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I just finished watching the two-volume box set and I'm a little sad that there aren't more to see. Sure, there is some klunkiness to be had in this series of films --- 1938's MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE is awful and should only be seen by Charlie Chan (yes, I said "Chan") completists; the upper-class British twit comic relief in MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING and MR. MOTO TAKES A VACATION (same character with different names: "Rollo Venables" and "Archie Featherstone," respectively) is exquisitely unfunny and grating; the first half of MR. MOTO TAKES A VACATION is dull and stupid --- but there's a lot of good stuff here.

I really enjoyed these more than I thought I would. I guess it's because my memory of them was of me grudgingly watching them on late-night tv when there weren't any monster movies on. I know there was a "Mr. Moto's Casebook" syndicated tv package that I grumpily tolerated, but I also used to get them as part of a revolving showcase of old Fox detective movies (in fact, the restorations on the box set are so good that I caught myself almost nostalgically pining for the ragged, grubby prints!). But when viewed on their own for their own sake (rather than substitutes for late-night creature features), these Moto movies really hold up.

I found that Peter Lorre's Kentaro Moto was always interesting to watch... There are lots of folks who bristle at the possible racist characterizations, but really, the worst "yellow-face" minstrelsy only occurred when Lorre was playing Moto playing on the ignorant gaijin stereotypes of the Japanese as a disguise in order to be overlooked and underestimated, i.e. "Oh no, me not Mr Moto, me simple, polite, unassuming Japanese dealer in A-number-1 antiques, savvy?" Otherwise, Moto is smarter, more capable, more distinguished, and more dangerous than everyone else in the movie. If you want to get angry about offensive, racist performances, then go watch Mickey Rooney's cringeworthy turn as Mr. Yunioshi in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S... Mr. Moto rocks the house!