Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Edwin
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
utgard14
When a friend and fellow police officer is murdered, Captain Bill Street (Grant Withers) turns to Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) for help. Wong's investigation leads him to uncover a smuggling ring. Because the story here is personal for his character, Grant Withers gets a chance to flex his acting muscles for the first time in the series. He wasn't nominated for an Academy Award, which surely must have been an oversight on the part of the Academy. Surely. But don't think the dramatic storyline means Street doesn't find time to yell at his girlfriend, Torchy Blane rip-off Bobbie Logan (pretty Marjorie Reynolds). Another watchable entry in the Mr. Wong series, which was never anything exceptional. Any movie with Boris Karloff is always worth watching once.
gridoon2018
Unlike a few others reviewers, I don't have much of an objection to Boris Karloff playing a Chinese detective in these "Mr. Wong" movies. His ethnicity may be wrong, but his calmness, his politeness, his acute observation powers, his gentle humor, just about every other aspect of the character seem to be just right. "The Fatal Hour" is very low-budget and very slow-moving, but the script does have some innovative ideas in its mystery, and Marjorie Reynolds is cute as the nosy-but-resourceful reporter. Her relationship with the gruff, loud, but deep down inside loving police captain is actually very similar to the relationship between Torchy Blane and Steve McBride in the Glenda Farrell series which ran from 1936 to 1939. ** out of 4.
catfish-er
I'm working my way through the Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection and THE FATAL HOUR is one of the movies in the set. I am watching them with my soon-to-be seven-year old daughter, which makes most of these movies a laugh riot. Not so with THE FATAL HOUR! First off, why is THE FATAL HOUR included in a collection of Horror Classics? Second, why is Boris Karloff cast as the Chinese detective, Mr. Wong? Yes, I know he played the same character in six films; but, it is just so unnecessary – he is not Chinese; he doesn't even try to look or sound Chinese!However, Marjorie Reynolds as the pushy reporter is an absolute hoot. She alone is reason enough for me to run out and buy the whole Wong collection, if they are even available.In any case, Mr. Wong is helping (unofficially) with the investigation of a murdered San Francisco police officer, who in turn was investigating a smuggling ring on the waterfront. After tracking down leads at a waterfront bar, a cut-rate jewelery store; a boarding house; and, even the police station, three new murders occur! With, of course, the ultimate conclusion (which I won't spoil for you.)The movie drags on forever, making it seem like an eternity, rather than a mere 68 minutes.
MartinHafer
Before Charlie Chan switched from Fox to low-budget Monogram Studios, Monogram created its own Chan knockoff in the form of the Mr. Wong movies. Like the Chan films, the lead character is some white guy in cheesy makeup--in this case, Boris Karloff. Unlike the Chan movies, Wong speaks without any particularly noticeable accent and he works without the assistance of his kids or Birmingham Brown. Instead, while not exactly his sidekick, the same nosy female reporter follows him and the police inspector during all the Wong films. Unfortunately, while the two series were awfully similar, the Chan series just seemed a lot more fun. A sense of whimsy was definitely missing from this film. Now as for the plot, it isn't bad at all but it also isn't enough to lift this from the category of a "time passer" and I can certainly see why Monogram soon dropped the Wong series in favor of their own line of Chan films. An interesting but ultimately ordinary film from start to finish. I wish I could say more about the film, but even after just watching it, nothing whatsoever stands out in my mind--and that says a lot about the film.
