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

Colour:

Colour (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)

An enjoyable film!

"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.