The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) watch online HD

'The Face Of Fu Manchu' is the first in a series of five movies produced by the legendary Harry Allan Towers. Towers is probably best known for his collaborations with Jess Franco, indeed Franco directed the last two movies in the series, but this one is directed by Don Sharp ('Rasputin: The Mad Monk', 'Psychomania') and scripted by Towers himself. Horror legend Christopher Lee plays the fiendish Dr Fu Manchu, super criminal, and Nigel Green ('Zulu', 'Countess Dracula') plays his nemesis Sir Nayland Smith. Towers plays fast and loose with Sax Rohmer's original characters and stories with entertaining results. The main reason the movie works is because of the performances by Lee and especially Green, who is just terrific. The plot concerns the kidnapping of a German scientist (played by Joachim Fuchsberger) who Fu Manchu forces to develop a super weapon. The lovely Karin Dor ('You Only Live Twice') plays the scientist's daughter, Tsai Chin is Fu Manchu's evil daughter Lin Tang, and Howard Marion-Crawford is Nayland Smith's Watson-like sidekick Dr. Petrie. 'The Face Of Fu Manchu' isn't a great movie by any means but it's fun to watch, and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Hit and run independent film financier Harry Alan Towers made his bid for the big time in 1965. Spending more money than he ever had (or would) again, scouting attractive international locations, hiring respected craftsmen and actors and launching a multi-million dollar publicity campaign to promote his pet project. "The Face of Fu Manchu", the unlikely recipient of all this attention, represents a plateau to which Towers would never aspire again.

After publicly purchasing the pulp adventure novels of Sax Rohmer, Towers signed horror film icon Christopher Lee to a six-picture deal as the title menace. As director, Towers hired Don Sharp, maker of numerous elegant, effective horror films and probably the most talented director to put his name on a Towers contract. Writing the script himself under his nom de cinema Peter Welbeck, Towers ignored the plots of all the Rohmer novels and concocted his own. The film wisely retains the period setting of early-twentieth century London (which required shooting in Dublin, for the sake of authenticity), but alters the deductive tone of the books in favor of action sequences in the style of the James Bond films, which were then in their first flush of international success.

The finished film is beautiful to see, filmed in technicolor and cinemascope, it truly looks more expensive than it is. Encouraged, Towers launched an expensive international publicity campaign whose most notable stunt was wallpapering election-year New York City with oversized "Fu Manchu For Mayor" posters

In the end, "Face" failed to return enough money to justify the huge outlay spent in making and promoting it. The film seemed to please no one: fans of the series were outraged by the James Bondian gunplay, fights and car chases, while Bond fans were alienated by the period trappings (1920s cars just don't go that fast!). More likely, this type of film just did not have the potential to reach the mainstream audience needed to make it a success.

Although Towers continued the series, the films would steadily decline in quality, from the high point of "Face" to the home-movie calibre of the final entry, "Castle of Fu Manchu".

Undoubtedly the best of the series of Fu Manchu films produced in the late 60s, well cast and well directed by Don Sharp, who commendably eschewed camp 'Boys Own' heroics to produce a gripping adventure-thriller. Christopher Lee (as one would expect) is suitably menacing and inscrutable as Fu Manchu, even though the emphasis on his hypnotic eyes is an obvious reference to his role as Dracula. The ever-reliable Nigel Green (Zulu)turns in a solid 'Holmes-ian' performance as Fu Manchu's nemesis Nayland Smith, while James Robertson Justice has a memorable cameo as an irascible museum curator.

The highpoint of the film is undoubtedly the chilling sequence set in a English village, where all the inhabitants have been killed by poisoned gas. It still sends a shiver up the spine. The first sequel, Brides of Fu Manchu, with Douglas Wilmer as Nayland Smith, is watchable, even though it is basically a retread of the first movie, but the films which followed (especially the two directed by the notorious Jess Franco)are absolutely dire.

Since 1923, Sax Rohmer's arch-villain Fu Manchu had been brought from the novels to the screen again and again, the most famous interpretation probably created by Boris Karloff in 1932. Between 1965-68, Christopher Lee starred in 5 more Fu Manchu movies. The German co-producers often added stars from the Edgar Wallace series, such as Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor when the new series opened with "The Face of Fu Manchu". Strangely enough, it begins as if it was a sequel to something, describing Fu Manchu faking his execution while Nayland Smith watches, although we are not told how they got into this situation. Anyway, Fu Manchu comes to London with a weapon of mass destruction, while Smith tries to stop him. Smith had a „feeling" from the beginning that he was cheated at the execution, but it was not completely reasonable for a man like him, since the first hints at new activities were vague. So I thought he might have been be a bit more surprised when he actually meets the criminal mastermind. The last third of the movie is a bit rushed, especially the scenes in Tibet. It is not a perfect movie because it has a few holes, but it was a good start for the new series. I voted 7/8/5/7/4 for the five movies.

So far only available on VHS in Region 1, I picked up the Region 2 DVD release of 'Face of Fu Manchu' recently and blessed my region-free DVD player for every wonderful fun-filled moment of this enjoyable fantasy romp. Based on the character originally envisioned by British author Sax Rohmer, Christopher Lee made a total of five appearances in the 1960s as arch villain Fu Manchu. This entry (the first in the series) is by far the best, closely followed by the second 'Brides of Fu Manchu' (another Region 2 only DVD release). What makes this entry so enjoyable is the wonderful Nigel Green as Fu Manchu's greatest nemesis - Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard. In fact it is in the opening minutes of this movie that we see Smith invited by the Chinese government to witness the execution of Fu Manchu. Fast forward a couple of months and Smith is sturdy in his belief that Fu Manchu survived and is behind a series of grisly crimes in western Europe. Then when a professors servant is found murdered in the same manner in which Fu Manchu's followers had practiced, Smith becomes even more convinced that he is up against the evil genius. Through a series of machinations Smith learns that the professor has been kidnapped by Fu Manchu and is being forced to make a toxin that could wipe out most of the western world. Of course (in a plot device also used in the following 'Brides of Fu Manchu') the professors daughter has also been captured and is being used to comply the professor to complete his task. Directed with skill by Don Sharp this movie is fast-paced enough to overlook the plot holes and colorful enough to keep the fun factor umped up to the ultimate degree. It's a visual feast and the movie is also helped by a tight script and some well drawn characters. I grew up watching these movies on British television and my memories did not disappoint me. Also notable is the inclusion of one-time Bond girl Karin (You Only Live Twice) Dor ho turns in a strong performance as the professors daughter. This is an ultimate Saturday afternoon movie to be watched relaxed in a recliner with a bag of popcorn in one hand and a soda in the other, all the while reveling in every outlandish moment.

...Death to Fu-Manchu!

And so begins this great movie! Well, maybe its not so great overall, but the opening sequence of this film rivals any other in intensity. After all, would you lay down face up for your own beheading? The fun thing about this movie is that every character, regardless of age or sex, avidly fist fights several times throughout the picture. Bottom line is... great fun to watch, just don't take it too seriously.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

Commissioner Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard (NIGEL GREEN) witnesses the execution of Oriental crime lord Fu Manchu (CHRISTOPHER LEE) in Imperial China. However, a few years later back in London, Smith is uneasy because he had a dream in which Fu Manchu was still alive. His nightmare coincides with the fact that a huge crime wave has been erupting all over Europe. It is so well organised that only a criminal of Fu Manchu's stature could be behind it. His closest friend and colleague Dr Petrie (HOWARD MARION CRAWFORD) thinks he's mad, but Smith does some research and discovers that a Chinese actor who was an exact double of Fu Manchu disappeared before the criminal was apprehended. Smith is convinced that it was the actor (in a deep state of hypnosis) whom he saw beheaded while the real Fu Manchu made his escape. Meanwhile, a renowned German scientist called Professor Muller (WALTER RILLA) has disappeared and the body of his manservant was discovered outside of London's Lime House strangled with a red Tibetan prayer scarf, which is the trademark of Fu Manchu's henchmen. Smith fears that his old enemy is in London and has kidnapped Muller for his own evil ends. In order to discover what he was working on, Smith visits Muller's assistant Carl Janssen (JOACHIM FUCHSBERGER) who tells him that they were working on the distillation of the seeds of the "Black Hill Poppy". This is a rare flower that grows in the mountains of Tibet and when the seeds are distilled, it produces a gas that when exposed below freezing point, has the potential to kill up to ten thousand people. Smith's worst fears are confirmed; Fu Manchu and his evil daughter Lin Tang (TSAI CHIN) have got the professor and are forcing him to perfect the gas in order to hold the world to ransom...

The fiendish Oriental mastermind Fu Manchu and his adversaries Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard and the coroner Dr Petrie were the brainchild of novelist Sax Rohmer whose series of novels were highly popular during the 1920's. The character of Fu Manchu had appeared on celluloid several times before Christopher Lee inherited the role in 1965. During the twenties a number of two-reel silents were made along with the following talkies. Warner Oland played him in the following talkies made by Paramount, THE MYSTERIOUS DR FU MANCHU (1929), THE RETURN OF DR FU MANCHU (1930) and DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON (1931). In 1939, actor Henry Brandon played him in a serial entitled DRUMS OF FU MANCHU. However, the most famous portrayal before Christopher Lee's was Boris Karloff in MGM's THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932).

In the 1960's, Rohmer's novels enjoyed a successful reissue in paperback and producer Harry Alan Towers bought the rights to all the novels and decided to create a series of films featuring Fu Manchu's exploits as a possible rival to the James Bond films. THE FACE OF FU MANCHU was the first in the series and Towers wrote the script under the pseudonym of Peter Welbeck. Director Don Sharp shot the film in Ireland in February and March 1965 and he fought hard to get the time and locations he required. The recreations of 1920's London were actually filmed in parts of Dublin with surprisingly brilliant results. The opening execution sequence was shot at Kilmainham jail in County Wicklow and the prison also doubled as the Tibetan monastery in the climatic scenes. The resulting picture was a hit with both critics and audiences on its release in late 1965 and four sequels subsequently followed. They were THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU (1966), THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU (1967), THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU (1968) and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (produced 1968 but shelved until 1972). The series rapidly declined into shambling nonsense in which all aspects of the productions suffered including the loss of period detail, abysmal direction, inadequate plots, poor acting and increasingly shoestring budgets.

THE FACE OF FU MANCHU is without doubt the best in this ultimately ill-fated series. It benefits from the stylish direction of Don Sharp who gets fine performances from Lee as Fu Manchu; Tsai Chin as his daughter-in-crime Lin Tang while Nigel Green is absolutely outstanding as Nayland Smith. Smith and his colleague Dr Petrie are very much in the Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson vein and it makes you wish that both Green and Marion-Crawford were both teamed with Sharp to do a Holmes picture. Alas, it never happened. Sharp handles the nonsensical material with considerable skill so that we the audience happily suspend our disbelief and just wallow in it. The action scenes are also a delight including a spirited car chase through the Essex marshes with splendid vintage automobiles. Add to that the atmospheric lighting of Ernest Steward and you have the perfect schoolboy's adventure yarn, which will appeal as much to adults.

There's a long winded list of Fu Manchu films going back to the 1920s up until 1980, but director Don Sharp and producer/writer Harry Alan Towers' 1965 matinée crime mystery adventure "The Face of Fu Manchu" starring Nigel Green and Christopher Lee in the title role happened to be my first encounter of the callous mastermind Fu Manchu. Quite a low-budget fare, but what makes it a fun outing is Sharp's precisely lean direction makes good use of the detailed location work and moves at a cracking pace (since the chase between nemesis's is a race against the clock) blending together the unpredictable nature of the unfolding narrative/tough action rather well, while upfront actor Nigel Green gives a stellar performance as the persistent detective Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard. Green breathes confidence, and the hearty script ably compels and allows for the strong performances. Lee fits in the calculative role of Manchu and the likes of Tsai Chin and Howard Marion Crawford are durable in their roles. The venturesome tone is bathed in a comic book frame, but I found the music score to be intrusively cued and the conclusion to be somewhat anticlimactic to the actual build-up.

"The Face of Fu Manchu" is a surprisingly good horror/crime directed by Don Sharp("The Brides of Fu Manchu","Kiss of the Vampire").Fu Manchu was created by British pulp writer Sax Rohmer.This Asian super-villain appeared on screen in early 30's-in "The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu"(1929),"The Return of Fu Manchu"(1930)and in the excellent "The Mask of Fu Manchu"(1932)with Boris Karloff."The Face of Fu Manchu" is the first and best in a series made by exploitation producer Harry Alan Towers.Christopher Lee is excellent as Fu Manchu-the film is stylish and nice to look at.The opening beheading of Lee is a really haunting moment.The other Fu Manchu movies are:"The Brides of Fu Manchu"(1966),"The Vengeance of Fu Manchu"(1967),"The Castle of Fu Manchu"(1969)and "The Blood of Fu Manchu"(1968)-the last two films were directed by Jesus Franco.

The legendary Boris Karloff played the fiendish Dr. Fu Manchu back in 1932. Who else than Christopher Lee would be able to bring this notorious screen-villain back to life? Karloff and Lee both have an amazing charisma and disguised in many evil characters before…The Yellow Peril Dr. Fu Manchu surely is one that speaks most to the imagination. In this first film of the new series, Dr. Fu Manchu hypnotized a look-alike of his and this person was decapitated. While everybody initially believes Fu Manchu is dead, vicious events start to happen again. The clever archenemy of Fu Manchu, Scotland Yard's Nayland Smith, once again opens the hunt for this diabolical doctor.

The Face of Dr. Fu Manchu isn't a very suspenseful film and the script (written by the legendary producer Harry Alan Towers) hasn't got any compelling aspects to offer. Yet, it's enormous fun to see Lee act at his fiendish best and horror fans will enjoy watching all his terrific torturing-tricks! Director Don Sharp (also known for his brilliantly insane film `Psychomania') makes great use of the ominous locations and the scenery and all the rest is up to Lee and a surprisingly good performance by Nigel Green! The Face of Fu Manchu meant the start of a new series of film, all starring Lee as the abominable Dr. Four sequels followed, of which the last two were directed by Jess `Godfather of Sleaze' Franco. Every single film is worth watching only because they're so much fun! Don't ever expect a masterpiece, though! If you do desire to stumble upon a masterpiece, track down `The Mask of Fu Manchu' starring Boris Karloff.

I was turned onto the Fu Manchu movies by the seminal Marvel comic Master of Kung Fu, which used characters from the Fu Manchu novels, as well as original ones. That series was Bruce Lee-meets-James Bond and was filled with atmosphere, intrigue, action, and some humor. So, I was expecting more of the same, since artist Paul Gulacy used Christopher Lee as his model (though he made Fu more Asian). Well, that's not quite what I got here, but it was still pretty entertaining.

Nigel Green makes for an excellent Nayland Smith, who was essentially cut from the Sherlock Holmes pattern and Green plays him as such. Howard Marion-Crawford made for a suitable Watson-esque Petrie, though with a bit more assertiveness than Nigel Bruce. Lee, of course, was great, even though the film required him to be a bit subdued, though at least he didn't play a complete stereotype.

The films exist in a weird 1920s/1960s hybrid. The male fashions and the cars suggest the 20s, but the women are pure 60s. There is enough mystery and action to keep things from slowing down too much, though the film does drag in parts. Fu's plot is evil enough to propel things, with murdered villages and drowned Si Fan to add a bit of grisly horror, though these films didn't have the budget to portray the horrors of the books. It was never going to win awards, but it is diverting enough on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

This series and the German Mabuse films are guilty pleasures of master criminals and evil schemes, with neither particularly well made (except for the Lang Mabuse films), but still providing just enough entertainment to justify their existence. This is by far the highpoint of the Fu Manchu series, as things would steadily decline later (as rightly skewered by MST3K).

If you like a bit of pulp mystery and adventure, this film (and a few of the others) is worth a look, but keep a forgiving eye on the production. It does feature a first rate cast and a decent plot, which makes up for a lot.

In the light of its considerable reputation, this is a big disappointment. It's the old tale of Fu Manchu, the Yellow Peril, trying to take over the world. The racism of this is so self-evident it's probably not worth mentioning, although the blazing red whenever the Chinese are around, and the worker-like garb of Manchu's henchmen, suggest some sort of allegory of Communism - or is this story of a megalomaniacal, world-domination-lusting, Chinaman a parody of such portentousness?

I really wanted to like this film, but there's so much wrong with it. It's been called a spoof, but if so, the joke's on me. The 1920s setting is somewhat rudimentary - a few contemporary cars and hats in what looks like a very 1960s London (although the reviewer below suggests it is in fact Dublin). Far from camp, the plot is played so straight as to be unenjoyable. Every absurdity and implausibility, rather than hurtling us into the giddy realms of fantasy, rather lumbers us in a plot of cliched hackery.

The acting is abysmal - I've never gotten the point of Christopher Lee (he never had Peter Cushing's middle-aged anguish), although his plummy English tones in the supposed role of a fiendish Chinaman, offers some amusement, as does his daft moustache; worst of all is Nigel Green as the oaklike hero, Nayland Smith - a man so unexpressive and graceless should be funny, but here is dull, slowing down the film at every turn. Only FU Manchu's very sexy daughter, Tsai Chin, enthralls, her subservience to her father suggesting perverse depths of sado-masochism.

This is all the more frustrating in that the film has merit in abundance. The colour schemes, costumes, set-designs and compositions are frequently gorgeous, if sometimes let down by leaden direction; the afoementioned incestuous undertones in the relationship between Fu and daughter; a splendid ironising, despite the racism, of the noble West - Nayland Smith is quite clearly insane, and with his Chinese ladyservant, and death mask ornaments, seems more of a mirror image than a foil for Fu Manchu (there is also something wrong with chemists that research into a concoction that can wipe out whole peoples - there is a RIVER KWAI-like frisson in the plight of the Professor who ironically, and enthusiastically, aids his captor); there is a splendidly directed and designed car chase, reminiscent, as Tom Milne notes, of silent serials.

Best of all is the setting of this grotesque potboiler in placid England. This discrepancy gives the film an AVENGERS-like chill on occasion, especially the amazing scene where Fu Manchu first exercises his power, and wipes out an entire village - spinetingling, chilling, and much more frightening than a similar scene in GOLDFINGER.

Bought this film for 5 bucks so I was expecting to be disappointed. Pleasantly surprised however!! I recommend that if you watch this film you should view Fu Manchu as the hero and Smith the villain, they're both as mad as hatters anyway! And Manchu as the hero makes the film much more entertaining and watchable! You'll find yourself rooting for him! Don't believe me? Try it!!

Christopher Lee is a weird choice to play a Chinese criminal mastermind (or is he a genius?) but considering the era the film was made, who else could they have cast? An actual Chinese? Not bloody likely!!! We're British!!!

I love action films based on over-the-top characters like the legendary Fu Manchu. If there's a character that screams larger than life, it's Fu Manchu. Unfortunately, THE FACE OF FU MANCHU is not a really satisfying action/fantasy movie. Compared to the vibrant, colorful, sexy and clearly over-the-top James Bond films made during the same time, THE FACE OF FU MANCHU looks cheap, stodgy and uninspired. In fact, at times, I thought I was watching a BBC radio show. So many old actors hamming away expository dialogue within dull sets. Poor production values and unconvincing fight scenes do not help in creating an exciting, exotic action film. Hard to believe this spawned several sequels.

This first picture of the Fu Manchu series with Christopher Lee starts off in China with Fu being beheaded! Later on, events transpire that lead Nayland Smith to surmise that Fu is still alive. And Fu, of course, is up to his old tricks and trying to conquer the world. In London, he kidnaps a scientist & his daughter to force him to brew a powerful poison made from the seeds of a rare Tibetan flower. Along the way there is more than the usual mayhem - an entire village is poisoned just so the world will take Fu seriously! The chase leads Smith thru the lost tunnels of London and back to Tibet, where, in a fiery explosion rigged by Smith, Fu meets his end (or does he!?!?!) I liked this picture almost as much as "Brides of Fu Manchu". Lee is excellent and the supporting cast is good. My "B" Movie Meter: 71/2* out of 10*

Christopher Lee is Fu Manchu, an oriental megalomaniac searching for a poison made from the black hill poppy grown in Tibet, in this drama (not a comedy, like the namesakes with Peter Sellers) set in prewar Britain.

Its an adaption of a series of cheap newspaper stand novels of the "yellow peril" variety written before WW2, which were themselves, like the similar "Sexton Blake" novels, inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle.

There's a nice vintage car chase, although in an early scene contemporary postwar vehicles (including an Austin A30) are shown in a street. A scientist, apparently wealthy and owning a telephone, lives in what looks like a very shabby and derelict house – possibly a house due for demolition used by the film crew. The mistakes seem odd, as the car chase appears quite expensive and despite being a "second movie at the drive-in" its been made into colour (although by a rather poor process with a lack of blue).

Sax Rohmer's fiendish menace from the Orient, the diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu, springs to life on the silver screen embodied by the decidedly European Christopher Lee in this, the first of five fiendish flicks of fright.

I find it very hard to take these films seriously, coming back to them after Steve Coogan and Mark Gatiss' superb parody in "Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible". I almost expected the legendary Mr. Lee to come out with lines like 'Something has happened to my Woo-Woo', or indeed 'You have walked into my trap, and now the time has come for me to shut my trap'. However, Lee is superb as always, with able support from the lovely Tsai Chin as Lin Tang, deadly daughter of Fu Manchu. These menaces from the East are ranged against Nigel Green as Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard, and Howard Marion Crawford as his stalwart sidekick Dr. Petrie, who must stop their plan to distil the deadly poison of the Tibetan black hill poppy.

Despite an obvious limited budget, with Dublin standing in for 1920s Limehouse, the film holds up well. Co-production cash from Germany means we get a decidedly Teutonic supporting cast (including the gorgeous Karin Dor, probably best known as Helga Brandt in "You Only Live Twice" - costarring Tsai Chin, funnily enough). One of the biggest distractions for me, however, was the sight of Jim Norton, Bishop Brennan of "Father Ted", in the small role of the professor's driver.

All good pulpy fun, from the days when it was acceptable to "yellow up" a white actor to play an Asian. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

I've recently read the first two Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels and rollicking reads they are indeed. I also more vaguely remember Christopher Lee in the part of the evil doctor in the mid-60's and so was pleased to get the opportunity to finally get the chance to see the first in what turned out to be a short series of film adaptations.

Perhaps it might have helped if I actually hadn't read the books as even with Lee's presence, the film doesn't quite match up to their page-turning excitement. It's also not helped by the less than dynamic playing of the Nayland Smith and Dr Petrie characters as Manchu's pursuers.

You just never really get the impression that anyone's in real danger and while the movie rattled along from location to location, there's not enough exciting action or dread threat displayed to really hold the viewer. I know it was the mid 60's when comic book colour was all the rage but I believe this film could have worked better if it had been darker in tone.

As for the playing Lee unsurprisingly comes off best even if he's lost some of his moustache somewhere, the rest of the cast however appear somewhat lightweight which again for me affected the balance of the film.

Still it was colourful and reasonably fast-moving but in the end I'd have to say, to coin a literary analogy, that it was more potboiler than best-seller.

As a side note to the reviews, this movie has to feature the most inept "Burmese Dacoits" in the history of move villain sterotypes. For fun, count the number that Neyland Smith single-handedly beats, knocks out or disables without benefit of gun or knife. 6 to 1 odds? Dacoits with knives. No problem.

You have to wonder if this movie was responsible for the nation of Burma changing its name to Myanmar = out of shame.

Producer: Harry Alan Towers. Executive producer: Oliver A. Unger. (Available on a non-Scope Momentum DVD).

Hallam Productions. Released through Seven Arts Pictures. U.S. release: 13 October 1965. New York opening on the circuits (as the top half of a double bill with "Coast of Skeletons"): 10 November 1965. U.K. release through Anglo-Warner-Pathe: 25 October 1966. Australian release through British Empire Films: 17 June 1966. Sydney opening at the Capitol (ran one week). 96 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Assisted by his evil daughter, Doctor Fu Manchu plans to use poison gas to gain world domination.

NOTES: Filmed entirely on location in and around Dublin. First of the five-picture Christopher Lee/Fu Manchu series. The others: The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), The Castle of Fu Manchu (1970).

COMMENT: A wonderful start to the series. Not only is the casting well-nigh perfect — Christopher Lee at his dastardly best as the diabolical doctor, Nigel Green deliciously unflappable as the stoic Smith — but the period settings (both indoors and out) strike even the most casual viewer as glittering and most creative gems of the production designer's art.

Just about every scene is so diligently and forcefully composed, no- one should dream of watching this film in anything but its rigorously CinemaScope format. Sharp's imaginative direction brilliantly mirrors the genius of Steward's cinematography.

In short, a triumph — which is almost (but not quite matched) by the immediate sequel, "The Brides of Fu Manchu".

The other films in this series, alas, rate nowhere near as visually enjoyable, though the often slackly directed "Vengeance of Fu Manchu" has its inventive moments and even one significant touch of brilliance.

OTHER VIEWS: Don Sharp has been on the verge of making a really good film for some now, and this is it. Resourcefully directed and inventively scripted, The Face of Fu Manchu is a first-class thriller. — Tom Milne in Monthly Film Bulletin.

Christopher Lee's first outing as the Oriental villain is probably the best of the bunch and serves as another memorable role for his huge CV. Taking over the mantle from Boris Karloff - who had played Manchu in the 1930s - Lee's Manchu films would always be cheaper, less entertaining affairs, but still served up enough action and twists in the plot to keep things moving along nicely.

All of the staples of the adventure genre are there: people being tied up to chairs and freeing themselves, people being whipped, glass tanks filling with water and drowning people, and most of all the heroes fighting off villains. I loved the fight scenes in these films. Nayland Smith attacks one of his friends and fights in a laboratory, for what seems like an eternity. After the little scrap neither men are bleeding!

Of course, Chinese people are the ones getting beaten up and stabbed (in a variety of PG certificate ways) along the way, which does make the film seem a little racist in today's society. Nigel Green is memorably stern-faced and proud in his one-off role as Manchu's chief adversary, Nayland Smith, while Tsai Chin is also wickedly evil as Manchu's daughter. She would return in later entries in the series. Lee, however carries the film on his shoulders and is excellent as the soft-spoken super villain with the long moustache and funny costume. Very typical of the FLASH GORDON-type serials of the '30s, with the emphasis on plot twists, explosions, kidnapping and escape, and fighting, THE FACE OF FU MANCHU is a hugely enjoyable yarn to be enjoyed by old and new alike. As Lee himself says "the world shall hear from me again".

The first of five films starring Christopher Lee as the Chinese criminal mastermind created by Sax Rohmer, this is enormous fun from start to finish. I have to admit that I was slightly apprehensive before watching the film as Fu Manchu is the archetypal Chinese character of the Yellow Peril era but I need not have worried. Yes, the character is played by a man whose only remotely Chinese attribute is his surname but both Lee's performance and the strong script manage to prevent Fu Manchu from devolving into a racist caricature. The film is very well directed by Hammer veteran Don Sharp and there are some great action scenes and some very memorable visuals.

Lee, one of my absolute favourite actors, is never less than completely compelling as Fu Manchu, who is such a frightening figure in part because he never raises his voice. The truly powerful do not need to shout and scream to have their way. He is an amoral genius who wishes to use the poisonous solution that can be obtained from the black hill poppy, which grows only in Tibet, to gain control of Britain and eventually the world. He is a great villain of the old mould. Nigel Green is excellent in the role of his arch-nemesis Denis Nayland Smith and it is a shame that he did not return for any of the sequels, being replaced by Douglas Wilmer in the second and third films and Richard Greene in the fourth and fifth.

The film has a very strong supporting cast overall: Joachim Fuchsberger as Carl Jannsen, Karin Dor as Maria Muller, Walter Rilla (the father of "Village of the Damned" director Wolf Rilla) as her father Professor Muller, Tsai Chin as Fu Manchu's daughter Lin Tang, Howard Marion-Crawford as Dr. Petrie and James Robertson Justice as Sir Charles. Like Lee, Chin and Marion-Crawford appeared in all five films. Unlike Hammer's 1961 film "The Terror of the Tongs", there were several actors of Chinese descent who had speaking roles in the film and I appreciated that. Lee played a similar character in that film but I am glad to say that he toned down his performance on this occasion.

It was filmed in Dublin and the neighbouring countryside and I recognised a few of the streets. I was on the lookout for street signs in Irish or other things that would give away that it was filmed in Ireland but I couldn't spot any, unfortunately. Unless, of course, you count the inclusion of Irish actors such as the great character actor Jim Norton in one of his first on screen roles and Joe Lynch, who is little known outside Ireland but is well known in the country for his role as Dinny in the long-running soap opera "Glenroe".

Overall, this is a hugely enjoyable old fashioned thriller which I enjoyed far more than I expected.

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The first in a five film series starts off with the evil Dr. Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) being executed by having his head chopped off. Scotland Yard Inspector Nayland Smith (Nigel Green) believes that the evil has come to an end but before long he realizes that Fu Manchu is actually alive and with the help of his daughter Lin Lang (Tsai Chin) he plans to kill millions with toxic gas.

To date, 1932's THE MASK OF FU MANCHU remains the best film to have the historic character but I think a strong argument could be made that this here is the second best. With that said, while there are plenty of good things on display here, there's no question that this is still a film with plenty of flaws, which is really too bad because with a little editing this here could have been much, much better than it is.

There's no doubt that the highlight of the picture (and the series) is the performance of Lee who really does a nice job with the role. This is certainly the type of role that many actors would have just taken the check and sleepwalked through but Lee manages to be very effective here simply because of his body movements. I say that because there's really not too much dialogue for him to work with and instead of screaming his way through the part, Lee must use his eyes and gestures to tell the viewer everything they need to know. I really love how still Lee is and this here just adds an evil quality to the role. The supporting players are also good in their parts with Smith making for the perfect hero to go up against Fu Manchu and there's no doubt that Chin brings a nice sexuality to her role.

The film has a pretty good story and I thought the cat and mouse games between the Inspector and Fu Manchu were good. The film also benefits from a pretty good look and there's no doubt that director Don Sharp handles the material well. With that said, the biggest flaw is that the film simply runs a bit too long and I think some editing would have made for a nicer pace. I'd also say that hang more Fu Manchu would have been a major plus since Lee and the character are certainly the highlights. THE FACE OF FU MANCHU kicked off a five film series and it certainly went downhill after this film but this one remains entertaining in a Saturday-matinée type of way.

Actually, This One Plays Better Today than it did in 1965. James Bond was Firmly in the Film-Goer's Mind and Hammer Horror had been Around for a Decade. So Although this was in Color, Starred Christopher Lee, and Featured an Iconic Pulp Character, the Movie Seemed Drab by Comparison.

Despite Numerous Fight Scenes, Location Changes, and an Attempted Period Setting for Flavor, it Just Didn't' Deliver the Thrills and Chills Expected. Competent, and Professionally Done with a Decent Budget and Good Lead Actors, Viewed Today with Less Expectation, and a Throwback Attitude it Can be Enjoyed in Saturday Matinée Template from a Bygone Era.

But Without a Matinée or Drive-In Flashback Attitude it Comes Across as Stiff and Plodding. Considered the Best of the Five Mid-Sixties Fu's Featuring Chris Lee, Although the Follow Up The Brides of Fu Man Chu (1966) is a Contender.

Christopher Lee portrays Fu Manchu, the "world's most evil man" for the first time in director Don Sharp's fast-paced thriller. Executed before the film's opening credits, the criminal mastermind reappears in London much to the dismay of his relentless pursuer Nayland Smith (Nigel Green). He's out to destroy mankind in order to secure a formula that will keep him eternally young. He's aided by his equally nasty daughter (Tsai Chin). Lee is excellent in what has become one of his seminal roles and Green is every inch his equal. Sharp, who was not a particularly inventive director nevertheless puts together a fun movie. Excellent cinematography and art direction bring the 1930s setting to life. The great James Robertson Justice pops up briefly as Sir Charles. Followed by THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU.