Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Tags: cult, murder, violence

Plot synopsis:
Over the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia we see the airplane Victoria Mason, aviatrix, flying around the globe. But her actual destination is the kingdom of Tong Moi in French Indochina. Already in Tong Moi, Mr. Moto is posing as an archeologist, and newsreel cameramen Marty Weston and Chick Davis are traveling up the river. Once she is overhead, Mason lights a flare and bails out of her smoking plane which crashes nearby. Rescued by Moto, Mason goes into the village with Bokor the head priest of Shiva. As Weston and Davis arrive at the crash site, Moto has discovered the flare that “caused” the accident.
While trying to film Mason and Tong Moi’s ruler, the Rajah Ali, Keema, the Rajah’s favorite wife mysteriously dies. Bokor claims that the foreigners and their camera caused her death and they are taken away for a trial. Meanwhile, Moto finds the true cause of Keema’s death, a poison dart.
At the temple of Shiva, Weston and Davis are pronounced guilty and are about to be thrown into a pit when an elderly guru appears. The guru impresses Bokor with his ability to charm a snake and to not be burned by a flaming poker. Bokor releases the foreigners at the orders of the guru.
The following day Moto offers to pay the cameramen for images of the interior of the temple. They agree, and return to the temple with Mason. The three are confronted by the elderly guru who tosses their camera down the well. Bokor, seeing this, asks the guru to kill the foreigner, Moto. The guru agrees and returns to the temple, there discovering a concealed ammunition cache. After disposing of a guard, the guru disappears into a secret passageway. There he reveals himself to be Mr. Moto, in disguise.
Moto writes a note saying that he discovered the ammunition and that Bokor is the leader of the revolt. He sends the message off by carrier pigeon but the Rajah kills the bird and intercepts the message. Later at a feast held in honor of the visitors, Moto is served the cooked bird on his plate and the Rajah reveals that he got the message.
In his cabin, Moto is marking the secret ammunition cache on a map of the temple when one of Bokor’s men comes in to kill him. After killing the intruder, Moto disguises himself as the assassin and sneaks into the night. Bokor begins searching Moto’s cabin but is interrupted by Mason, who finds the hidden map.
Bokor and his men follow Mason to the temple and capture her. The guru appears and pretends to hypnotize the captive. Meanwhile, Weston followed Mason to the temple and tries unsuccessfully to rescue her. Bonfire signals are made and Capt. Zimmerman the gun-runner arrives with Davis, who is taken captive as well. Zimmerman has been selling weapons to Bokor so that Bokor can start a revolution and depose the Rajah Ali. Zimmerman is killed by Yao in “payment” for his services.
When Mason reveals Moto’s identity, a fight ensues. Yao is killed and Bokor escapes and rounds up Zimmerman’s men. The four inside the temple hold off the men with the weapons that were just delivered. Mason reveals that she is a British Secret Service agent and Moto reveals that he is also a spy. Rajah Ali arrives with his army and rounds up Bokor and his men. The Rajah’s plan is to use the weapons Bokor purchased to revolt against the French. As the Rajah prepares to have Moto and the two cameramen executed, Mason distracts him so Moto can threaten to blow up the ammunition cache. The Rajah falls into the cache and the four heroes escape down the secret passage as the temple explodes.
All ends well with Mason and Weston beginning a romance and Davis planning on becoming Moto’s assistant. Davis faints when Moto tells him that his next assignment is to capture a murderer living on a volcanic island as the guest of headhunters.

Review: The Good & Bad Of 'Mr. Moto Takes A Chance'.
One is never quite sure who is what except we know Mr. Moto is a good guy and the two cameramen are innocent but too goofy.
This, the fourth in the Peter Lorre-starred series of Moto films, re minded me of the Monogram latter-day Charlie Chan films, with Mantan Moreland, in which some silliness sometimes overtook the crime story.
It also reminded me a bit of some old Tarzan films where you see stock footage of animals.The mystery starts right in the beginning when we see "Victoria Mason," a Amelia Earheart- type female who flying solo around the world, suddenly sabotaging her plane and parachuting to safety.
The pretty and nicely- shaped Rochelle Hudson plays Victoria.Anyway, to summarize briefly, the story is about a few Cambodian revolutionaries and a secret tomb- like cache for munitions.
The story is fair, nothing super, but the characters in here are odd, which is good because it keeps our interest in the film.
The silliness is supplied by a two-man American two-man film crew working the jungles of Cambodia.
Yes, an actor named Chick playing a guy named Chick!.They are more like Abbott and Costello than documentary filmmakers, and their lines are really dumb most of the time.What looked even more unrealistic but, in reality, wasn't as much as I thought, were the two main characters of from the host country in this story.
Edward Bromberg who plays "Rajah Ali." Both these guys look and sound American, especially Bromber but Regas, who looks like comedian Henny Youngman, is from Greece and Bromberg is from Hungary/Romania!
When this film was shot, she was 22 or 23 and still could have passed for a good-looking 30-year-old.
Sadly, this actress died of pneumonia while only in her 50s.Anyway, if you don't mind some of the sappy dialog and you still enjoy Lorre and his disguises, this Moto episode should be worth your time checking out.
Granted, there is more than enough silliness to go around -- Lorre's disguise as an Asian sage is, to be blunt, not *entirely* successful, but he plays the impersonation tongue in cheek, and the end result is nothing if not amusing.I cannot imagine what is offensive except possibly the dreaded racial stereotypes, which surely are endemic to the whole series.
Her performance in this Mr. Moto movie is well worth watching.
Also in the mix are a couple of goofy newsreel photographers (Robert Kent, Chick Chandler) and an aviatrix (Rochelle Hudson).In most of these Moto films, Peter Lorre seems to be having lots of fun and this one's no exception.
J. Edward Bromberg seems like comic relief at first but his character's pretty sinister.
Next to Lorre, Rochelle Hudson is the best reason to watch this.
She has more sex appeal with a ripped shirt exposing one bare shoulder than most actresses have fully nude.This one plays more like a jungle adventure film than a detective one.
But it's pretty fun, with neat temple sets and nice performances from Lorre and Hudson..
For the 4th Fox Moto the script took a nosedive and crashed like Rochell Hudson's plane did at the beginning.
The overall intelligent production and sinister atmosphere generated by the sets more than make up for it though and keep me coming back."Grave-digger" Moto played beautifully superciliously by Peter Lorre is trying to discover and stop a plot to overthrow a Cambodian Rajah (?) played by mincing and wincing J.
It takes a long time coming but the 2 Yanks escape an execution, Moto gets to show his incredible disguising (!) and energetic jujitsu skills off, and Hudson nearly got raped too (well, what was that about with the pervy High Priest if not?!) The High Priest/Temple scenes reminded me of George Zucco in The Mummy's Hand a few years later, another great film with a gossamer-like plot than smacked of Serial.
Even so, there's a few surprises along the way, and the 61 minute running time simply flew by, because you see, I enjoy watching this type of movie: I can laugh at its many faults at the same time as revelling in its many good points.I only wish they had made this as a 13 part serial, there'd be so much more to enjoy..
I've only seen the first three Mr. Moto films at this point but this was easily the least of them so far.
Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) poses as an archaeologist in a Cambodian jungle to sabotage the anti-government plans being cooked up by leader Rajah Ali (J.
He is helped out by a female spy (Rochelle Hudson) who has "conveniently" crashed her own plane on the island.
Detracting much from whatever enjoyment there is here are two silly American newsreel photographers who work their way into the story, providing what I suppose they think is comic relief.
Peter Lorre stars in "Mr. Moto Takes a Chance," in this 1938 entry into the series.
Lorre, of course, as Moto is the main reason for watching this film, but the rest of the cast here is very good: Rochelle Hudson, J.
Edward Bromberg, Robert Kent, and Chick Chandler.Working for the government, Moto is on assignment in French Cambodia to defuse two antigovernment plots, one lead by a holy man, Bokor against the local leader, Rajah Ali, and the other plot, led by Rajah Ali, who wants to start war against French rule.
There are also two goofy newsreel photographers who keep getting into trouble.Moto plays a double role here, that of Moto and an elderly mystic who looks like he could be over 150.
It's highly unlikely that Darryl Zanuck wasted five minutes thinking about the Mr. Moto series, except, of course, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
While the other Moto films featured production and entertainment values considerably above that of the average "B" film, this silly and embarrassingly amateurish entry is barely recognizable as part of the same series, with its lame-brained phony Orientalia and sub-Republic serial story line.
Worst of all, Peter Lorre--the only reason to watch a Moto film in the first place--spends an inordinate amount of time either offscreen or muffled in a disguise that's preposterous even for Moto..
Soon after he arrives, an Amelia Earhart-like woman conveniently "drops in" as well as two wildlife documentary film makers--making this part of rural Thailand about the busiest place in the entire country!!
MOTO TAKES A CHANCE are very good and make this a stand out film.
Second, like the earliest Moto films, our hero is NOT above killing his enemies--making Moto quite the different from Charlie Chan.
I have recently gotten into watching the Mr. Moto series and what a treat I have discovered.
Peter Lorre's diminutive Mr. Moto was an exceptional series.
When a female aviator, an Amelia Earhart type, whose a spy, on an around the world trek, deliberately crashes her plane near Moto's Tell.
Of course, they were alligators, but the stunt man was at one end of the canoe and two 'live' alligators were at the other, those bad boys can fly in the water and it took some brave stunt man to hop in there with them.Anyway, the plot involves a revolution in a tiny Asian..Siamish type country that was French controlled.
Moto disguises himself as a Tibetan monk guru...and when you see him...you will know, where they came up with the character...Yoda, in the Star Wars series.
The Mr. Moto series was as popular as Charlie Chan back in the thirties and I can see why.
I think Lorre's mean streak, flipping guys all over the place, then killing when he had to was more entertaining than the cerebral Charlie Chan, at times.
Don't miss any of the Mr. Moto series they are fun viewing and Lorre is a real charmer!.
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)** (out of 4) Fourth and so far least entertaining film in the series has Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) doing some work in the jungles of Cambodia.
Soon a female pilot (Rochelle Hudson) crash lands as well as two reporters all of whom are about to witness a high priest perhaps commit a murder.
This is certainly the weakest of the first four films, which is something I really wasn't expecting because I thought seeing Moto in a jungle would lead to a lot of entertaining things but it didn't.
What makes all of this even stranger is that Moto is pretty much in the background for most of the film and I even wondered at times why he was there at all because there was so little of him.
Fans of white-suited Mr. Moto may be aware he loves to masquerade in order to manipulate the unwary and the villainous, and in Mr. Moto Takes A Chance, Peter Lorre slips on a disguise...well, you just have to see it to believe it!
It also appears that the studio's Central Casting dragged a couple of folks off of Hollywood Boulevard and strapped them into what might be Neo-Asian Drag, as it is a little difficult to know from looking at the poor things exactly what cultural background they are supposed to represent.There's also an ancient temple crawling with vines, a cobra in a basket, and all the trappings of a wonderfully silly Saturday afternoon matinée adventure--all this and Rochelle Hudson!
Not one of the best Mr. Moto adventures, especially when Lorre, in his Moto makeup, spends far too much time under another layer of disguise to mystify the villainous as well as willing viewers--that said, if Peter Lorre's in it, the film is probably worth a look!.
She is up to something and she torches the plane to set it on fire and parachutes out.There are also camera men from another country in a canoe with a large camera there to take pictures of that country.Moto is at archaeological dig.
Whites are referred to in a bad way by the tribal people.Moto is on a mission he plays a prophet or something in disguise and also a archaeologist.
He sends Bokor and his men away to watch Moto at the dig.
Victor Sen Yung that plays in Charlie Chan as a son is a soldier uncredited in this movie.There is lots of shooting, lots of fires, lots of people from different countries, music, humor and mystery..
Among the Best Moto Films.
In the jungle near Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) poses as an ineffectual archaeologist and a venerable holy man with mystical powers to help foil two insurgencies against the government.When one of the characters say this of Lorre, you know the film is a winner: "If I was casting a horror picture, I'd have him playing the murderer." Just a brilliant nod to Lorre's career at that point, with such notable films as "M" and "Mad Love" under his belt.One cannot deny the excellent makeup, which remains creepy even close up.
MOTO TAKES A CHANCE (20th Century-Fox, 1938), directed by Norman Foster, stars Peter Lorre in the title role of the Japanese sleuth based on the character created by John F.
As much as this being the studio's attempt for another "Charlie Chan" franchise, this short-lived movie series succeeds mostly due to the star presence by non-other than Peter Lorre.Taken from an original story by Norman Foster and Willis Cooper, the plot opens with Victoria Mason (Rochelle Hudson), an aviatrix traveling alone around the world in her private airplane, flying over Cambodia.
While in the jungles, Victoria meets with Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), a Japanese detective on assignment posing as an archaeologist searching for ancient ruins for his museum; Marty Weston (Robert Kent) and Chick Davis (Chick Chandler), a couple of newsreel photographers from Chicago; The Rajah Ali (J.
Edward Bromberg), a ruler who intends on making Victoria his next wife; and Boko (George Regas), a high priest who wants all whites out of Asia, and promising a bloody day of deliverance.
Later, Moto, Victoria and the cameramen face danger as they are held prisoners in the temple by Boko and Captain Zimmerman (Fredrick Vogeding), surrounded by high explosives inside and gunshots being fired their direction from the outside.In tradition to the series, some characters in the story have hidden secrets about their identity.
For Mr. Moto, whose usually works alone on his assignments, also goes about donning various disguises in the similar manner as Sherlock Holmes.
Kent is the romantic type interested in the lady aviatrix (Hudson), a character somewhat inspired by Amelia Earheart, while Chick Chandler is the comedy relief who gets himself in trouble with his antics, ranging from falling into a tiger's pit, to demonstrating tricks to the Rajah, one that involves the Rajah's most precious watch, and so forth.Not shown regularly on commercial television since the 1990s, MR.
MOTO TAKE A CHANCE, and other installments in the series, have become available for viewing on DVD.
Even at a brief 64 minutes, the film on occasion seems a bit longer than it actually is, but with Lorre's know-how performances that manages to make this a watchable little item.
The fourth in the series of Twentieth Century Fox films featuring Japanese detective Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) opens with jungle stock footage right before aviatrix Victoria Mason (Rochelle Hudson) sabotages her own airplane and parachutes to safety in the Cambodian wilds of Tong Moi. The logistics of that plane crash and her parachute landing practically right on top of Mr. Moto on an archaeological dig isn't very believable, but it does set up a fast paced adventure involving native revolutionaries and a secret munitions base.
As in the first two Moto films, Lorre dons a disguise for part of the story, this time as an aged Hindu wise man.
As the two newsreel reporters continue on their way following the first encounter with Moto, Marty Weston (Robert Kent) comments to partner Chick Davis (Chick Chandler) - "If I was casting a horror picture, I'd have him play the murderer".If you pay attention the first time Moto reaches for a carrier pigeon to relay a message to his government contact, you'll note that the cage door is already open.
J. Edward Bromberg adds to the colorful proceedings as Rajah Ali, walking a fine line between Bokor's (George Regas) native upstarts and his French government superiors.
This time around, in addition to Moto's clever detective work and martial arts skill, he also shows he can be deadly with a machine gun.
Unlike his Oriental counterparts Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong, Moto can mix it up pretty well with the bad guys, and leaves a trail of dead bodies in his wake that would make Dirty Harry proud.All in all, an offbeat and different kind of mystery for Mr. Moto, reminiscent somewhat of the much later Charlie Chan film, 1948's "The Feathered Serpent" which takes place in an Aztec jungle setting.
At least Moto looked more comfortable in a safari suit.Oh, and lest I forget, let me get my vote in now for Rochelle Hudson, the actress with the sexiest shoulder of the 1930's!.
I liked Lorre as the Guru, reminded me of Yoda.
There isn't a lot going on here-natives revolting, gun dealiner, the Rajah knows about it but strings things along for his own ends, etc.
MOTO'S GAMBLE which is really a 'Charlie Chan' pic, this is the least of the Moto series.
Peter Lorre's Moto spends a third of the picture as an ancient holy man (looking & sounding like a precursor to Yoda from STAR WARS), and combining the comic relief with the romantic subplot only makes things worse.
Mr Moto's series are decently written escapism.
There is an episode of SG-1 (when the team goes back in time due to an old recording they found of themselves) which duplicated the cache of weapons as Mr Moto finds in this movie.
Mr Lorre's character in this series allowed him to show his variety of skills - he was not limited in the roles he was given..
This one may be just a programmer, but Peter Lorre as Kentaro Moto makes it interesting.
"I find it very wise not to interfere with the customs of other people," says Kentaro Moto, export dealer, hand-to-hand combat specialist, expert with disguises and, in Mr. Moto Takes a Chance, a spy for the French in Indochina.
After the great start of the series with Think Fast, Mr. Moto and Thank You, Mr. Moto, this third in the outing sticks us back firmly in the low budget, do-what-it-takes, quickie category of programmers.
Take away Peter Lorre as Moto and we'd have a tired jungle drama of nefarious natives, banana plants and the occasional crocodile.
The only real mystery is how Mr. Moto keeps his white suit so clean in the jungle.
The plot involves a plot, of course, and this one is by Bokor, high priest in the royal village of Tong Moi, not too far from Angkor Wat. He wants to do some overthrowing which will involve the Raja Ali, a seemingly jolly, chubby man who delights in his wives so much that he plans to add Vicki Mason, aviatrix and adventuress who had to bail out of her plane, to the roll call.
One spy is Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), disguised as a timid archaeologist, and the other is aviatrix Victoria Mason (Rochelle Hudson), who fakes a crash landing in the kingdom.
Edward Bromberg) and an oily, conniving high priest, Bokor (George Regas).
Posing as an archaeologist in the wilds of Cambodia, Moto is undercover trying stop a plot to overthrow the government.
He is joined by an aviatrix whose plane has crashed and a couple of bumbling newsreel photographers.This was a first time viewing for me.
First off, I was struck with how different Mr Moto Takes a Chance is from the other Moto films I've seen.
Technically, it's as good as you'd expect.As far as the acting goes, all I really need to say is Peter Lorre.
Rochelle Hudson proves to be Lorre's equal.