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Mr. Moto's Gamble

Mr. Moto's Gamble
Mr. Moto's Gamble FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by James Tinling
Produced by John Stone
Sol M. Wurtzel (uncredited)
Written by Charles Belden
Jerry Cady
Based on characters created by John P. Marquand
Starring Peter Lorre
Keye Luke
Dick Baldwin
Lynn Bari
Cinematography Lucien Andriot
Edited by Nick DeMaggio
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 7, 1938 (1938-04-07)
Running time
72 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Mr. Moto's Gamble is the third film in the Mr. Moto series starring Peter Lorre as the title character.

It is best remembered for originating as a movie in the Charlie Chan series and being changed to a Mr Moto entry at the last minute.

In San Francisco, policeman Lieutenant Riggs (Harold Huber) takes detective Mr. Moto and student Lee Chan (Keye Luke) to a prizefight between Bill Steele (Dick Baldwin) and Frank Stanton (Russ Clark), where the winner will take on the champion, Biff Moran (Ward Bond). However, the fight is fixed and gangster Nick Crowder (Douglas Fowley) bets big money that Stanton won't make it to the fifth round. He goes down in the fourth and dies shortly afterward.

Bookie Clipper McCoy (Bernard Nedell) loses a fortune. Mr. Moto proves that it was murder and it is revealed that $100,000 was won in bets around the country against Stanton. Mr. Moto works with Lt. Riggs to solve the murder as the championship fight looms.

Comedy is provided by Wellington (Maxie Rosenbloom), a kleptomaniac, and Lee Chan. Love interest comes from Lynn Bari and Jayne Regan. Mr. Moto promised to reveal the murderer's identity on the night of the big fight, but the murderer has plans, too, with a concealed gun, set up to kill Mr Moto.

When 20th Century Fox announced the Mr Moto series, the third one was always going to be called Mr Moto's Gamble. At the same time, the studio announced three Charlie Chan movies starring Warner Oland, Charlie Chan on Broadway, Charlie Chan at College and Charlie Chan in Radio City. It was announced the studio wanted Rochelle Hudson for Mr Moto's Gamble.

Fox commenced production on a Charlie Chan film called Charlie Chan at Ringside. However Warner Oland left the film due to illness and the production was suspended in January 1938. (In March 1938, Fox announced Oland would return to the role and appear in Charlie Chan on the Clipper Ship. However he never recovered from his illness and was unable to resume working. He died in August of 1938. Sidney Toler took over the role of Charlie Chan.)


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