The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)

During the Boxer Rebellion in China during the early 20th century, in which a Chinese secret society attacked all westerners and anyone who associated with them, Dr. Fu Manchu's wife and ... See full summary »

Writers:

Lloyd Corrigan (dialogue), Lloyd Corrigan (screenplay),

Stars:

Warner Oland, Neil Hamilton, Jean Arthur

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warner Oland	...	Dr. Fu Manchu
Neil Hamilton	...	Dr. Jack Petrie
Jean Arthur	...	Lia Eltham
O.P. Heggie	...	Insp. Nayland Smith
William Austin	...	Sylvester Wadsworth
Claude King	...	Sir John Petrie
Charles A. Stevenson	...	Gen. Petrie
Evelyn Selbie	...	Fai Lu
Noble Johnson	...	Li Po
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Laska Winters	...	Fu Mela (as Laska Winter)

Storyline

During the Boxer Rebellion in China during the early 20th century, in which a Chinese secret society attacked all westerners and anyone who associated with them, Dr. Fu Manchu's wife and child are killed by foreigners. Enraged, he vows to take his revenge on the British army officers he holds responsible for the killings.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title

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Taglines:

You'll never forget

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Genres:

Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il drago rosso

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rowland V. Lee Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the earliest of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. However, because of legal complications, this particular title was not included in the original television package and may not have ever been televised.

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Connections

Follows The Call of Siva (1923)

User Reviews

Early talkie has atmosphere, doesn't hold interest.

Very early talkie featuring pre-Charlie Chan Oland as mad Doctor, primitive with slow stretches, but watchable. They couldn't stray far from the microphone, so some scenes are VERY static with nobody moving. Comic relief just plain stupid. Interesting trivia: William Austin (Sylvester) later played Batman's butler, Alfred, in serials, while Neil Hamilton (Jack Petrie) MUCH later played Commissioner Gordon in the 60s TV Series. O. P. Heggie, a very wooden Nayland Smith, gained immortality as the blind hermit who befriends the monster in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.