Mr. Wong in Chinatown

Sleuth Wong (Boris Karloff) solves blowgun murders in San Francisco.

Mr. Wong in Chinatown, the third (of six) installment in Monogram’s “Mr. Wong” series, is a modest, B-grade detective yarn buoyed by a fun performance from Boris Karloff in the titular role.

The story is pretty much by the numbers, opening with a murder that only Wong can solve using his Chinatown contacts, awkwardly introducing the token female lead in Marjorie Reynolds, and finishing with the obligatory “big reveal” that you’ll see coming a mile away. Midget and assorted blowgun murders aside, this isn’t anything you haven’t seen before.

There’s no budget to speak of, the plot crumbles upon even a cursory inspection, and the acting, aside from Karloff, is stilted at best.

Yet, despite all this, the film’s still watchable, especially for Karloff fans. While much of this is no doubt due to the brief 71 minute running time, some of the credit must go to Karloff, who manages to be charming, funny, and compelling, despite his somewhat atrocious makeup. If the rest of the cast had even half of Karloff’s presence this might be worth recommending, but as is, Mr. Wong in Chinatown for Karloff fans only.