The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)

Director:

Don Sharp

Writers:

Sax Rohmer (novel)
Harry Alan Towers (writer)

Release Date:

24 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Obey Fu Manchu Or Every Living Thing Will Die!

Plot:

Grisly strangulations in London alert Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard to the possibility that fiendish Fu Manchu may not after all be dead...

Plot Keywords:

Scotland Yard | Fu Manchu | Strangulation | Super Villain | Independent Film

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Dr. Fu Manchu / Lee Tao
Nigel Green	...	Sir Nayland Smith
Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Karl Janssen
Karin Dor	...	Maria Muller Janssen
James Robertson Justice	...	Sir Charles / Direktor Fortescu
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Dr. Petrie (as Howard Marion Crawford)
Tsai Chin	...	Lin Tang
Walter Rilla	...	Prof. Hans Muller / Prof. Hans Merten
Harry Brogan	...	Professor Gaskell
Poulet Tu	...	Lotus
Edwin Richfield	...	Chief Magistrate
Archie O'Sullivan	...	Chamberlain
Joe Lynch	...	Robinson, vault guard
Peter Mosbacher	...	Gustav Hanumon (as Peter Mossbacher)
Eric Young	...	The Grand Lama

Also Known As:

Ich, Dr. Fu Man Chu (West Germany)
The Mask of Fu Manchu

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Near the end of the movie when Smith and Janssen rescue Prof. Muller and set up the bomb they capture Lin Tang, tie her up and gag her. Lin Tang is seen in the following making a great show of struggling against her bonds and even falling behind the bed, so that the guards did not find her when they looked into the room, so she couldn't alert them. So far the story, but looking at the way Lin Tang was tied up she would have been able to remove the gag every time she wanted to and cry out for help.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

'The Face Of Fu Manchu' isn't a great movie by any means but it's fun to watch. Christopher Lee and especially Nigel Green are just terrific.

'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.