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James Lee Wong, known simply as Mr. Wong, is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Hugh Wiley (1884–1968).[1] Mr. Wong appeared in twenty magazine stories and a film series of six, the first five of which starred English actor Boris Karloff as Wong, the last with Chinese-American actor Keye Luke in the role, the first Asian lead.
| James Lee Wong | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Medium Well Done |
| Last appearance | The Room of Death |
| Created by | Hugh Wiley |
| Portrayed by | Boris Karloff Keye Luke |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Detective |
| Nationality | Chinese-American |
In his story "No Witnesses", Wiley describes Mr. Wong as six feet tall, educated at Yale University and "with the face of a foreign devil-a Yankee".[2] In the stories, he is an agent of the United States Treasury Department and lives in San Francisco.
| Story title | Release date | Publisher | Collected |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Medium Well Done" | 1934 | Collier's[3] | Murder by the Dozen |
| "The Thirty Thousand Dollar Bomb" | |||
| "In Chinatown' | No | ||
| "Ten Bells" | Murder by the Dozen | ||
| "Long Chance" | |||
| "A Ray of Light" | 1935 | ||
| "Too Much Ice" | No | ||
| "Jaybird's Chance" | Murder by the Dozen | ||
| "Scorned Woman" | |||
| "Three Words" | |||
| "No Witnesses" | 1936 | ||
| "Seven of Spades" | |||
| "Hangman's Knot" | 1937 | No | |
| "No Smoking" | |||
| "The Eye of Heaven" | 1938 | ||
| "The Bell from China" | Murder by the Dozen | ||
| "The Feast of Kali" | |||
| "The Heart of Kwan Yin" | 1940 | No | |
| "Footwork" | |||
| "The Room of Death" |
The Mr. Wong character was featured in a series of films for Monogram Pictures. The first five starred Boris Karloff and directed by William Nigh. All the films co-starred Grant Withers as Wong's friend, Police Captain Street. Karloff also played the Chinese character Dr. Fu Manchu in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and General Wu Yen Fang, in West of Shanghai (1937), just prior to the first Mr. Wong.
The sixth film featured Chinese-American actor Keye Luke in the title role, the first time an American sound film used an Asian actor to play a lead Asian detective. Luke had formerly played one of Charlie Chan's sons in the Chan mysteries and Kato in The Green Hornet 1939 serial. In the prequel of the Mr. Wong series, the young "Jimmy Wong" (Luke) was introduced to Police Captain Street, whom Karloff's character worked with in the previous films. A 1940 article, Keye Luke Sleuths on his Own, in the Hollywood Citizen News, announced that Luke had been signed for four Mr. Wong pictures a year.[4] However, due to Karloff's departure, exhibitors lost interest and the series ended.[5]
| Film title | Star | Director | Released | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Wong, Detective | Boris Karloff | William Nigh | 1938 | Monogram Pictures | |
| The Mystery of Mr. Wong | 1939 | ||||
| Mr. Wong in Chinatown | |||||
| The Fatal Hour | 1940 | Also known as Mr. Wong at Headquarters | |||
| Doomed to Die | |||||
| Phantom of Chinatown | Keye Luke | Phil Rosen |
From 1939 a comic of the film The Mystery of Mr Wong appeared in four consecutive issues of Popular Comics.
Popular Comics (Dell, 1939–40) Issues 38-41
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