Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
| Mr. Moto Takes a Chance | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Norman Foster |
| Produced by | Sol M. Wurtzel |
| Written by |
Lou Breslow John Patrick |
| Based on | original story by Willis Cooper Norman Foster characters created by John P. Marquand |
| Starring |
Peter Lorre Rochelle Hudson Robert Kent J. Edward Bromberg |
| Music by | Samuel Kaylin |
| Cinematography | Virgil Miller |
| Edited by | Nick DeMaggio |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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63 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance is the fourth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, although it was the second one actually filmed, following Think Fast, Mr. Moto.
The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, and an original story by Norman Foster and Willis Cooper.
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.
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Wikipedia