Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Moto! More Lorre!!!, February 14, 2007
Volume 2 of Fox's Mr. Moto series has finally been released, and after years of viewing battered second-generation prints, the results are little short of breathtaking. I almost think that the films didn't even look this good in original release. Two of the films in this set, MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE and MR. MOTO IN DANGER ISLAND, have always been among my favorites in the series, and to see them in such pristine shape almost brought a tear to my eye. The set also includes some very informative featurettes, as well as the trailers for five of the eight films. Considering the fact that Fox waited for so long to release this series on video (remember, with the exception of one film, MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING, they never even made it out on VHS), the fact that the whole series is now availible and been treated with such loving care is a cause for celebration. As with the first volume, this is highly recommened.
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36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From the author of "The Complete Mr Moto Film Phile: A Casebook", January 29, 2007
A must for Peter Lorre fans -- the 2nd and final 4-disc box set of Mr Moto films with Peter Lorre as the Japanese secret agent. Compared with the Volume 1 set, the films here are generally weaker in quality in their story lines although I would suspect that the quality of the prints to be excellent.
"Mr Moto's Gamble" was actually intended to be a Charlie Chan film, "Charlie Chan at the Ringside." However, Warner Oland, who played Charlie Chan, walked off the set one day during its production to visit his mother in Sweden and died there. Much of the film, with Keye Luke as Chan's
Number One son Lee and ex-fighter Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom, was salvaged and reworked as the new Mr. Moto film.
"Mr Moto's Last Warning" has a brief reference to Warner Oland and the film "Charlie Chan in Honoloulu" although it was Sidney Toler who stared in this film (his first Chan film) following Oland's death. This is probably a hidden tribute to Oland and the film he would have made if he were still alive.
Also included is the 1965 film bomb "Return of Mr Moto" with Henry Silva.
It is also anticipated that there will be several interesting featurettes, or documentary extras, as there were in Volume 1.
Howard Berlin
Author of:
The Complete Mr. Moto Film Phile: A Casebook
The Charlie Chan Film Encyclopedia
Charlie Chan's Words of Wisdom
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moto-rific!, March 19, 2007
With the release of Mr. Moto Collection Vol. 2, I can officially retire a 27-year-old VHS tape which contained my only recording of "Mr. Moto's Gamble." While it is probably not considered by most Moto fans to be the best entry in the series, it has always been my favorite. Aside from the appearance of Keye Luke as Lee Chan (in what was originally slated to be "Charlie Chan at the Ringside") and Maxie Rosenbloom as "Knockout," it's fun to pick out the lapses in continuity between the original Chan footage and new footage shot for the Moto release. Most notable is how the character, Nick Crowder, the gambler, changes wardrobe during the first boxing match! He walks in wearing a light-colored fedora and heavy woolen grey topcoat, yet in close up reaction shots, he appears to be wearing a black bowler hat and plaid suit, and then changes back again!
"Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation" is another favorite from the series with Moto pitted against the evil secret agent known as Metaxa. Good cloak and dagger stuff which works well in spite of the insufferable British comic-relief that they saddled Mr. Moto with in several of the features.
As in Volume 1, this set is rich with special features giving new insight into the Moto character; his creator, J.P. Marquand; and much more.
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