I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Pretty Good

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Herbert I. Leeds directs Peter Lorre in this episode of the Mr. Moto series. Diamond smugglers in Puerto Rico murder a lead investigator; this forces the U.S. Government to call upon super sleuth Kentaro Moto(Lorre)to further investigate and break up the suspected criminal ring. As always when summoned, Moto's powers of reason prove flawless when dealing with dim-bulb hoodlums. With martial arts and mental prowess, the unassuming and mild mannered Mr. Moto is victorious in meeting the challenge. Deadpan humor is not lost in the crime and drama. The supporting cast features: Jean Hersholt, Richard Lane, Amanda Duff, Leon Ames, Paul Harvey and Warren Hymer, as Twister McGurk.

***SPOILERS*** Mr. Moto, Peter Lorre, is sent to the island of Puerto Rico to check out a diamond smuggling ring that's responsible for the murder of a Government Agent, Rodney Graham, who had infiltrated it. Faking an appendicitis attack Mr. Moto and his good friend and bodyguard, as if he needs one, professional wrestler Twister McGurk, Warren Hymen, is kidnapped by the smugglers on his way to the hospital only to lead the local police straight to them. In what was a wild brawl the leader of the group Capt.Dahlen, Eddie Marr, escaped to the Puerto Ricen swamps where his smugging operation originates from. Now again faking that he in fact is not Mr. Motto Mister Motto gets himself, together with Twister McGurk, recruited into the diamond smuggling ring using the allies of wanted and on the lamb hood Yoko Simura.Not one of the better Mr. Moto movies with the fearless and martial arts expert Mr. Motto getting his nice clean and pressed white suit and pants wet and dirtied with mud in the swamps where the diamond smugglers are operating out of. It takes a while for Mr. Moto to find out who's really behind this diamond smuggling ring that has already murdered two people including the Governor of the Island John Bentley, Paul Harvey, who had uncovered his identity. It's when Capt. Dahlen is caught in his attempted escape,on a motor boat, from the law that Mr. Moto devises a fool proof plan to get the head of this diamond smuggling ring to come out in the open. That in him trying to murder the seriously injured Capt. Dahlen before he comes out of his coma and talks to the police!***SPOILERS**** As the saying goes "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and that also goes for Capt. Dahlen. He was dead all the time but the clever Mr. Moto kept that from the person who was to eventually "murder" him to keep him from talking. A neat trick on Mr. Moto's part in having him expose himself by killing Capt. Dahlen a second time, he in fact died in a shoot out with the police on the high seas, in him not knowing that he was dead already!

Now I realize that the Mr. Moto features were B pictures from 20th Century Fox and I have a low bar set for them accordingly, but you would think that a film set in Puerto Rico would have at least one person of Latino background as a character. Even a small scene where Peter Lorre goes to a library to do research the librarian could have been a librarian from Kankakee, Illinois. Darryl F. Zanuck should have been more alert here.With that the film does sink to below average in ratings. As for the plot itself, Mr. Moto On Danger Island finds the intrepid Japanese sleuth hired by a consortium of diamond merchants to put a stop as to his smuggling the gems from Puerto Rico. It's important enough so that the territorial governor of Puerto Rico, Paul Harvey is in on it and is giving him full cooperation. Not that it does Harvey much good, because Harvey winds up a homicide victim and Colonel Richard Lane of the army who had been investigating the situation previously winds up with the blame and the suspicion of being the man in charge of the smuggling.Such folks as Robert Lowery, Leon Ames, Douglass Dumbrille and Jean Hersholt are in the cast, any one of them a likely villain. And for comic relief the intellectually challenged Warren Hymer is along as a professional wrestler who strikes up the acquaintance of Peter Lorre while on the boat bound for Puerto Rico and attaches himself to Lorre.Fans of the series will like this, but I fear few others.

Calling this a typical Moto film is not a bad thing. After all, this series from Twentieth-Century Fox was about the equal in quality to their other series, Charlie Chan. The big difference being that Moto is more a "gun for hire"--a man who would play private detective or even mercenary in his films. Unlike the squeaky clean and rather sedate Chan, Moto is more physical and not above twisting the law or even killing someone. Sadly, he didn't kill anyone in this film--always a trademark of a great Moto film! Moto is on his way to Puerto Rico to investigate a diamond smuggling ring. However, on the way, he is laid out due to an appendicitis and it looks like Moto might have to drop the case. However, being a very sneaky character, there's a lot more to the story than this. Along for the ride is Warren Hymer, who plays Moto's new friend who tags along during the investigation. Having Hymer in the film makes sense, however, as the film was originally planned another Chan film. But, since Warner Oland had recently died, the script was adapted for Peter Lorre's series. In the usual role of Number One or Number Two son is Hymer--who gets into trouble and makes a nuisance of himself just like he was an honorary Chan himself! Overall, well written, exciting and up to the usual high standards of the series. The only serious knock I have against this film is that although it's set in Puerto Rico, there's no one who remotely looks or sounds Hispanic in the film. Of course, considering they have a German guy playing Moto, I guess this shouldn't come as much of a surprise.