The Mr. Wong Detective Series: Boris Karloff in Chinatown

Boris Karloff is best known for his Universal horror work — Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the rest. But between 1938 and 1940, while Universal's horror cycle slowed, Karloff took on a different recurring role: James Lee Wong, the Chinese-American detective at the heart of Monogram Pictures's Mr. Wong mystery series.

The character

James Lee Wong was created by Hugh Wiley in pulp stories published in Collier's Weekly beginning in 1934. Unlike Charlie Chan, who was based in Honolulu, Wong was a San Francisco-based detective with elite English credentials — Wiley's Wong was an Oxford and Heidelberg graduate, fluent in multiple languages, and operated as a kind of Holmes figure with police consultation rights.

The five Karloff features

1. Mr. Wong, Detective (1938)

2. The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)

3. Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)

4. The Fatal Hour (1940)

5. Doomed to Die (1940)

A sixth feature, Phantom of Chinatown (1940), continued the series but recast Wong with Keye Luke — making it the rare Wong film actually starring an Asian-American actor. Luke was also Charlie Chan's "Number One Son" in the Warner Oland Chan series.

Why Karloff dropped out

Karloff finished his five-film contract and declined renewal. Monogram was a low-end Poverty Row studio, and Karloff — who had been a Universal star earlier in the decade — saw the work as a financial bridge rather than a career direction. He pivoted to Broadway, originating the role of Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace in 1941 (a role he didn't play in the 1944 Warner Bros. film, where Cary Grant starred opposite Raymond Massey in the Brewster part).

What the films are like

The Mr. Wong features are tightly constructed B-mysteries, usually running about 70 minutes. Wong investigates murders that turn on stolen jewels, smuggled artifacts, or international intrigue. Marjorie Reynolds plays a recurring reporter character in three of the entries. The series's pacing and screenplay quality is generally stronger than Monogram's contemporary horror output.

The essential entries

Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) — The series opener. A chemical-warfare scientist is murdered, and Wong investigates the industrial-espionage angle.

Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939) — Often considered the strongest in the series. The murder of a Chinese princess leads Wong into a labyrinth of San Francisco organized crime. The atmosphere and pacing are unusually accomplished for Monogram.

The Fatal Hour (1940) — Investigation of an Asian smuggling ring. The plot is tighter than usual, and Karloff's chemistry with the supporting cast is at its best.

The performance

Karloff's Wong is, by modern standards, an example of the same yellowface casting that has been criticized in the Charlie Chan series. Karloff played the character with restraint and dignity — no broad accent, no caricature, no exaggerated mannerisms. But the underlying casting decision (a British actor playing a Chinese-American detective) reflects the era's industry-wide pattern.

Public-domain status

All five Karloff Wong features are public domain, along with the Keye Luke entry. The Monogram studio's lax copyright maintenance and the studio's eventual absorption into Allied Artists left the series unprotected.

The bigger picture

The Mr. Wong series is a useful complement to the Charlie Chan series. Where Chan operated in elaborate international settings (Egypt, Rio, Reno), Wong stayed largely in San Francisco. Where Chan's series ran 44 films, Wong's stopped at 6. But the Wong entries are often more tightly written than the Monogram-era Chan films, and Karloff's quiet authority gives the series a distinctive register.

Where to start

Start with Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939) — the strongest single entry and a sharp introduction to Karloff's understated reading of the character. From there, work backward to Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) to see the series opener.