Thank You, Mr. Moto
Seven maps, when found and put together, reveal the location of the treasures of Genghis Khan.
- Director: Norman Foster
- Genre:Crime / Drama / Mystery
- Runtime:67 minutes
Cast
Peter Lorre : Mr. Moto
Thomas Beck : Tom Nelson
Pauline Frederick: Madame Chung
Jayne Regan : Eleanor Joyce
Sidney Blackmer : Herr Koerger
A caravan settles down for the night in the Gobi Desert. A man sneaks into a tent and tries to steal a scroll, but adventurer and soldier of fortune Kentaro Moto (Peter Lorre) is only pretending to be asleep and kills him. When the caravan reaches Peiping, he is searched by the police. The scroll is found, but Moto grabs it and escapes.
He changes his clothes and accepts an invitation to a party hosted by Colonel Tchernov (Sig Ruman) in honor of American Eleanor Joyce (Jayne Regan). During the soirée, Moto observes another guest, Chinese Prince Chung (Philip Ahn) leaving his mother to speak privately with Tchernov in another room. Tchernov offers to buy certain family heirloom scrolls from Chung. When Chung refuses to part with them, Tchernov draws a pistol, but is killed (off-screen) by Moto. Joyce stumbles upon the scene and watches in disbelief as Moto calmly stages it to look like a suicide. Moto politely advises her not to say anything to avoid an international incident.
Later, as a favor to his rescuer, Chung grants Moto’s request to see the scrolls. Chung informs him that the set of seven scrolls give directions to the lost grave of Genghis Khan. The Chungs are determined to see that it and its fabulous treasures are left undisturbed. However, one of the scrolls had been lent for an exhibition of artwork and was stolen.
A dealer in antiquities, Periera (John Carradine), shows Joyce some of his wares. She is interested in a (fake) scroll, but the price is far too high. While shopping the next day with smitten diplomat Tom Nelson (Thomas Beck), they observe Moto entering Periera’s shop. Moto gets Periera to confess he had stolen the authentic scroll, but before he can obtain any more information, Periera is shot and killed by a gunman in a car which speeds away. Read more
