The Return of Mr. Moto

Mr. Moto (Henry Silva) goes undercover to find out who has been blowing up oil wells and trying to gain total control of all the oil leases from a petroleum-rich Middle Eastern country.

The previous series of eight films was in the late 1930s and starred Peter Lorre, but Moto faded away for a number of reasons. The biggest probably being WWII. Was the character gone forever? Nope. Finally in the 1960s, director Ernest Morris brought the character back after his long absence. It was a one-off, but a decent one. Silva's Moto is very subtle compared to Lorre's in his speech and appearance, but it is still effective. Why a new series did not spring from this is unclear.

I'm not one of the reviewers who apparently lined up to bash this movie; I think that 20th Century-Fox guaranteed it a hostile reception by inviting comparison with the fondly-remembered Peter Lorre series of thirty years before. On its own it's a efficiently-produced crime thriller that moves along briskly and offers some genuine surprises and suspense to open-minded viewers. It's been suggested by some (including Henry Silva himself, in the DVD's audio commentary) that Silva is physically unsuited to play an oriental, but the same could be said of the Hungarian Peter Lorre in the earlier series, or the Swedish Warner Oland who became the definitive Charlie Chan. And it's worth mentioning that Henry Silva has convincingly played characters of various nationality over the years.

A beautiful letterboxed transfer of this film can be found as an extra on the final disc of the Peter Lorre/Moto DVD series; I found it well worth seeing for its entertainment value as well as Henry Silva's fascinating audio commentary.

It's called The Return of Mr. Moto (1965) Henry Silva. "Last full length feature of Ian Fleming". Perhaps, but it's not our Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre). Filmed at Shepperton Studios, which might give you a hint to the boredom ahead.

In this one Mr. Moto works for Interpol, investigating an oil mogul murder. The setting is international, ala Bond. Very dry. Tedious. Moto (actually calls himself "Mr. Tugura" so there is no reason for the movie title) goes into disguise eventually as a Japanese who's doing a Charlie Chan impression.

It's not that it's cheesy. It's just boring. No camp. No charm. As a "Mystery/Thriller" it wasn't mysterious or thrilling. And I actually like Henry Silva… usually.

I saw this film, as many probably do, because it is included as an extra on the Fox release of "Mr. Moto Takes A Vacation." The dvd print is fairly sharp' the 1965 film is in black and white.

The best moments of the film are a couple of action scenes, which are handled pretty well. Otherwise, it's just not very engaging. To me, that has two main causes: the film has virtually zero humor, and in Henry Silva's characterization, Mr. Moto seems a totally American person. There aren't even any little moments to indicate he's Japanese! Not in his taste in food, or dress, or habits, or manners, anything!

So, it seems like we're watching an American agent, who for some reason is named Moto, and who, rather oddly, everyone talks about as being Japanese. As for the plot of the film, it's like one of those early episodes of the Saint: frankly, it's a yawn.

Henry Silva's Moto is sort of likeable, but he's also super serious nearly all the time. His Moto just doesn't have much charm, which Peter Lorre always had in ample supply. I guess it comes down to, this movie is very much about the plot, and the plot has been done so many times on old TV shows that it's dull, and there's no humor to keep one engaged.

Suzanne Lloyd as the attractive woman character is good; I wish she had been in more scenes. Martin Wyldeck, who played the bad guy assassin, was very good; that part of the movie, involving him, was fine, but the film is a vehicle for Moto, and in that regard, the film is flat and under-powered. I'd say, it's OK to watch once if you have the Fox dvd.

Any mst3k fan knows what Lippert means. Super cheap, lots of car driving, stock footage and talk rather than show. Moto character is unrecognizable to 30's Moto. For 1965 the plot to control oil is the most interesting aspect of this bore. The 5 is for sharp b&w photography.