“Doomed to Die” (1940) starring Boris Karloff / Z-View

Doomed to Die (1940)

Director: William Nigh

Screenplay: Hugh Wiley, Ralph Gilbert Bettison, Michael Jacoby

Stars: Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, Henry Brandon, Richard Loo, Melvin Lang and Dick Fleming.

Tagline: The master of crime cleans up the dirty game of murder!

The Plot…

Cyrus Wentworth (Lang) was dealing with the aftermath from the fire and sinking of one of his ships.  Four hundred lives were lost.  It’s not a good day.  When William Stelling (Fleming) shows up, they can be heard arguing in Wentworth’s office.  Stelling is the son of one of Wentworth’s competitors and his daughter’s fiancé.

Suddenly a gunshot rings out.  Stelling is seen standing over Wentworth’s dead body. A gun lies near the body.  Police arrive and arrest Stelling.  It appears to be an open-and-shut case.

Then, the famous James Lee Wong (Karloff) is hired to determine the real killer.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The scenes of the burning ship were taken from newsreel footage of a real ocean liner that burned and sunk with tremendous loss of life.

This is Boris Karloff’s fifth (and last) outing as detective James Lee Wong.

Doomed to Die (1940) rates 2 of 5 stars.