Think Fast, Mr. Moto   —   20th Century-Fox, 1937, directed by Norman Foster, with Peter Lorre as “Kentaro Moto”, Japanese importer, managing director of the Dai Nippon Trading Company – and detective (but only as a hobby).

An American title card advertising the original release of Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937), the first in a series of eight films about the Japanese detective.

From the start, Mr. Moto's use of elaborate costume and make-up to solve the mystery was an important part of the series and often included in the films' publicity. This one-sheet American poster for Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937) includes an image of Lorre in the guise of an Arab street peddler.

An American lobby card for Think Fast, Mr. Moto, 1937. Moto (Harvey Parry doubling Peter Lorre) heaves overboard the villainous steward Carson (John Rogers). Said Parry about his stuntman casting: “I went [to Fox studio] to double a fellow by the name of Lorre. I didn’t really know who the guy was. We stacked up alongside of him, and I seemed to be about, oh, I was a little taller than Pete; I was about his size at that time in proportion. And I had the best face for it.”

An American lobby card for Think Fast, Mr. Moto, 1937, with (left to right) Murray Kinnell, Peter Lorre, Thomas Beck, and Virginia Field in a shady Shanghai nightclub, the film’s climactic setting.

Lancer Spy   —   20th Century-Fox, 1937, directed by Gregory Ratoff, with Peter Lorre as “Major Sigfried Gruning”, a German intelligence officer in World War I Berlin.

An American lobby card for Lancer Spy (1937), with undercover spy George Sanders and German intelligence officer Peter Lorre, in a later scene from the film. Courtesy of Mike Hawks.

Thank You, Mr. Moto   —   20th Century-Fox, 1937, directed by Norman Foster, with Peter Lorre as “Kentaro Moto”, adventurer, explorer, soldier of fortune – one of the Orient’s mysteries.

An American lobby card advertising Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937), with “Kentaro Moto” (Peter Lorre) disguised as a Mongolian camel driver and his unsuspecting manservant “Wing”, in an early scene from the film. Courtesy of Mike Hawks.

Mr. Moto’s Gamble   —   20th Century-Fox, 1938, directed by James Tinling, with Peter Lorre as “Kentaro Moto”, a university Professor of criminology.

A black-and-white reproduction of an insert poster advertising the American release of Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938). Filmed fourth in the series, but released third, this film originally began production as Charlie Chan at the Ringside and retained Lee Chan (Keye Luke), Charlie’s Number One Son, as a student in Moto’s criminology class.

A black-and-white reproduction of an American six-sheet poster for Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938), the only entry in the series where Mr. Moto did not employ either an alias or disguises.

An American title card for Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938), one of only two in the series set in the United States.

Mr. Moto Takes a Chance   —   20th Century-Fox, 1938, directed by Norman Foster, with Peter Lorre as “Kentaro Moto”, an ersatz archeologist who travels in Cambodia under the protection of the French.

A black-and-white reproduction of an American half-sheet poster for Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938), originally titled Look Out, Mr. Moto and filmed second, but released as the fourth entry in the series.