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 detective. These include eight motion pictures starring Peter Lorre between 1937 and 1939, 23 radio shows starring James Monks broadcast in 1951, a 1965 film starring Henry Silva, and a 2003 comic book produced by Moonstone Books, later reprinted as Welcome Back, Mr. Moto.
Novels[edit]
- 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. After Pearl Harbor the character of Moto was "interned for the duration" by the author. This novel, set in the Caribbean, had already been written prior to Pearl Harbor and was published afterward.
- Right You Are, Mr. Moto (aka Stopover: Tokyo and The Last of Mr. Moto) (1957) – This Cold War tale, different in several ways from its predecessors, was 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.