Going to Mr Wong for help is like wearing a red shirt on an away mission in Star Trek, it’s a sure sign you’re not long for this earth. This time the victim, a Chinese princess, expires in Wong’s own home and attempts to aid the master detective by writing what one assumes is the name of her killer. All she manages though is Captain J, now you might think that would be enough but as luck would have it there’s both a Captain Jackson and a Captain Jaime with ties to the deceased.
Karloff makes his third appearance as the venerable detective and gives a solid performance in what was a very cheap and formulaic series. He’s ‘aided’ once again by Grant Withers as the loud, belligerent but not completely inept Police Captain Street. This time the pair are joined by Marjorie Reynolds as nosey reporter ‘Bobbie’ Logan, who adds some glamour and (in theory) some laughs as well as saving Wong from an exploding taxi.
At a little over an hour it doesn’t drag too much but of the detective series’ I’ve featured so far in Watching the Detectives (Sherlock Holmes, Mr Moto, The Thin Man) this is by far the least enjoyable.
