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- Tamil Movie Phantom Of Chinatown Free Download
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- Detective James Lee Wong is on the scene as archaeologist Dr. John Benton, recently returned from an expedition in China where a valuable ancient scroll was recovered, is murdered while giving a lecture on the expedition.
- In the middle of a pictorial lecture on his recent expedition to the Mongolian Desert, Dr. John Benton the famous explorer, drinks from the water bottle on his lecture table, collapses and dies. His last words "Eternal Fire" are the only clue Chinese detective Jimmy Wong and Captain Street of the police department have to work on. Win Lee, Benton's secretary, reveals the doctor's dying words refer to a scroll which tells the location of rich oil deposits. Wong and Street then begin the search for the killer among Benton's associates.
- 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".<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.
- The biggest novelty of this rather dull little mystery is that for once during this era, a person of Chinese ancestry actually plays a Chinese-American amateur detective!! That's right, unlike Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto and the previous Mr. Wong films, this one does not feature some Western guy with his eyes taped so that he looks Chinese-ish. And, also interesting is that this actor is none other than Keye Luke--the guy who played Number One Son in the Chan films. In some ways, this was very culturally sensitive and forward-thinking and Luke's character was bright and articulate--using definite articles in conversation and seeming less like a walking stereotype. At the same time, the writers were still in the 1940s mindset, as some of the remarks of the incredibly imbecilic chief of detectives are awfully crude stereotypes. An example of this was when he asked all the people what they had for dinner. When he came to the Chinese lady, he said "I assume you just had Chop Suey". Uggh!!! <br/><br/>Now as for the film itself, it seems like a lower than usual quality B-movie--with most of the usual clichés but with none of the energy or excitement of films from the Boston Blackie, Charlie Chan, Falcon or Sherlock Holmes series. While there were some interesting story elements (such as the whole oil angle), the film was so low energy and dull that it rarely engages the viewer. I think most of this is due to the painfully low budget--making productions by second-rate poverty row studios (like rival Monogram Films) seem vastly superior to this one. It is obvious in this film that the end of the Wong series was in sight and there wasn't much more when it comes to innovation other than the casting of the ever-capable Luke in the lead.
- This is the last of the Mr. Wong series. <a href="/name/nm0525601/">Keye Luke</a> takes over the role of Mr. Wong from <a href="/name/nm0000472/">Boris Karloff</a>, who had played the part in all the earlier films. This makes Wong the only Asian detective in a Hollywood film of the period to be played by an Asian actor. The Mr. Wong films all seem to be in the public domain, which means any distributor can legally sell copies without paying royalties. Beware. Some small distributors market copies of public domain films with poor picture and sound. Others are more reputable and deliver good transfers of the best available prints. Shop around. a5c7b9f00b
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