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Doomed to Die |  | Director: William Nigh
Actors: Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, William Stelling, Catherine Craig
Studio: Alpha Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $7.98
Buy New: $2.00
as of 2/10/2010 02:45 EST details
You Save: $5.98 (75%)
New (11) Used (10) from $1.24
Seller: stefanie1959
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 85152
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 68 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 089218407894
EAN: 0089218407894
ASIN: B00007G1TE
Theatrical Release Date: August 12, 1940
Release Date: November 19, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Detective Wong is right again January 14, 2008
Daniel Jolley (Shelby, North Carolina USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Looking and sounding about as Chinese as I do, Boris Karloff is once again on the case as the irrepressible Detective Wong in 1940's Doomed to Die. I know a lot of people love these Detective Wong movies for Boris Karloff, but I'm actually more partial to Grant Withers' performance as Captain Bill Street, the blustering homicide captain who keeps having his open and shut cases proven quite wrong thanks to the nosy interference of journalist Bobbie Logan (Marjorie Reynolds), with whom Street banters throughout the entire film. Street and Logan are like cinematic professors of sharp and witty repartee, giving the film more than a few moments of humor.
You can hardly blame Captain Street for thinking this particular case basically solved itself. At least three people, including the boy's father, heard Dick Fleming (William Stelling) arguing with shipping magnate Cyrus P. Wentworth (Melvin Lang) in the man's office just seconds before hearing a gunshot and rushing in to see Wentworth fatally wounded - and no sign of Dick Fleming, who obviously fled out the back entrance to the office. The motive for the murder was plain to see as well - Dick had gone to tell Wentworth that he was marrying his daughter Cynthia with or without his blessing, a blessing that Wentworth would never give due to his personal and professional enmity with his main competitor Paul Fleming (Guy Usher). As Street's luck would have it, though, reporter Bobbie Logan just happens to be best friends with Cynthia, and she asks Detective Wong to take a look at the case in hopes of proving Dick's innocence. Wong, of course, quickly discovers that the case is much more complex than it would first appear. He thinks the murder has to be related in some way to the recent loss of Wentworth's flag ship, which burned at sea, especially when he learns that a fortune in bonds was being smuggled into the country on that very ship.
I love Boris Karloff as much as the next guy, and I enjoy watching these Detective Wong mysteries, but they just never seem to rise to the occasion in more than a four-star manner. Without the verbal jousting match between Captain Street and thorn-in-his-side reporter Bobbie Logan, Doomed to Die would probably tend to drag from time to time, especially since Wong tends to keep certain bits of information to himself until the time comes to reveal the identity of the murderer at the very end. Still, this is certainly an enjoyable little crime caper. Even if you buy it strictly for Karloff, you're bound to be entertained by the antics of Grant Withers and Marjorie Reynolds.
 You can't go wrong with Wong August 25, 2004
W. Foo
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Another fine old who-dunnit with Karloff as the great detective. Mr Wong never quite caught on the way Charlie Chan and Mr Moto did. He did have his moments though. His films are well worth a look if you are a fan of these types of mysteries.
Another "Wong" Winner! July 2, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a terrific DVD for the atmosphere, the clever Mr. Wong, This is a B picture, to be sure, shot on a budget, but its great fun as Mr. Wong solves his case. The transfer is very good considering there is no restoration. The sound is very good as well. I love this series and Boris is the man to play the character.
 A Whodunit In the Spirit of Sherlock Holmes September 30, 2007
Lonnie E. Holder (Columbus, Indiana, United States)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I must admit that in spite of seeing Boris Karloff playing a person of Chinese heritage, I enjoyed this movie. Karloff played Chinese-American detective James Lee Wong in the sixth of seven films featuring the James Lee Wong character, though this film was Karloff's last appearance as this character - Keye Luke played James Lee Wong in the final film in this series.
Cyrus P. Wentworth is despondent over a fire and loss of life on his ship Wentworth Castle. The film footage of the ship on fire is actually that of the Morro Castle, which caught fire in 1934 and led to the loss of 137 passengers and crew. Overlaid on Wentworth's despondency is his ire that Dick Fleming, son of a rival, wants to marry his daughter. Wentworth essentially tells Fleming that he can marry his daughter over his dead body. You know the old saying that you should be careful what you ask for...
Since Dick Fleming was visiting Wentworth moments before his death, police Captain Bill Fleming decides that Fleming must be the killer. However, detective James Lee Wong is not so sure, and methodically follows the clues to track down his man.
I mostly liked this movie with the exception of obnoxious reporter Bobbie Logan and police Captain Bill Fleming. Both characters were, as often was the case in movies from this era, stereotypical and poorly developed. If either character had totally disappeared from the film I am not sure the plot would have suffered much. The rest of the movie was interesting though far from being politically correct.
The mystery was developed satisfactorily and would probably have been a greater shock to audiences of the era. I doubt the solution to the mystery would surprise many modern mystery fans. However, I still thought this movie was fun to watch and once I accepted Karloff as Wong I enjoyed Wong making fools of everyone who thought they knew how Wentworth died.
The sound and picture were reasonably good in this edition. Neither has been restored, that I can tell, but both were quite acceptable.
This movie will likely appeal to fans of films featuring Mr. Moto or Charlie Chan. I think the Charlie Chan films were better from the viewpoint of being detective stories. However, having a Caucasian portray an Asian is difficult to get around, though this movie was made in an era when such substitutions were considered acceptable. I thought it was interesting that Wong was clearly superior to the Caucasian investigators in the movie, who were either bumbling or incompetent. However, if you are very sensitive to issues of race you should probably avoid this film.
Good luck!
 forget it--amazon won't even tell you what it's about June 3, 2009
Joseph J. Sheehan (Los Angeles, CA)
The so-called "editorial review" contains not one word giving the slightest hint of the plot of this movie, or even very generally what the subject matter is. How totally absurd. Barnes and Noble gives real reviews. Buy your movies there.
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