The Fatal Hour (1940) ** (out of 4)Captain Street (Grant Withers) gets word that his best friend's body has been pulled from a river. Soon Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) offers to help with the case and the two uncover a smuggling ring that the friend was trying to bust. The fourth film in Monogram's Mr. Wong series is a bit different than the previous three but it never rises above its "B" movie production. What makes this fourth film so different is the fact that it's Captain Street and his girlfriend/reporter who gets the spotlight while Wong is basically made to be a supporting character.I actually thought this aspect of the film made it worth a bit better than the previous film, MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN. I actually thought Withers was quite good in the lead and his character was written well enough to where you could be entertained by him and I also thought Marjorie Reynolds was good as the girlfriend. Some of their back-and-forth fighting got a bit old but I thought both actors were good. Karloff was also good in his role but once again he made no attempt to even appear Asian.The biggest problem with this film is that the story itself just isn't all that interesting. It's decent enough for a "B" movie but it's just not good enough to where you could build any real interest in it. There's certainly no tension and the mystery aspect just isn't as strong as it needed to be to make the film more successful.

didn't know what to make of this one,, Boris Karloff seems way out of place in this one, one thing i didn't get at all was the name of the movie, why is it called the fatal hour,, there are no references in the movie to any particular hour, i found this movie to be rather boring, didn't really have any excitement at all, don't know why it's classified as a horror pic,, it should be under crime drama or something,, i think that Boris Karloff should stick to monster movies,, that's what's he is the best at,, other than that i'm running out of things to say about this movie, other than it was boring, had no action whatsoever.

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.

When Captain Street's best friend Dan O'Grady is murdered, Street enlists the help of Chinese detective James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff). Wong uncovers a smuggling ring on the waterfront of San Francisco and unmasks the killer, though not until several more murders occur. This film was including in a horror box set, and the Internet Movie Database considers it to be in the genre of horror, but I will tell you right now: there is no horror in this. None. It is a straight detective story. Yes, Boris Karloff is in it, but that does not make it horror.I was confused by the casting of Karloff as the Chinese Mr. Wong. He plays Wong in six films, but as far as I can tell Karloff is not Chinese and does not look or sound even vaguely Chinese. So why would they not cast someone else or change the nationality of Karloff's character? I really enjoyed Marjorie Reynolds as the pushy reporter, who was possibly Grant Withers' girlfriend (it is never made clear). She seems to show up at all the critical moments, adding a humorous element to the otherwise straight film. The other great character is Frank Puglia as "Hardway", the career criminal who hangs out around the police station. He was the most interesting character, providing a great red herring (actually this film is full of red herrings).If you like mysteries and old films, this is one you will want to give a fair chance to. If old movies bore you, never mind... you will fall asleep. But I liked it.