Doomed to Die (1940)
1h 8m | PG-13
Shipping magnate Cyrus Wentworth, downcast over a disaster to his ocean liner 'Wentworth Castle' (carrying, oddly enough, an illicit shipment of Chinese bonds) is shot in his office at the very moment of kicking out his daughter's fiance Dick Fleming. Of course, Captain Street arrests Dick, but reporter Bobbie Logan, the attractive thorn in Street's side, is so convinced he's wrong that she enlists the help of detective James Lee Wong to find the real killer.
Director: William Nigh
Studio: Monogram Pictures
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Video: 720p
Cast
Boris Karloff
as James Lee Wong
Marjorie Reynolds
as Roberta 'Bobbie' Logan
Grant Withers
as Capt. William Street
William Stelling
as Dick Fleming
Catherine Craig
as Cynthia Wentworth
Guy Usher
as Paul Fleming
Reviews
I love Boris Karloff so much in this 5-pack of early films he made that it doesn't bother me that he plays an Oriental detective. He threw himself, vitally, into every role he portrayed, and that's why he's so beloved today.
When a fire engulfs the "Wentworth Castle" at sea, the owner "Cyrus P. Wentworth" is devastated: very shortly afterwards, and after altering his will, he is dead! Enter "Mr. Wong" ( a thickly-accented Karloff) who has to navigate some quite choppy waters to establish a trail for this crime; particularly when it emerges that the ill-fated ship was carrying 1½ million dollars worth of bonds and that his daughter is in love with a man (the son of his bitterest rival) - who was also the last man to see "Wentworth" alive. It's actually quite a fun feature with plenty of action and quite a bit of humour. What is odd here, is that Karloff hardly features at all - much of the detection is done by Police Captain "Street" (Grant Withers) and local reporter "Bobbie" (Marjorie Reynolds). It certainly passes an hour with plenty of scope for Wong Tong puns....