Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

oscar-35 The 1940 film is quite good in it's mood and theme. It is a detective film that keeps you engaged and moves in a fast pace. The film stars an Asian actor, Keye Luke and Mr Luke does a very fine job playing an alert intelligent detective that could be set in today's times. This was produced in the WW2 years and it is interesting to see that this film was made with many Asian actors. Sadly that would not continue with the anti-Asian hysteria of the war years. Mr Luke survived on with a long and memorable movie & TV career with his major role as the High Lama/teacher in TV's 'Kung-Fu'. IN this film a murder strikes during a lecture on the discovery of a lost Mongolian tomb. A scroll with a valuable secret is missing. It's up to Jimmy Wong and the Homicide Squad to find the killer and learn the tomb's secret. This was the last of the Mr Wong serials. Enjoy it.

catherine yronwode No offense to Boris Karloff, who had previously played Mr. Wong, but this film shows how an "oriental" action-thriller can be improved by casting a gifted Chinese actor in the role. Keye Luke is handsome, charming, dashing, brave, clever, and just downright sexy as James Lee Wong, and he meets his perfect match in Lotus Long, the mysterious Chinese secretary of a famous Anglo-American archaeologist. The ending, which would have featured some romance between Luke and Long had they both been Caucasians, is still satisfying, as Luke shows his feelings for Long with his eyes and smile. Lee Tung Foo also deserves mention in a fun turn as Wong's servant. Of the many oriental-exploitation films of the era, this is perhaps the best, featuring some fine Asian art objects, superb set decoration, social commentary about Westerm archaeological appropriation of cultural treasures, unusual documentary footage of an expedition to Mongolia, and real Chinese people playing Chinese people. It's by no means an "A" picture, and seeing the star-god Shou depicted as a "god of vengeance" is silly, but "Phantom of Chinatown" deserves a better reputation than others of its ilk.

classicsoncall Filmed in 1940, "Phantom of Chinatown" is the last of the Mr. Wong series of films, but it's chronologically set as the earliest, featuring Asian actor Keye Luke as a young detective James Lee Wong, a role that British actor Boris Karloff parlayed into five films between 1938 and 1940. It's refreshing to see Luke in a mature role, contrasted with his mostly comic relief effort as Number #1 Son Lee to "Pop" Charlie Chan in the Fox Studio films of the late 1930's. However fans of the Chan films will recognize one lapse into the Lee Chan persona when Mr. Wong exclaims "That's it, I've got it" as he reviews photos of a crime scene. Also, in a later tribute to the Charlie Chan character, Wong uses the phrase "Thank you so much", but with a different inflection than his venerable "Pop".The story itself involves a murder investigation of archeology professor John Benton, poisoned via a glass of water as he lectures about an expedition into the Mongolian Desert that produced a scroll holding the secret to the "Temple of Eternal Fire". The secret, it turns out, is a potentially huge oil deposit that may prove vital to the defense of China. With regard to the similar recurring story ideas used in both the Chan and Mr. Wong series, this is one theme that had not been used before, so score another one to "Phantom" for originality.Joining Keye Luke in this flashback adventure is Grant Withers, a veteran of all the Karloff Wong movies, in his role as Captain Street of the San Francisco Police Homicide Department. Curiously, Street's first name is never revealed throughout the film; in the first two Mr. Wong movies he was Sam, while he finished the series as Bill. Characterwise, he's the same gruff, impatient detective, though with enough street smarts to allow Mr. Wong to join the case. In turn, they are aided by pretty Lotus Long as Benton's secretary Win Lee, who it turns out is also employed by the Chinese government. Her mission, even before Wong and Street get involved, is to determine the whereabouts and contents of the missing scroll that Benton returned to the States with.For a real chuckle, (or groan as the case may be), pay attention as Mr. Wong tries to outmaneuver Captain Street in an early scene by turning a quick corner and pulling into a filling station. His price for a gas fill - $2.00!! For real die-hard fans of the Chan and Wong movies, there's a scene in which a stairway passage from a shop down to a harbor boat is used by some henchmen for a quick getaway. For now, I want to say that the same set was used in the film "Charlie Chan in Shanghai", but will have to research it to be sure.All in all, I rather enjoyed "Phantom of Chinatown", particularly for it's casting of Keye Luke in the starring role, and it's play it straight story line, even allowing for the comic relief of Wong's cook Foo. Granted, there is the occasional racial epithet common for genre films of the era, such as the gratuitous "chop suey" remark regarding Win Lee's lunch preference. It's offset by the engaging mystery, and the intriguing Mongolian expedition reels shown during Professor Benton's lecture, another treat for those expecting a run of the mill Oriental Detective story.

goblinhairedguy Poverty Row programmers like this may now seem incredibly hokey, but at the same time they're fascinating time capsules of American mores of those bygone (and maybe not so bygone) days. This one is routinely scripted and handled with little inspiration (though lots of pace), yet it's quite idiosyncratic for its time. Most obviously, a real Asian (Keye Luke, better known as Charlie Chan's Number One Son) is finally given the opportunity to play an Asian detective. The screenwriters certainly take advantage of the unique casting, turning a lot of the expected racially-insensitive material on end -- Luke gets in a real zinger when he brashly compares the looting of a Mongolian sarcophagus to having a Chinese adventurer dig up and purloin George Washington's corpse from its tomb. Also relevant to the 21st century is the fact that the tomb raiders are not so much seeking the legendary Eternal Flame for cultural or historic reasons, but due to the conjecture that it is produced by a hidden treasure trove of priceless oil. Quite refreshing attitudes for a 40s B-movie, with some vivid scenes of Chinatown life and interesting travelogue footage of a seemingly authentic excursion to Northern China.