The Movies of Fu Manchu

The Movies of Fu Manchu:
Part Three: Henry Brandon and Manuel Requena

First played by Harry Agar Lyons in the 1920's, the sinister Chinese doctor was subsequently portrayed in the movies by Warner Oland, Boris Karloff, Henry Brandon, Manuel Requena, Christopher Lee and Peter Sellers. John Carradine and Glen Gordon portrayed Fu Manchu on television. Rohmer's sinister female, Sumuru, had her movies as well.

Part One: Harry Agar Lyons and Warner Oland
Part Two: Boris Karloff
Part Three: Henry Brandon and Manuel Requena
Part Four: Christopher Lee and Peter Sellers

1940: Drums of Fu Manchu

Starring Henry Brandon and Robert Kellard (Republic serial) 15 episodes (269 minutes). 1. Fu Manchu Strikes, 2. The Monster, 3. Ransom In The Sky, 4. The Pendulum of Doom, 5. The House of Terror, 6. Death Dials A Number, 7. Vengeance of The Si Fan, 8. Danger Trail, 9. The Crystal of Death, 10. Drums of Death, 11. The Tomb of Ghengis Khan, 12. Fire of Vengeance, 13. The Devil's Tatoo, 14. Satan's Surgeon, 15. Revolt! Hear the opening soundtrack.

The lobby card for Chaper 1

Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) and his faithful Dacoits

Cast

Fu Manchu
Sir Denis Nayland Smith
Allen Parker
Fah Lo Suee
Dr. Flinders Petrie
Professor Edward Randolph
Mary Randolph
Sirdar Prahin
Professor Parker
Howard
Loki
Anderson
Dr. Humphrey

Henry Brandon
William Royle
Robert Kellard
Gloria Franklin
Olaf Hytten
Tom Chatterton
Luana Walters
Lal Chend Mehra
George Cleveland
John Dilson
John Merton
Dwight Frye
Wheaton Chambers

Date?: Das Geheimnis des goldenen Drachens

German release of the serial version of Drums of Fu Manchu.

"The back cover of SCREEN WORLD #28, Fall 1981, which contains the first half of an episode-by-episode narrative of the DRUMS OF FU MANCHU serial. The image is a German poster for installment 2 of the serial."
-- Robert E. Briney (Email May 1, 1998

1942: Fu Manchu Strikes Back

"Republic actually had a second serial in mind, Fu Manchu Strikes Back, but the project was shelved in July, 1942, under pressure from the Chinese Government (there was a war on, remember?) and the U.S. State Department requested that the vehicle be 'temporarily postponed' which is bureaucratic jargon for 'Don't make our Allies look bad.' It goes a long way toward explaining why Fu Manchu managed to beat the rap instead of perishing in the fiery car crash that the original version of the script called for!" -- from the Cliffhanger Classics web site.

1943: Drums of Fu Manchu Republic, 69 minutes, edited from the serial.

"Adapted from Serial Bearing Same Title"
Three years after release as a fifteen chapter serial, Republic released "Drums of Fu Manchu" as a movie.

1946: El Otro Fu Manchu

"Spanish Title (The Other Fu Manchu) The cast included Manuel Requena as Fu Manchu and it was directed by Ramon Barreiro. According to Midi-Minuit Fantastique, Vol. 9, No. 14, the plot ran thusly: "Fu Manchu steals a magic shell from a tea merchant's shop. A mysterious cult is also after the shell." The film is also noted in "Horror and Science Fiction Index," Donald C. Willis, Scarecrow Press, 1972" Submitted by Leonard Gray.

The entry from the filmography is as follows:

1946   EL OTRO FU-MAN-CHU (Bascon-Films) Espana.

Director, argumento y guion: Ramon Barreiro.
Fotografia: Cesar Benitez.
Interpretes:    Manuel Requena (Fu-Man-Chu)
                Rosita Yarza
                Carlos Munoz
                Adela Esteban
                Alicia Torres
                Candida Lopez
                Mary Gonzalez
                Jose Jaspe
                Manuel Kayser

Still from EL OTRO FU MANCHU, from midi/minuit fantastique no.

Una curiosa produccion espanola, que exceptuando la ambientacion oriental
y el curioso nombre de Fu-Man-Chu (en lugar de Fu-Manchu), bien poco tiene
que ver con el personaje creado por Sax Rohmer.

Movies - Part Two Movies - Part Four
Go to The Page of Fu Manchu