Bela Lugosi plays the title role in this Monogram poverty-row
thriller, a Chinatown crime lord hunting down the twelve legendary
coins of Confucius, which are said to grant their possessor control
of a Chinese province. Bodies start turning up across the district
as Wong's men retrieve the coins one by one, and wisecracking
reporter Jason Barton, played by Wallace Ford, follows the trail into
Wong's secret headquarters. Lugosi is clearly enjoying himself in a
dual role that lets him be both the suave mastermind and his own
humble shopkeeper cover. Directed by William Nigh, a Monogram
regular who also helmed several of the studio's Mr. Wong detective
films. The film entered the public domain after its copyright was
never renewed.
Mystery · Crime · Thriller
