2
(nothing substantial)
7
(a suggestion of murder)
5
(worth seeing if you like older mystery movies
"The Fatal Hour" is another Detective Wong story (#4 of 6 though the order doesn't much matter). It's a mystery in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes.
Capt. Street's friend, who is also a cop, has been murdered while investigating a smuggling ring. Mr. Wong at once shows up to offer his support and assistance which Street happily accepts given the sleuth's proven track record. An unwise romance leads to more murder right over the heads of Street and Wong as they continue to investigate the smugglers leading them to a popular waterfront nightclub where gangsters don't mind getting rid of people who get in their way. The bodies continue to pile up with Wong very nearly one of them.
Well written with good characters and excellent portrayals of them the only puzzler is why Boris Karloff plays a Chinaman. Don’t get me wrong, I love Karloff and can’t think of another person that could possibly have done a better job in this role, but Wong is supposed to be Chinese and Karloff obviously isn’t. There are a million reasons why this would be so, and I can do nothing better than speculate the answer.
Despite that strange fact, if I didn’t make it clear enough a moment ago, Karloff is really good in this. A Detective Wong movie was one of the first things I ever saw Karloff in besides "Frankenstein." I couldn’t believe this was the same man! That put Karloff on the path to being my favorite actor of his time aside from Vincent Price.
The only downfall to this movie is that it drags for a bit particularly as the investigation first gets moving. Once it gets going, though, it continues gaining steam until the end. It’s not some Shyamalan kind of twisty story, it’s just a nicely crafted whodunit.
Wong is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. He’s the guy the cops call in to solve a case when the best of the best are stumped. Doyle’s Holmes is still the master, but Wong is one of the few that can begin to equate even if he still fails to reach the same level.
Karloff is not the only good thing about this movie. I enjoyed pretty much all of the actors: Grant Withers and Marjorie Reynolds turn in strong performances with the main supporting roles even if Street's gruff yelling begins to get old after a while.
Morality
Wong deals with a criminal element and murder, but typical of these old B&W movies there is nothing shown on screen that couldn’t be in a community stage play. I don't recall us ever seeing a killing blow struck or a corpse on the floor.
There is no sexuality or nudity at all
Strong language is nil.
If I had a youngster interested in detective stories I’d let them watch this.
Spirituality
As much as I enjoy a good detective story there isn't much in the way of anything spiritual to talk about.
Final Thoughts
If you want a good, old mystery movie I recommend "The Fatal Hour." Don't break your neck hunting it down, but check it out if you get the chance.
Buying Guide
Like other old public domain flicks "The Fatal Hour" has a near-fatal number of releases floating around out there. Unlike a lot of them, though, it does actually have a couple that stand out.
You can get this on any number of stand-alone DVD's listing the same specs as every other: 1.33 full-frame image, mono sound, no extras. There are nearly as many different combo packs that appear to be no better and no worse, but there are 3 Wong box sets that might be worth a glance and a Karloff Collection. I'll look at a couple of the multi-packs in more detail.
First is the “Mr. Wong Detective – The Complete Collection.” This one is not the same as the set I'll detail below despite having the same title. It's by VCI and is a 2 disc set. It's not labeled a “collector's edition” like the other one is but is really more deserving of such a designation. This one lists the typical 1.33 ratio and has been digitally remastered according to one reviewer. What's more is that the set offers a handful of extras including some bios, a photo gallery, some classic cartoons (no details of what), and “Red Barry” chapter 1 (whatever that is).
Next up is “Mr. Wong Detective Complete Collection” a 6 DVD set by Alpha Home Ent. Unfortunately details on this particular set are scarce and reviews of it nonexistent. It looks more like a bundle than a true box set but does include all of the Mr. Wong movies in individual cases with different cover art and such. Beyond that I don't see anything to suggest that the presentation is anything special, and there are no extras listed.
The Karloff Collection offers numerous old Karloff movies including all the Wong movies he was in. That's good if you're wanting his films specifically, but it excludes the "Phantom of Chinatown" which stars Keye Luke as a younger Mr. Wong.
Final Recommendation:
If you're looking for the various Wong movies I say give one of those box sets a shot. I had my eye on the VCI set, but the price shot up to astronomical levels when I was looking to buy. It's more reasonable again so maybe you'll have more luck than I did as it appears to be the most desirable of the lot. The “collector's edition” set is not necessarily impressive, but it does offer all the films at reasonable quality if you find it for a decent price. It's probably the next best choice but appears to now be out of print. The 50 Horror Classics version is not bad as far as a cheap way to get a hold of a bunch of classic movies, but keep in mind that only a couple of the Wong movies are included in that set. Other than that one choice is as good a bet as any other.
Mr. Wong Detective The Complete Collection Collector's Edition is a 3 disc set that offers all 6 Mr. Wong films.
Video
1.33:
Despite this being remastered the video is still pretty bad. It is a bit washed out sometimes badly, trashy, grainy, and just generally unclear. It may be marginally better than the other version I've seen but still far from impressive.
Audio
2.0 PCM:
This is still a mono mix, and while the white noise is still present the dialogue volume is stronger than the other version.
Packaging
The 3 DVD's are housed in a typical but sturdy plastic case.
Extras
There are none.
The 50 pack of “Horror Classics” offers its movies on 12 DVD's.
Video
1.33:
This is "full frame" which is the only ratio I've seen offered. The image shows the movie's age with a fuzzy picture full of lines and trash. It's washed out and seems to shift around. It's clear enough to see all the action I guess.
Audio
2.0 mono:
This is a mono even if it's encoded as Dolby stereo. It's pretty typical of the old unrestored movies. I could understand all the dialogue, but it has plenty of white noise and other blemishes.
Packaging
This particular disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve contained in a Velcro-fastened box. Later editions are repackaged in plastic.
Extras
There are none.