NEW SCREEN DETECTIVE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 11 February 1939, Page 6

NEW SCREEN DETECTIVE

KARLOFF TO CREATE ROLE The first of a new series of detective ! stories will shortly be released by Bri- j tish Empire Films when the character James Lee Wong.' in the person of Boris Karloff, will make his bow in “Mr I Wong. Detective.” Joining the company of Charlie Chan. I Mr Moto. the Saint. Philo Vance, and j others, James Lee Wong, newest screen sleuth, hails from “Collier’s Magazine." and is a creation of Hugh Wiley. James Lee Wong is a native of San Francisco, an educated, cultured Chinese. He is a scientific detective, who revels in intricate cases The more baffling the mystery the more intrigued is Mr Wong. Monogram has planned four "Wong" pictures to be released during the 1938 1939 season. Karloff, long known as the "horror" man, hated this epithet, and has yearned to become identified on the screen with a character who would have other claims to fame than his ability to scare When Karloff heard of Monogram’s purchase of the j "Wong" series he immediately asked | Scott Lunlap production head, if he might play James Lee Wong, and that very day the contract was signed. It takes him two hours to apply the makeup. “Mr Wong, Detective,” is the story of a rare poison gas, and the murder of three men who tried to steal its formula. Outstanding in the cast are Evelyn Brent. Grant Withers and John St. Polis. "Mr Wong in Chinatown.” “Mr Wong at Headquarters.” and "The Mystery of Mr Wong” are to continue the adventures of the screen’s new sleuth.