, Detective in Refrigerator; William Gould, Hospital Stakeout Cop; Bruce Mitchell, Police Officer Stationed at Front Door; William J. O'Brien, Lecture Guest; Victor Wong as Charley Won.
a wise man who understands a lot
Keye Luke doe's a great job ; up to Mr Karloff's work . Great copy , thanks for posting .
Key luke was better
Wrong about bonanza but in both gremlins
The blue Penguin flies at midnight 🎩
Good movie but any archaeologist watching would be cringing at the sight of those "archaeologists" rummaging around and ransacking that tomb.
It's what they used to do.
@@zakofrx No real archaeologist at that time would treat a find like that. That's set in the 20s or 30s not Eighteen Century.
It was a pretty ludicrous scene altogether. Nearly fell over when I heard the voice-over proclaim 'after centuries of archaeology' (paraphrase, not a direct quote), as there had been no such thing as the science of archaeology for centuries. A few upper class gentlemen of western societies had been amateur archaeologists of a sort in the 18th c. (including Thomas Jefferson), but archaeology as we know it didn't begin till the later 19th c.-- hardly the centuries proclaimed by the introductory narrator. And really, the archaeology practiced in the late 19th c. was largely a matter of grave-robbing & desecration of sacred sites of colonized peoples, a practice that continued through the 20th c. for that matter. As a major founding father in the field, Boaz, pointed out, the western sciences committed to the study of non-western cultures were sciences based on the west's colonization of mainly indigenous peoples.
The opening scene of the archaeologists was crude but in many ways an appropriate jab. After 'many centuries of archaeology', this bunch of yahoos has made a great discovery by ripping apart tombs. Someone involved in the making of this film didn't think too highly of the field of archaeology.
@@janegarner6739So what exactly are you trying to say? 🤔
😢these movies were much better starring Boris Karloff 😊
Wow 😂 can t believe i m half of it in n i was still expecting for Boris Karloff to show up! Lol 🫣🫣🫣
They rushed into the Tomb...the cameraman was already there !
"My camera! I ought to be photographing this!" 🙂
It was also pretty well lit for a tomb. :)
They could have rushed in twice, that's not lying. :p
At first I thought the cameraman was George Zucco. Nope.
thanks much.
love these serials.
RIP MR KARLOFF
Exactly
Keye Luke should have played Mr. Wong in every Wong movie for this great series. I never believed he was given the fair chance. Monogram studio puts Boris Karloff in as Mr. Wong. Totally unjustified to Keye Luke, a very capable American actor 😊
Yes, too many people are just too anxious get on their high horse to spout nonsense. 🐴🐎
Thanks for posting.
+Tom Niessen
Yes it is, Thanks.
Jacinta xX.
Keye Luke became famous in 1930s as No. 1 son of Charlie Chan.
He also played Kato in the 1940 and 1941 serials of the Green Hornet. He was Master Po on Kung Fu among many other roles.
Nah ...U made that up....LOL
@@jrousselle7828 Kung Fu was a HORRIBLE show/series.....just saying.
Yes, and I love all the Charlie Chan's! Great movies!
Great flick ! Thanks.
Enjoying a delicious Pizza while watching Pizzaflix❤️
In this movie, "Evelybody Clazy!" Must be the Fooey Chop Suey 😁
At Steets...The man just wants a easy job.
@@cheeseburgersuperior1874AN
Such a great movie.....very entertaining
Another great picture show!!!
I wonder what type camera and film they used without any lighting of any kind and had nice bright movie inside an ancient tomb.
Is that #1 son in the Charlie Chan movies?
TravelDiva66 that's what I was thinking.
Yes.
He was one of the few Big Name Chinese actors in Hollywood in those days.
benson fong
Yes; Keye Luke. Benson Fong was in some Charlie Chan movies in the mid 40s, but he was as Charlie's #3 son, Tommy.
In most every film from this 40s-50s era, cigarettes are treated as Cheap commodities. Maybe in California/Hollywood... But for the most of the USA during this period, tobacco was like store-bought beer or whiskey. These folks take a puff or two and chunk them. In 1940, a One US Dollar Bill was (in today's money) equal to $16.50 + in todays money. People don't chunk pennies when they're worth that much unless it is Hollywood.
@stopthecrazyguy + Well, yes, taxes, but the taxation to such a degree really began in the '70s, maybe late 60s, with the warning labels and making smoking in enclosed spaces (including bars) illegal. It just became "in your face" that cigarette (tobacco smoke) was a medium of disease and painful death, and a huge burden on the health system that in many ways even broader than "second hand smoking" shifted the costs to non-smokers. The biggest part of the increase in tobacco prices in the US since, say, 1960 is due to taxes, I'm pretty sure, not inflation, nor cost gouging.
Seems in the fifties and early sixties, everything cost between $0.20 and a quarter, e.g., a gallon of regular gas, the Saturday matinee at the movies, a pack of smokes. Cup of Joe in a coffee shop was only a dime, and in the fifties, bottled sodas from vending machines moved from a nickel to a dime. A beer was a quarter. I quit drinking and I quit smoking (the hardest thing I've ever done, BTW), but I daily drink at least 5 or 6 cups of Joe, high quality compared to Folger's, Maxwell House, etc., which we did back then.
Entertaining story. The Captain's hat was too much though. He wasn't wearing the hat, the hat was wearing him.
Guys he also appears on a Star Trek episode.
Keye Luke (I met him once, nice guy) got the lead because Karloff wasn't available...
that was good idea
How old was Keye Luke when U met him? Very kewl that U did.
" Karloff" ( real name was something Scottish but I see his daughter uses " Karloff" in interviews so maybe he got a name change) was not only a versatile actor ( just typecast in routine shock flicks) and a very cultured gentleman, he by all accounts I know was one of the nicest people in the whole movie biz. He played Wong like Black , Asian and etc. opera singers sing plenty of White characters ( Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, Wagner's Flying Dutchman's " Senta" etc etc etc) nowadays; nobody cared. Music and acting, not polemics. " Boris" wouldn't have deliberated offended anyone anyhow. A really interesting man.
@@gregorypalmer5403 Boris Karloff's real name is "William Henry Pratt."
@@gregorypalmer5403DELIBERATELY
Captain Bill Street (Grant Withers) was more subdued in this Wong version as compared to those with Boris Karloff & Marjorie Reynolds.
This is the most subdued I've ever seen him, though he wasn't _always_ a complete hard-head even in the Karloff movies. In one of them, though (Mr. Wong in Chinatown, which was the first Mr. Wong movie I saw,) he was so rough that I wondered how he ever got the job.
No one else seems to have picked up on Chow Lee not knowing the names of the 2 thugs but knew them by numbers.Just like a Chinese menu.🤣
Even in his older years on kung fu he we a real professional. He let a lot full of discrimination just fall off his shoulders. Smart man
Oh your right he played the master
He was also in 3 episodes of M.A.S.H. One was the trader with the push cart who made the instrument which Hawkeye needed as a clamp.The other 2 I'm not clear on so I won't try to name them.
Love Ms. Wong!
Nice to hear it pronounced sneaked instead of snuk
Love Boris Karloff as Mr Wong ! Luke is better suited playing Charlie Chan's son !
Love the class ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Honorable #1 son of famous detective Charlie Chan make for pretty good detective himself 🙂
At last, a movie where somebody's guts aren't hanging out!
Yeah...but I miss them guts!
Did you have to say that? I'm just having dinner! But you're quite right. :)
This was over 10 years before all of those Hammer films of the 50s - 60s, let alone the Grindhouse movies of the 70s and whatnot. But yeah, it's a whole other world back here that I appreciate.
@@talladaleGoulash? 🍲🥣
Tracing a phone call was certainly different in the analog system.
Thank you!
Great episode, are there more episodes with Luke?
And thanks for sharing.
Key Luke was in a Miami Vice episode
I call bull crap on the police officer getting the number of the cab. 🙄 Really enjoyed the movie though. 🍿
Was Keye Luke in any other Mr Wong movies??
There were six Mr. Wong movies made between 1938 and 1940. The first five started Boris Karloff and were directed by William Nigh. Only the final movie starred Keye Luke as a young James Lee Wong. This movie was directed by Phil Rosen.
Keye Luke had already appeared in seven Charlie Chan movies as Chan's "number one son" Lee Chan when this movie was made. He continued to work extensively in film and television until his death at age 86 in 1991.
There's a Wikipedia article "Mr. Wong (fictional detective)". According to this article, "Phantom of Chinatown" was the first time an Asian actor played a lead Asian detective in an American sound film.
@@patrickblaney1675 me
@@jerrycottrell302 ?
Is Wong's car a Buick? I'm sure it's GM, maybe an Oldsmobile.
Several gun shots and the police on patrol never make it to the room.
What an obnoxious guy Street is. And he was just as obnoxious in all the other Wong films.
He's gentler here, actually. In one of the Wong movies, he was being so rough that I was wondering how he landed the job. Though, that particular one was the first Mr. Wong movie I ever saw, too.
Mr. Wong
Before Karloff?
good movie , thanks
Plain, simple fare, but worth the watch. 6/10. (27.6.21)
Usually they had nonasian People playing Asian characters, so it was cool to see actual Asian people playing those parts.
tung good actor.
18:46, that's a nice car. Anyone know what that is.
Yes.
Weird.... no cell phones.
Grant Withers reminded me of the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz with that stupid hat on all the way through the movie.
One of the best theme tunes in cinema! Oh, such careful archeology, indeed!!! RIP open that crypt!!! Gee, ever hear of A SEARCH WARRANT???
@@gregb6469 I'm talking about the police entering a home without a warrant, not the stupid tomb. Nobody has any rights in Outer Mongolia!
Later role for Key Luke. He became the Master Po of Kwai Chiang Kaine in Kung Fu 1972 tv series. I think it was his line when he said "when you walk through this paper and leave no trace, then you will have learned."
Kung Fu....what a HORRIBLE show.
Another line, "When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave."
No violence? Just poisoning ,kicking dogs, hammers to the head...without violence you couldn't have a murder mystery!
I would love to have my pick of the cars in this movie, and the Chinese woman, if they were in the same condition as they were in back then.. .
legion1a the cars were cherry!
Most of those women are now dead.
You mean black & white?
@@acehandler1530 No, you dim wit, in the color they were when they were in front of the ancient B&W camera!
@@legion1a You miss the humor in life you miss the living itself 😁
I think that the reporter is so annoying. I would have had her arrested for interfering in a police investigation.
That wasn't a chargeable offense back in those days.
The actor called 'Keye Luke' is he the one playing Jimmy Lee Wong?' I could swear he's the same actor who played the Jimmy Chan character (number 2 son) for years with Sidney Tyler, and his name was Sen Yung, later Victor Sen Yung. Inscrutable!
Sen Yung/Victor Sen Yung & Key Luke are two DIFFERENT people. If I misunderstood your analogy, my apologies.
You're mistaking a few people and characters here. Keye Luke played Charlie Chan's first son, Lee Chan. Victor Sen Yung (usually) played Jimmy, Charlie Chan's 2nd son. Benson Fong played both Tommy and Edward, Charlie Chan's 3rd and 4th sons. I think Edward only showed up in one movie, "The Jade Mask."
That said, there's a bit of a retcon later on, in the 1947 - 1949 movies where Roland Winters was Charlie Chan. In those, Victor Sen Yung (who, again, normally played # 2 son Jimmy) was Tommy.
@@101VoltsWho's On First? 🤔
TOLER
"What did she have, chop suey?" Not too politically correct but then again it was filmed in 1940. A decent film with Keye Luke doing a nice job as James Lee Wong.
who gives a (blank) about PC?
Cop Suey was never a Chinese dish,it was developed for the American market.
34:30 she is so cute
I believe the woman playing the Supervisor @ The Chinese Telephone Exchange is the SAME woman who played Sidney Toler's wife in several of the Charlie Chan films. Can anyone confirm?
So this is the first actor to play Mr Wong ?
No.
💖💖💖💖💖💖
26:18 in. Check out the price of the Fuel.. Wow, if only it were that today... haha.
I paid 16.9/gal. In 1970!
It was part of a gas war between gas stations.
Regular price at the time was .25/gal