The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu

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The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu
Also known asThe Adventures of Fu Manchu
GenreAdventure
Directed by Franklin Adreon
William Witney
Starring Glen Gordon
Lester Matthews
Clark Howat
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Production company Hollywood Television Service
Original release
Network Syndication
ReleaseSeptember 3 (1956-09-03) 
November 26, 1956 (1956-11-26)

The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu is a syndicated American television series that aired in 1956. The show was produced by Hollywood Television Service, a subsidiary of Republic Pictures. [1]

Contents

Cast and characters

Production

Development

Early in the 1950s, an NBC pilot starring John Carradine and Cedric Hardwicke was made, but the sponsors were disappointed in the scripts, and the TV series never materialized. [3] [4]

In 1955, Republic Pictures paid US$4 million to Sax Rohmer and announced they would film 78 episodes, but only 13 were made following a protracted court battle over the rights between Rohmer and the producers. [5]

Details

Each episode would start off with Dr. Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith playing a game of chess with the narrator telling us, "Black and white. Life and death. Good and evil. Two sides of a chess game. Two forces of the universe, one magnificent, the other sinister. It is said the devil plays for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, Satan himself, evil incarnate." At the end of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie had foiled Dr. Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, Dr. Fu Manchu would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled.

The series was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon, as well as by William Witney. Unlike the Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement official and Petrie as a staff member of the Surgeon General.

The series was similar in some ways to a serial, but each episode ended in a resolution rather than a cliffhanger. Republic sent out a film crew to Hong Kong to shoot background footage and supplied stock footage from its library of films.

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"The Prisoner of Dr. Fu Manchu"September 3, 1956 (1956-09-03)
2"The Golden God of Dr. Fu Manchu"September 10, 1956 (1956-09-10)
3"The Secret of Fu Manchu"September 17, 1956 (1956-09-17)
4"The Vengeance of Dr. Fu Manchu"September 24, 1956 (1956-09-24)
5"Dr. Fu Manchu, Incorporated"October 1, 1956 (1956-10-01)
6"The Plague of Dr. Fu Manchu"October 8, 1956 (1956-10-08)
7"The Slave of Dr. Fu Manchu"October 15, 1956 (1956-10-15)
8"Dr. Fu Manchu's Raid"October 22, 1956 (1956-10-22)
9"The Death Ships of Dr. Fu Manchu"October 29, 1956 (1956-10-29)
10"The Counterfeiters of Dr. Fu Manchu"November 5, 1956 (1956-11-05)
11"The Master Plan of Dr. Fu Manchu"November 12, 1956 (1956-11-12)
12"The Satellites of Dr. Fu Manchu"November 19, 1956 (1956-11-19)
13"The Assassins of Dr. Fu Manchu"November 26, 1956 (1956-11-26)

Feature films

Several of the episodes were put together into feature films that were released in Germany. [6]

Related Research Articles

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The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu. It was the first Fu Manchu film of the talkie era. Since this was during the transition period to sound, a silent version was also released in the United States, although only the sound version exists today. The film's copyright was renewed.

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<i>The Brides of Fu Manchu</i> 1966 British film

The Brides of Fu Manchu is a 1966 British/West German Constantin Film co-production adventure crime film based on the fictional Chinese villain Dr. Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the second film in a series, and was preceded by The Face of Fu Manchu. The Vengeance of Fu Manchu followed in 1967, The Blood of Fu Manchu in 1968, and The Castle of Fu Manchu in 1969. It was produced by Harry Alan Towers for Hallam Productions. Like the first film, it was directed by Don Sharp, and starred Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu. Nigel Green was replaced by Douglas Wilmer as Scotland Yard detective Nayland Smith.

<i>Drums of Fu Manchu</i> 1940 film by John English, William Witney

Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) is a 15-chapter Republic serial film based on the character created by Sax Rohmer. Though using the title of the ninth novel in the series, it actually is based on numerous elements from throughout the series to that point, cherry-picked by the writers. It starred Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard. It was directed by the successful serial team constituee by William Witney and John English and is often considered one of the best serial films ever made.

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<i>The Vengeance of Fu Manchu</i> 1967 British film

The Vengeance of Fu Manchu is a 1967 British crime thriller adventure film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring Christopher Lee, Horst Frank, Douglas Wilmer and Tsai Chin. It was the third British/West German Constantin Film co-production of the Dr. Fu Manchu series and the first to be filmed in Hong Kong at the renowned Shaw Brothers studio. It was generally released in the U.K. through Warner-Pathé on 3 December 1967.

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<i>The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu</i> 1930 film

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<i>The Blood of Fu Manchu</i> 1968 film

The Blood of Fu Manchu, also known as Kiss of Death, Kiss and Kill and Against All Odds, is a 1968 British adventure crime film directed by Jesús Franco, based on the fictional Asian villain Dr. Fu Manchu created by Sax Rohmer. It was the fourth film in a series, and was preceded by The Vengeance of Fu Manchu. The Castle of Fu Manchu followed in 1969.

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Harry Agar Lyons was an Irish-born British actor. He was born in Cork, Ireland in 1878 and died in Wandsworth, London, England in 1944 at age 72.

References

  1. Hardy, Phil The BFI Companion to Crime. University of California Press 1998.
  2. Aaker, Everett (2006). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7864-6409-8. Pp. 26–27.
  3. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9 ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 17. ISBN   978-0-345-49773-4 . Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (1976). The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs 1947-1976 Vol. 1. South Brunswick and New York: A. S. Barnes and Company. ISBN   0-498-01561-0.
  5. Mank, Gregory William. Hollywood Cauldron: Thirteen Horror Films From The Genre's Golden Age. McFarland & Co, 2001. p. 84
  6. Bergfelder, Tim International Adventures: German Popular Cinema and European Co-productions in the 1960s, Berghahn Books, January 1, 2005, p. 78.