When Were You Born?
                                                                                    
Director: William McGann
Year: 1938
Rating: 5.5
An enjoyable B mystery that had strong similarities to the 1933 film, From Headquarters, but they overlay it with an astrology angle. The film begins in an odd way. They bring on a real-life astrologer, Manly Hall the author of The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, which no doubt many of you have read. He goes through the twelve astrological signs and the personalities of people born in each. He kind of got mine right. Loyal to friends and conscientious. He missed ticklish. At the end of his spiel, he tells the audience that astrology if used correctly can solve crimes and the film proves him correct. Sadly, law enforcement has not embraced this method.



It begins on a passenger ship and they are all gathered in a lounge. Lola Lane has just won the prize for predicting the hours of the travel. Through the door carrying a monkey on her shoulder walks Mei Lei Ming played by Anna May Wong by now stuck in the world of B films. At least she is the main draw and has the film center around her. Lola (the Lois Lane name was inspired by hers) thanks her for telling her that she was due for some luck. Ming is a student of astrology and if you are able to tell her your day of birth and the hour, she can tell you what color your underwear is and what you will have for lunch tomorrow. She tells Corey (James Stephenson) that he will be dead within 48 hours and he better get his house in order. Wow. Talk about not softening the blow. You are as good as dead. He of course doesn't believe her until he is on the other side of life. Suicide. No make that murder. And the cops pick her up and let her stay through all the questioning. Because she is Anna May Wong. And she wants to show them that astrology can help find the murderer.



So, every witness or suspect that comes in, she gets their birthdate and runs an analysis on them. No not him. He has a temper but he is not a killer. It also stars Margaret Lindsay as a suspect, just as she was in From Headquarters. I wonder if she noticed it was almost the same movie. Ming predicts two more murders. And figures out who the killer is. Not through astrology but more Sherlock Holmes like. Apparently, the idea of making this a series was talked about but no go. By this time Anna was getting heavily involved in raising money for China.  This is fun. Anna is not her often exotic character with fabulous fashions but just a regular woman who knows everything about you by your birth sign. And has a monkey on her shoulder. No wonder she is not married.