Mr. Wong (fictional detective)
James Lee Wong, known simply as Mr. Wong, is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Hugh Wiley (1884-1968). Mr Wong appeared in magazine stories and a series of films.
Description
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".[1] In the stories he is an agent of the United States Treasury Department and lives in San Francisco.
Short stories
Twelve stories were published in Colliers Magazine from 1934 to 1938.[2]
- "Medium Well Done" (March 10, 1934, Collier's)
- "The Thirty Thousand Dollar Bomb" (July 28, 1934, Collier's)
- "Ten Bells" (August 4, 1934, Collier's)
- "Long Chance" (December 15, 1934, Collier's)
- "A Ray Of Light" (May 25, 1935, Collier's)
- "Jaybird's Chance" (July 20, 1935, Collier's)
- "Scorned Woman" (September 14, 1935, Collier's)
- "Three Words" (November 2, 1935, Collier's)
- "No Witnesses" (February 15, 1936, Collier's)
- "Seven Of Spades" (September 5, 1936, Collier's)
- "The Bell From China" (March 26, 1938, Collier's)
- "The Feast Of Kali" (June 25, 1938, Collier's)
These were all collected in the volume Murder by the Dozen in 1951.
Films
The character starred in a series of films for Monogram Pictures. Five of the films starred Boris Karloff and were directed by William Nigh. All the films co-starred Grant Withers as Wong's friend, Police Captain Street.
The sixth featured Chinese American actor Keye Luke in the title role, the first time an American film featured an Asian character as a lead Asian detective. In the reboot of the series the young "Jimmy Wong" was introduced to Police Captain Street whom Boris Karloff's character worked with in the previous films. Though a 1940 article Keye Luke Sleuths on his Own in the Hollywood Citizen News announced Luke, who had formerly played one of Charlie Chan's sons and Kato in The Green Hornet 1939 serial was signed for four pictures a year, [3] due to the loss of Boris Karloff film exhibitors lost interest and the series was ended.[4]
| Film title | Starring | Directed by | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Wong, Detective | Boris Karloff | William Nigh | 1938 | |
| The Mystery of Mr. Wong | Boris Karloff | William Nigh | 1939 | |
| Mr. Wong in Chinatown | Boris Karloff | William Nigh | 1939 | |
| The Fatal Hour | Boris Karloff | William Nigh | 1940 | Also known as Mr. Wong at Headquarters |
| Doomed to Die | Boris Karloff | William Nigh | 1940 | |
| Phantom of Chinatown | Keye Luke | Phil Rosen | 1940 |
Comics
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 39-41
Notes
- ↑ p.120 Brunsdale, Mitzi Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes ABC-CLIO, 26/07/2010
- ↑ http://www.thrillingdetective.com/wong.html
- ↑ p. 117 Fuller, Karla Hollywood Goes Oriental: CaucAsian performance in American Film Wayne State University Press, 2010
- ↑ p.82 Everson, William K. The Detective in Film Citadel Press, 1972
External links
- Mr Wong at Thrilling Detective http://www.thrillingdetective.com/wong.html
- Hugh Wiley http://www.answers.com/topic/hugh-wiley
- The Mr. Wong Page - Information on the stories, comic and films.
