Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) has himself imprisoned on Devil's Island so he can help his cellmate (Leon Ames) escape and thereby get the goods on a gang of international killers.Trying to determine where the racism begins, ends and is even refuted in the Mr. Moto pictures is a fun game. Certainly, Moto himself can be thought of as a racist invention because of his portrayal by white man. But then, he is portrayed as clever and likable, so it is not as though the creators meant to insult the Japanese.Further, the film actually shows men acting racist and presents them in a poor light. And a subtle jab is given to racism when Moto is able to easily get through a gate by merely being a house servant. Who is foolish here? On top of all this, we have a fairly decent detective story, a jail break, and a mighty impressive bar fight.

Mr. Moto is undercover again. This time he helps Leon Ames escape from Devil's Island and then works for him as a servant so he can spy on the League of Assassins that Ames is part of. From what I've read here, this part of the movie has ruffled a few feathers as Lorre plays the Japanese servant in a very stereotypical manner. But it should be pointed out he's trying to appear slow-witted and harmless to throw off suspicion, so it's not like a Stepin Fetchit situation. There's actually a plot reasoning for it; he's not doing it to get racist laughs. Moto also puts on a disguise as a German artist at the art show late in the movie. This is amusing when you think about it: a German playing Japanese playing a German. Overall, it's not the best Moto picture. Lorre's performance helps things greatly but the story is pretty weak. Henry Wilcoxon plays an infuriating character who keeps refusing to believe there's any danger. There's a mystery about who is the leader of the League of Assassins that will come as no surprise to anyone. I'll give you a hint: it's an American actor using a dreadful British accent. It's a nice time-killer but nothing more.

Interpol's best agent Moto Kentaro is undercover at the beginning of Mysterious Mr. Moto as a notorious prisoner on Devil's Island. Peter Lorre does an arranged breakout from the island with Leon Ames the head of an international syndicate of assassins. In Brooklyn on a more local level it was called Murder Inc.Lorre attachs himself to Ames to work as his Japanese houseboy the better to get a line on the group. A bunch of them are in London to carry out a contract on Czech steel magnate Henry Wilcoxon unless he coughs up a new manufacturing formula he's developed. Wilcoxon does not take kindly to threats so Lorre has his work cut out for him.International politics gets jumbled considerably as Moto has a Chinese girl confederate here played by Karen Sorrell. And of course he's treated badly when he's in the notorious Limehouse district by the locals and rather condescendingly by Scotland Yard.I will say this though. It's rather obvious after a while who the real ringleader is, but if you look at the cast credits you won't figure it out because of the roles this player done.Peter Lorre is on top of his game, the film though has not stood the test of time.

This is the fifth installment of this mystery series created by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist J.P. Marquard. Considered by some as the poor man's Charlie Chan, but still interesting and enjoyable. The mild mannered Mr. Moto(Peter Lorre)agrees to help Scotland Yard by using a Devil's Island inmate's disguise to track down a gang of ruthless assassins. Moto must help his cell mate(Leon Ames)escape in order to get the low down on his unlawful friends. The Japanese sleuth always seems to complete his assignments relying on his wits and martial arts skills. Players include: Mary Maguire, Harold Huber, John Roberts and Henry Wilcoxon.