Tonight's Movie: The Fatal Hour (1940) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

THE FATAL HOUR (1940) is the fourth of five films in the Mr. Wong Collection, available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

I've been gradually watching the films over the course of the last couple months and found them a pleasant surprise. They may be low budget "B" films, but sometimes a short little movie like a Mr. Wong film is exactly what I want at the end of a long day.

THE FATAL HOUR might be my favorite in the series to this point; it's a 68-minute film with a well- constructed plot. The movie was known in the UK as MR. WONG AT HEADQUARTERS, which I think might be a better title.

Like the previous film, MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN (1939), THE FATAL HOUR also benefits from the presence of Marjorie Reynolds as newspaper reporter Roberta "Bobbie" Logan.

As the movie begins, Police Captain Bill Street (Grant Withers) learns an old friend and fellow officer has been found murdered.

The dead man has been investigating smuggling on the waterfront, and before long Bill and private detective Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) are investigating a costume jewelry shop which might be a front for sales of valuable jade.

Unfortunately more deaths occur before the mystery is solved; the interesting solution involves a newfangled remote-controlled radio.

I enjoy Karloff as the eternally unruffled, observant Mr. Wong; it's fun to watch his mind work as he sifts through clues.

Reynolds also adds quite a bit. I particularly liked that when Bobbie learns of the death of Bill's close colleague, she drops the sparring which is typical of their relationship and offers Bill genuine sympathy and help. Similarly, Bill's true feelings for Bobbie are apparent in the final scene.

The solid supporting cast includes Lita Chevret, Charles Trowbridge, Richard Loo, Craig Reynolds, Elsa Janssen, I. Stanford Jolley, and Jason Robards (Sr.).

The movie was directed by William Nigh and filmed in black and white by Harry Neumann.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray print is a new master from a 2K scan of fine grain film. It's a tad soft in spots, but overall it's very good. Sound is also strong. It kind of amazes me that we now have these Monogram Pictures films available looking so good!

Previous reviews: MR. WONG, DETECTIVE (1938), THE MYSTERY OF MR. WONG (1939), and MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN (1939). I'll be reviewing the last title in the set, DOOMED TO DIE (1940), in the near future.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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