The Movies of Fu Manchu

The Movies of Fu Manchu:
Part Four: Christopher Lee, Peter Sellers & Paul Naschy

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, Peter Sellers and Paul Naschy

1965: The Face of Fu Manchu

Also released as
1965: Ich, Dr. Fu Man Chu (German)
1965: Le Masque de Fu Manchu (French)
1965: El Rostro de Fu Manchu

This promotional poster was a special giveaway for the original 1965 theatrical release

FuForMayor.jpg (23986 bytes)

"This advertisement was paid for by the citizen's committee to elect Fu Manchu for Mayor."

British production by Harry Alan Towers. Christopher Lee
Smith: Nigel Green.
Jansen: Joachim Fuchsberger.
Maria: Karin Dor.
Lin Tang: Tsai Chin.
Dr. Petrie: Howard Marion Crawford. Prof. Muller: Walter Rilla.
Sir Charles: James Robertson Justice. Directed by Don Sharp.

Photon, #22, 1972. From the collection of Robert E. Briney

Mrs. Sax Rohmer on the set with Christopher Lee

1996 Finnish videotape release

Four stills from the whipping scene are posted at a site devoted to movies with "whipped women." The annotation says it all: "A pretty Chinese girl is tied to a wall, arms outstretched, and her back is bared. Unfortunately, Fu Manchu stops the whipping."

1966: Brides of Fu Manchu

Also released in Spanish, German, French, Turkish and Danish as
1966: Las 13 Novias de Fu Manchu (Spanish)
1966: Die dreizehn Sklavinnen des Dr. Fu Man Chu (German)
1966 Die 13 Sklavinnen des Dr. Fu Man Chu (Austrian)
1966: les Treize Fiancées de Fu Manchu (French)
1966: Canavar Pencesi Fu Mancu (Turkish)
1966: Dr. Fu Manchu og Slavepigerne (Danish)
1966: il Giorno Dei Fazzoletti Rossi (Italian)

British production by Harry Alan Towers.
Christopher Lee.
Smith: Douglas Wilmer.
Marie: Marie Versini.
Franz: Heinz Drache.
Petrie: Howard Marion
Crawford.
Lin Tang: Tsai Chin.
Otto: Joseph Furst.
Spicer: Kenneth Fortescue.
Directed by Don Sharp.

Mexico, 1966

Argentina, 1966

     TIENEN QUE ELEGIA . . .
     el lecho nupcial
     con une hombre
     poderoso
     o la muerte!

Die 13 Sklavinnen des Dr. Fu Man Chu, The Thirteen Slaves of Dr. Fu Manchu.

(German release of Brides of Fu Manchu) Krimi, Großbritannien.

Noch immer strebt der geniale Verbrecher Dr. Fu Man Chu (Christopher Lee) die Weltherrschaft an: Mit elektronischen Strahlen kann er über Kontinente hinweg jedes gewünschte Objekt vernichten. Zusätzlich nimmt er noch Frauen und Töchter von Prominenten als Geiseln. Unter ihnen ist die hübsche Marie (Marie Versini), Tochter des bekannten Ingenieurs Lenz (Joseph Furst). Mit Scotland Yard-Mann Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer) versucht Maries Verlobter Franz Baumer (Heinz Drache), in Fu Man Chus Versteck einzudringen.

Dr. Fu Manchu og Slavepigerne

Released by A/S Gefion Film Præsenterer

When the Danish release of The Brides of Fu Manchu first appeared in theaters, patrons were given a 5" x 6" Danish movie program. Movie programs were routinely given away and they were filled with black and white photos from the film as well as a synopsis of the plot and the credits. This one is eight pages with seven photos.

1966: The Horror of Fu Manchu

Americom 8mm Home Movies - F22
Full length (200F) B&W standard 8mm movie with sound track record.

"Sound Movies For Silent Projectors with FREE original sound track RECORD, plus superimposed titles for silent projection."

"The introduction of Americom 8mm Home Movies, coupled with the ORIGINAL sound track recordings, makes available to the home user high quality film entertainment comparable to theatre performance. Used properly, these films and records can provide hours of fun for the whole family."

1968: The Vengeance of Fu Manchu

Also released as
Die Rache des Dr. Fu Man Chu (German title)
Dr. Fu Manchu's Hevn (Danish title)
La Venganza de Fu Manchu (Mexican title)

British production by Harry Alan Towers.
Christopher Lee.
Ramos: Tony Ferrer.
Lin Tang: Tsai Chin.
Maria: Susanne Roquette.
Smith: Douglas Wilmer.
Jeremy Summers directed.

Haevn.jpg (32535 bytes)
Danish movie program

Venganza.jpg (21605 bytes)
Portion of Mexican lobby card

1969: The Blood of Fu Manchu

BloodFu.jpg (43357 bytes)

British production by Harry Alan Towers, with Christopher Lee

Poster for Japanese Release

Also released as:

1968: Against All Odds
1968: Fu Manchu and the Keys of Death
1968: Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death
1968: Fu Manchu's Kiss of Death
1968: Kiss and Kill (U.S.)
1968: Kiss of Death
1968: Todeskuß des Dr. Fu Manchu, Der (German title)
1968? (Japan)
1970: Fu Manchú y el beso de la muerte (Spanish title)
1982: Fu Manchu - Himon herra (Finnish videotape)

vidhimo.jpg (39260 bytes)

1969: The Castle of Fu Manchu

British production by Harry Alan Towers, with Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Maria Perschy, Gunther Stoll, Howard Marion Crawford. DIR: Jess (Jesus) Franco. Fu Manchu experimenting with more deadly potions in his castle near Istanbul and parrying with his perennial adversary, Nayland Smith (Greene) of Britain's Home Office.Originally released in the U.S. as ASSIGNMENT ISTANBUL. Widescreen.

Soundbites from the Castle of Fu Manchu:

"This is Fu Manchu."
"In a few moments, the proof of my mastery will be complete."
"This is the destiny of Fu Manchu."
"In order to convince you, I shall arrange a demonstration."
"There are ways of persuasion."

-- From the "Bring On The Bad Guys" site.

Also released as:

1969: Assignment Istanbul
1969: Castello di Fu Manchu, Il (Italian title)
1969: Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Man Chu, Die (German title)
1969: Fu Manchu's Castle
1969: The Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu
1972: Castillo de Fumanchú, El (Spanish title)

1980: The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu

Directed by Piers Haggard. Cast (in alphabetical order) Sid Caesar.... Joe Capone, Steve Franken.... Peter Williams, Clement Harari.... Doctor Wretch, Stratford Johns.... Ismail, Lee Kwan-Young.... Tong, John Le Mesurier.... Perkins, Helen Mirren.... Alice Rage, Peter Sellers.... Fu Manchu/Nayland Smith, John Sharp.... Sir Nules Thudd, David Tomlinson.... Sir Roger Avery, Simon Williams.... Robert Townsend.

Caption "SOMETHING OLD--SOMETHING NEW --- Master criminal Fu Manchu (Peter Sellers), angry that he has lost his youth elixir, vows to take over the world, in this scene from the hilarious comedy, "The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu," an Orion Pictures release through Warner Bros. (Copyright 1980 by Orion Pictures Company)"

Austrian release.

1986: Esclavas del Crimen [=Slaves of Crime].

Producer: Herminio Garcia Calvo / Madrid. Spanish film [video only in Spanish].
Director: James Lee Johnson [pseudonym = Jess (Jesús) Franco].
Starring: [Franco's wife] Lina Romay asFu Manchu's daughter, Marco Moriarty, Mel Rodrigo.
Screenplay: David Khunne [pseudonym = Jess (Jesús) Franco].
Photography: Juan Soler.
Music: Daniel J. White.
Fu Manchu's daughter is the adventuress in this film.
90 min, color.

Lucas Balbo, Peter Blumenstock and Christian Kessler: Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco. Berlin: Graf Haufen & Frank Trebbin, 1993. [Raimo Nikkonen, Email, 6/30/98]

This obscurity is a deliriously filmed erotic adventure that updates Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu tales (Rohmer receives screen credit, as "S. Rohmer").

Lina Romay appears as the daughter of Fu Manchu, made up with exotic eye mascara (to appear Oriental) and an outlandish hair style. A title card explains it takes place "in an exotic corner of the distant east, [a] paradise of the drug and the corruption."

Members of the ROCKY WALTERS rock and roll band are kidnapped by her seductive agents and transported to a hotel in the jungle, which doubles as an armed camp. There they are drugged, tortured, and forced to sign over bank accounts and other financial holdings.

This criminal enterprise is investigated by a karate fighting investigator and an Interpol agent who wears a pink shirt. The movie climaxes with an air strike carried out by Jump-Jets delivering a napalm payload into the encampment.

This amusing if sometimes slow-paced trifle is most interesting for the eye-popping color filter effects, which fill many scenes with intense halations and bright hues which sometimes obscure the action. The female bunch are a sexy and imposing army of Amazons that recall Shirley Eaton and her followers in FUTURE WOMEN (1968).

A sadly miscast Lina Romay gets to repeat the old Fu Manchu standard at the end: "The world will hear from me again!"

-- Robert Monell Dark Waters Reviews

1990: La Hija de Fu-Manchu [The Daughter of Fu-Manchu ]

(20 minutes)

"A color short directed by three people calling themselves "La Escuadrilla Amarilla" [The Yellow Squad]. The film is an affectionate light spoof of the Fu Manchu films, though Paul Naschy plays the role of Fu Manchu seriously, without lampooning. Some other actors are Antonio Junco, Leonor Ramos, Maria Castello, Fausto Telon. It was made in 1990, and produced by Miguel Vidal Comas, P.C. and Television Espanola." --Information provided by Mirek (Miroslaw Lipinski)

1999? The Fiendish Trap of Fu Manchu
Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu

Vine International Pictures, Limited, in Englad, has announced that this title is in pre-production.

Director: Alex De La Iglesia (PERDITA DURANGO; DAY OF THE BEAST; ACCIONE MUTANTE), Producer: Andres Vicente Gomez - Lolafilms S.A., Language: English, Budget US$15 million. Set in London and Shanghai, this is the story of a man whose fate is in the hands of the most feared and dastardly conjurer that history has ever known - FU MANCHU.

Movies - Part Three

Go to The Page of Fu Manchu