Mr. Moto

For the professional wrestler known as Mr. Moto, see Tor Kamata. For the 1961 song, see The Bel-Airs.

Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death of Charlie Chan's creator Earl Derr Biggers.

In various other media, Mr. Moto has been portrayed as an international law enforcement agent. These include eight motion pictures starring Peter Lorre between 1937 and 1939, 23 radio shows starring James Monk broadcast in 1951, a 1965 film starring Henry Silva, and a 2003 comic book produced by Moonstone Books.

Character in the novels

In Marquand's novels, Moto calls himself I. A. Moto, though it is made clear in some of the books that this is almost certainly an alias. Most of the novels are about intrigue in Pacific Rim countries in the 1930s. The central character is usually an American, a military veteran, who becomes accidentally enmeshed in the action and meets Moto. The ex-military American character usually does not realize that Mr. Moto is an imperial agent until late in the story.

Mr. Moto is a master at working under cover. Though capable of ruthlessness and deadly violence, he appears to be merely a harmless, easygoing eccentric. Through a series of fast-paced adventures, the characters gradually comprehend how important and formidable Moto really is. Marquand tends to keep Mr. Moto in the background rather than at the center of the action, with the spy's more dramatic exploits typically described second-hand. It lends a further air of mystery to the character.

In the first five novels, set in the era of expansionist Imperial Japan, Mr. Moto is an agent of the empire. In the final novel, set in the 1950s inside Japan, he is a senior intelligence official in the pro-Western Japanese government. This final novel, titled Stopover: Tokyo (a.k.a. Right You Are, Mr. Moto) is a more conventional spy story and a somewhat darker tale than the earlier novels. The American who encounters Mr. Moto is not an innocent abroad but an agent on the trail of a pro-Soviet assassin, and he senses early on that Moto is not what he seems to be. Virtually all the characters in the novel are in the spy business.

Physical description

He is physically described in Think Fast, Mr. Moto:

Mr. Moto was a small man, delicate, almost fragile. … He was dressed formally in a morning coat and striped trousers. His black hair was carefully brushed in the Prussian style. He was smiling, showing a row of shiny gold-filled teeth, and as he smiled he drew in his breath with a polite, soft sibilant sound.

This basic description carries through most of the novels, with the slightly different description in Right You Are, Mr. Moto which is set 20 years later than the first five novels. In this novel he is described as being “middle aged,” and his hair as being “grayish and close-clipped.” In two novels, Marquand describes Mr. Moto's build as "chunky".

He is often described as wearing formal evening clothes that are impeccably tailored. On occasion his sartorial style is somewhat misguided such as in Mr. Moto Is So Sorry when he appears in black-and-white checked sports clothes with green and red golf stockings. When his outfits are commented upon, Mr. Moto makes childlike excuses about it.

Personal life

Mr. Moto rarely discourses on his personal life but in Think Fast, Mr. Moto he talks about his many talents.

Yes, I can do many, many things. I can mix drinks and wait on table, and I am a very good valet. I can navigate and manage small boats. I have studied at two foreign universities. I also know carpentry and surveying and five Chinese dialects. So very many things come in useful.

In Mr. Moto Is So Sorry he states that one of these foreign universities was in America where he studied Anthropology. It is also noted in this novel that he has enough knowledge of America to be able to distinguish regional accents.

The novels always involve a romance between the main characters (often a disenfranchised expatriate American) and a mysterious woman. While Mr. Moto often despairs of the hero's attempts at saving the girl, he notes in Mr. Moto Is So Sorry that he himself is not immune to their charms.

“So often,” he said, “I have seen such gracious ladies disrupt political combinations.” He sighed and still stared at the ceiling seemingly lost in memory. “Such a lovely girl in Washington – I was so much younger then. She sold me the navy plans of a submarine. The price was thirty thousand yen. When the blueprints came, they were of a tugboat. Such a lovely lady. Such a lovely lady in Tokyo. She took me to see the goldfish in her garden, and there were the assassins behind the little trees. Not her fault, but theirs that I am still alive – they were such poor shots. I do no understand lovely ladies, but I still trust them sometimes.”

Politics

While he is a devoted servant of the Emperor, he is often at odds with the Japanese military. He believes in the manifest destiny of the Japanese to expand into China, but unlike the military, wants to achieve this slowly and carefully. Millicent Bell in her biography of John P. Marquand notes how this may have impacted the audience:

There is political significance, too, in the calculated appeal to American readers of the ever resourceful Mr. Moto, the representative of Eastern subtlety combined with Western efficiency, who emerges as a gentleman of wit and charm. Up to 1939 it must have seemed possible to some that Japan would be moderate and reasonable in its expansion in the Far East – that the Mr. Motos would defeat the Japanese military fanatics. Pearl Harbor, of course, put an end to American neutralism as well as to hopes of Japanese moderation – but not before Marquand's Moto series had become one of the most popular fictions ever to be run in an American magazine.^[1]

Novels

• Your Turn, Mr. Moto (aka No Hero and Mr. Moto Takes a Hand (British edition)) (1935) - Originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1935 under the title, No Hero.
• Thank You, Mr. Moto (1936) - Originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1936. An expatriate American gets involved in intrigue in Peking when he tries to save an American woman from unscrupulous art dealers. Moto tries to save them both from a military takeover of Peking.
• Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937) - Originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1936. The heir to an American banking firm is sent to Honolulu to clear up a family matter involving a gambling house. Moto is also drawn to Hawaii to stop money being channeled into China to support revolutionaries.
• Mr. Moto Is So Sorry (1938) - Originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1938. An American on the run from authorities encounters Moto on a train journey through China. Moto is on his way to a life-or-death showdown with Russian spies and draws the hapless American into the situation when a secret message accidentally falls into the possession of a beautiful woman.
• Last Laugh, Mr. Moto (1942) - Originally serialized in Collier's Weekly in 1941 under the title Mercator Island.
• Right You Are, Mr. Moto (aka Stopover: Tokyo and The Last of Mr. Moto) (1957) - Originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1956 and 1957 under the title Rendezvous in Tokyo. The original book was called Stopover: Tokyo and subsequent editions were called The Last of Mr. Moto and finally Right You Are, Mr. Moto.^[2]

Anthologies/"omnibus"

• Mr. Moto's Three Aces (1939) reprints Thank You, Mr. Moto; Think Fast, Mr. Moto; and Mr. Moto Is So Sorry.

• Mr. Moto: Four Complete Novels (1983) reprints Your Turn, Mr. Moto; Think Fast, Mr. Moto; Mr. Moto Is So Sorry; and Right You Are, Mr. Moto.^[2]

Character in the films

Between 1937 and 1939 eight motion pictures were produced by 20th Century Fox starring Peter Lorre^[3] as Mr. Kentaro Moto.^[4]

Unlike the novels, Moto is the central character, a detective with Interpol, wears glasses (and has no gold teeth), is a devout Buddhist (and good friends with the Chinese monarchy). He is always impeccably dressed in Western suits. The stories are action-oriented due to Moto’s liberal use of judo (only hinted at in the novels) and due to his tendency to wear disguises.

Mr. Moto is described as being just over 5 feet tall in the film Danger Island. (Lorre was actually 5 feet 5 inches). While Lorre resented playing Mr. Moto, he is the first authentic martial arts film "hero" in the West.

Abilities

In the film Mr. Moto's Last Warning a list is shown which describes him as:

• Age 35-40
• Jiu-Justu and Judo expert
• Uses various disguises
• International police
• Adept at stage illusion/magic
• Usually works alone
• Able to walk silently
• Known to use doubles

Throughout the other films other abilities have been noted:

• Ventriloquism
• Able to speak at least four languages (English, Mandarin, German, and Japanese)
• Devout Buddhist who knows traditional chants and religious rites
• Composes haiku
• Draws caricatures
• Plays the shamisen
• Knows how to cure a hangover

Occupation

The motion picture Mr. Moto’s occupation is defined as an agent for Interpol.

In the first film, Think Fast, Mr. Moto, he reveals that he is the managing director of the Dai Nippon Trading Company and had decided to investigate the smuggling activities that were hurting his business. He claims to be a detective "only as a hobby."^[5] In the second film, Thank You, Mr. Moto, the definition of his occupation/hobby begins to get murky. He tells a woman that he is an importer whose hobby is detective work but only after showing her his identification which indicates he is a Confidential Agent for the International Association of Importers. However, in a climactic chase sequence he flashes a badge at a guard and says that he is from the International Police (to be understood as Interpol).

In subsequent films Mr. Moto works alternately for private organizations such as the Diamond Syndicate (Danger Island) as well as for world governments (Mr. Moto's Last Warning and Mr. Moto Takes a Chance)-- but only when it is in Japan's interests.

As a member of the International Police, he garners respect from local police around the world. In cities such as London, Shanghai, and San Francisco he is given full cooperation for his investigations. In Mr. Moto's Last Warning he works side-by-side with British Secret Service agents and in Mr. Moto Takes a Chance he is spying for an unknown government agency. He is also known for his close relationship to the Chinese Royal Family.

Personal life

Mr. Moto's personal life is rarely touched upon. In Think Fast, Mr. Moto he tells Bob Hitchings that he went to Stanford University, graduating in 1921 as an honorary member. There he set a pole vaulting record and was a member of the fraternity Alpha Omega.

He travels a great deal but somehow manages to have his cat, Chunkina, along for the journey. Besides his cat, women in his life include Lela Liu (played by Lotus Long in the film Think Fast, Mr. Moto), a hotel telephone operator whom he asks out on a date, and who proves to be an agent who helps him in his investigation. In Mysterious Mr. Moto another agent, Lotus Liu (also played by Lotus Long credited as Karen Sorrell), pretends to fall for his charms so they can be alone to compare notes in their investigation. Like his literary counterpart, Kentaro Moto believes that a "Beautiful girl is only confusing to a man"^[5] but has been known to use a woman’s feelings to aid his cause. In Thank You, Mr. Moto he tells the disillusioned Madame Tchernov, "I am so grateful for your suspicious nature. It is not the first time a woman’s jealousy has been fatal to the man she loved."^[6]

Mr. Moto is quite charming and polite (even to rude or obnoxious people). He is always respectful of other cultures but sometimes makes wry comments. For instance, in Think Fast, Mr. Moto he derails the drunken American’s party tricks with a little judo. After putting the tipsy Bob Hitchings to bed he sadly shakes his head and says, "Strange people these Americans."^[5]

Despite his charm, politeness and general respect towards people, Mr. Moto, as befits his occupation, could quickly become dangerous. As portrayed by Lorre, he could also be quite sinister when the need arose.

Mr. Moto’s religion is never stated; but in Thank You, Mr. Moto, when his friend Prince Chung (played by Phillip Ahn) has died, it becomes clear Mr. Moto is a devout Buddhist, as he chants expertly before the statue of the Buddha while holding the prince in his arms.

The family crest or mon on Mr. Moto’s yukata, as seen in the films Thank You, Mr. Moto and Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, is three bars in a circle. This is similar to the Maruno uchini mitsuhikiryō (丸の内に三引両),^[7] the mon of the Sakuma clan who served under Oda Nobunaga.^[8] This would imply that Moto is from a samurai family.

Other films

A film version of Stopover Tokyo, made in 1957, stars Robert Wagner as an American spy. This film eliminated Moto's character altogether. It disregards the plot of Marquand's novel, and was not a commercial or critical success.

In 1965 Mr. Moto's character was revived in a low-budget Robert Lippert production filmed in England starring Henry Silva. In Mr. Moto Returns, a.k.a. The Return of Mr. Moto, Mr. I.A. Moto is now a member of Interpol. The extremely tall Silva conveyed an almost James Bond-like playboy character; in the fight scenes he is clearly not proficient in martial arts. He speaks in a lazy 'Beatnik' manner. Nowhere in the film is it even mentioned that Moto is Japanese. He is referred to as an "oriental" and, oddly, in the trailer, Moto is referred to as a “swinging Chinese cat.” It is only when he is disguised as a Japanese oil representative, Mr. Takura, that a more stereotypical portrayal of a Japanese businessman is given.

Mr. Moto filmography

• Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937) is loosely based on Marquand's novel of the same name.^[9] Mr. Kentaro Moto is introduced in disguise as a rug seller in San Francisco. He reveals himself as the Moto we are more familiar with about 10 minutes into the film when he boards a ship to Shanghai in order to investigate a smuggling ring.

• Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937) - Marquand wrote the story for this film based loosely on his novel.^[10] In disguise once again as a Mongolian trader in the Gobi desert, Moto makes his way to Peking where he tries to obtain a set of ancient scrolls that lead the way to the treasure of Genghis Khan. At the end, he fulfills an obligation to his dying friend and destroys the scrolls so no one will ever violate the treasure.

• Mr. Moto's Gamble a.k.a. Mr. Moto's Diary (1938) was originally meant for the Charlie Chan series starring Warner Oland. Parts were re-written to make it a Moto film; but Keye Luke, as Chan's son Lee, remained.^[11] Moto is now famous enough as a detective to be giving a class in criminology in San Francisco. While at a boxing match, Moto is drawn into a murder investigation.

• Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)^[12] — Undercover as an archeologist in Thailand, Moto is trying to find out who is the head of a revolutionary army that is smuggling guns and explosives into the tiny village of Tong Moi.

• Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) — Marquand wrote the story for this film.^[13] Posing as a Japanese murderer, Moto escapes from Devil’s Island with a member of the League of Assassins in order to find out not only who is their next victim but who is the mysterious man at the top.

• Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)^[14] — In Port Said, Egypt, Moto tries to stop the French Naval Fleet from being destroyed by secret agents who are bent on starting a war between the British and the French.

• Danger Island (1939), based on the novel Murder in Trinidad by John W. Vandercook.^[15] Diamond smugglers are working out of Puerto Rico and Moto is sent to investigate and discover their secret lair.

• Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939) — While pretending to be on vacation in San Francisco, Moto is actually keeping an eye on the crown of the Queen of Sheba, surefire bait for the master thief known as Metaxa.

• The Return of Mr. Moto (1965) — Henry Silva in title role.^[16]

Character in the graphic novel

The graphic novel Welcome Back, Mr. Moto by Rafael Nieves and Tim Hamilton published by Moonstone Books in 2008 portrays Mr. Moto as an American of Japanese descent helping Japanese-American citizens after World War II.^[17]

The graphic novel was originally published in 2003 as a 3-issue comic book miniseries:

Ken Ta Kashi, an angry young man of Japanese descent, is released from an Idaho detainment camp at the end of WW II. Estranged from his mother and sister, enraged at the mysterious death of his beloved father, Ken is easily trapped in a web of deceit, double-cross, and death by sinister forces in the U.S. government.^[17]

Character in the radio program

From May to October 1951, the NBC Broadcasting network produced and aired 23 half-hour episodes starring James Monk as Mr. I.A. Moto, International Secret Agent. Mr. Moto is an American of Japanese descent born in San Francisco but still retaining his international connections.^[18]

The show focused on Mr. Moto’s fight against Communism although occasionally he also solved more mundane mysteries such as murder and blackmail.

Radio program episode list

1. A Force Called X07 – aired May 20, 1951 ^[19]
2. Smoke Screen – aired May 27, 1951
3. Blackmail – aired June 3, 1951
4. The Dead Land – aired June 10, 1951
5. The Kurlioff Papers (broadcast on the West Coast) – aired June 13, 1951 and The Brazaloff Papers (broadcast on the East Coast) – aired June 17, 1951
6. The Victim – aired June 24, 1951
7. Project 77 – aired July 1, 1951
8. Sabotage – aired July 8, 1951
9. Escape – aired July 15, 1951
10. The Wheel of Life
11. The Yellow Robe or the Lama's Amah
12. The Voronzoff Necklace
13. Waltzing Matilda
14. The Beauty and the Avenger
15. The Shen Tsung Fan
16. The Three Numbers
17. The Unhappy Firebug
18. The Blue Cigarettes
19. The Kants of Kailuaneohe
20. The Schraum Method – aired Oct. 1, 1951
21. The Crooked Log – aired Oct. 7, 1951
22. The Strange Elopement of Professor Sloan – aired Oct. 13, 1951
23. The Dry Martini – aired Oct. 20, 1951

Parodies and satires

Peter Lorre brought the character of Mr. Moto to many comedy radio programs.^[20]

• Camel Caravan Oct. 24, 1938 on CBS. Eddie Cantor, host. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto investigates the disappearance of guest Martha Raye.

• Royal Gelatin Hour Aug. 10, 1939 on NBC. Rudy Vallee, host. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto in a mystery sketch.

• George Jessel’s Celebrity Program Aug. 16, 1939 on NBC. George Jessel, host. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto in a mystery sketch.

• Texaco Star Theater Oct. 4, 1939 on CBS. Ken Murray, host. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto in a mystery sketch.

• Texaco Star Theater Jan. 3, 1943 on CBS. Fred Allen, host. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto in “The Missing Shot or Who Killed Balsam Beamish?” Mr. Moto vs. One Long Pan.

• Texaco Star Theater June 4, 1944 on CBS. Fred Allen, host. Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto in “More Murder on the Fred Allen Program.”

Porky's Movie Mystery (1939) Features Porky Pig as the detective "Mr. Motto." "A mysterious phantom is causing trouble at the Warner Bros. studios. The police call in Mr. Motto (Porky) to investigate."^[21]

Mr. Moto was among the series satirized in the animated short Here Comes Dr. Tran.

In popular culture

The lyrics to the popular 1940 song "Java Jive" by Ben Oakland contain the line "Whoops! Mr. Moto, I'm a coffee pot," perhaps alluding to his clever use of disguise.

The surf music band The Bel-Airs had a hit with their instrumental "Mr. Moto" in 1961. The song was covered by many instrumental artists and groups, including Dick Dale and The Ventures.

In M*A*S*H episode "The Bus", Major Frank Burns, while guarding a North Korean soldier who had surrendered to him and his comrades, calls the prisoner "Mr. Moto".

References

1. ^ Marquand: An American Life by Millicent Bell. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1979. Pg.221.
2. ^ ^{a b} The Mr. Moto Novels of James P. Marquand
3. ^ Peter Lorre at the Internet Movie Database
4. ^ Mr. Moto at the Internet Movie Database
5. ^ ^{a b c} Quote from Think Fast, Mr. Moto.
6. ^ Quote from Thank You, Mr. Moto
7. ^ Image of Sakuma family crest
8. ^ Oda clan#Senior retainer families
9. ^ Think Fast, Mr. Moto at the Internet Movie Database
10. ^ Thank You, Mr. Moto at the Internet Movie Database
11. ^ Mr. Moto's Gamble at the Internet Movie Database
12. ^ Mr. Moto Takes a Chance at the Internet Movie Database
13. ^ Mysterious Mr. Moto at the Internet Movie Database
14. ^ Mr. Moto's Last Warning at the Internet Movie Database
15. ^ Danger Island at the Internet Movie Database
16. ^ The Return of Mr. Moto at the Internet Movie Database
17. ^ ^{a b} Welcome Back, Mr. Moto graphic novel at Moonstone Books
18. ^ Mr. Moto radio show at Internet Archive
19. ^ Audio at the Internet Archive
20. ^ Stephen Youngkin: The Lost One
21. ^ Big Cartoon Database entry for Porky's Movie Mystery

Further reading

• Wires, Richard (1990). John P. Marquand and Mr. Moto: Spy Adventures and Detective Films. Ball State University. ISBN 0937994170. 
• Berlin, Howard (2005). The Complete Mr. Moto Film Phile: A Casebook. Wildside Press. ISBN 0809511290. 
• Youngkin, Stephen D. (2005). The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-813-12360-7.  — Contains a full chapter on the making of the Mr. Moto films at 20th Century-Fox, 1937-1939.
• Bell, Millicent (1979). John P. Marquand, An American Life. Little Brown and Company.  — Biography of the creator of Mr. Moto.

External links

• The Mr. Moto Novels
• Dr Hermes Reviews - reviews of all six Mr. Moto books