The Vengeance of Fu Manchu | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jeremy Summers |
Screenplay by | Peter Welbeck |
Based on | Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer |
Produced by | Harry Alan Towers |
Starring | Christopher Lee Douglas Wilmer Tsai Chin Maria Rohm Noel Trevarthen Howard Marion-Crawford |
Cinematography | John Von Kotze |
Edited by | Allan Morrison |
Music by | Malcolm Lockyer Gert Wilden (West Germany) |
Production companies | Babasdave Films Constantin Film |
Distributed by | Anglo-Amalgamated Warner-Pathé (UK) Constantin Film (West Germany) |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom West Germany |
Language | English |
The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (also known as Sax Rohmer's the Vengeance of Fu Manchu and Die Rache Des Dr. Fu Man Chu) is a 1967 British crime thriller adventure film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring Christopher Lee, Horst Frank, Douglas Wilmer and Tsai Chin. [1] 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 (as the second half of a double feature with the Lindsay Shonteff film The Million Eyes of Sumuru ) on 3 December 1967. [2]
Credits adapted from the booklet of the Powerhouse Films Blu-ray boxset The Fu Manchu Cycle: 1965-1969. [3]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Disappointingly, Fu Manchu's vengeance turns out to be a very tame affair after the period splendours of his earlier exploits. The ingredients are all here – boa constrictor plot, attractively photographed exteriors, and the Oriental villain and his sadistic daughter as venomous as ever – but somehow they fail to jell, and Jeremy Summers shows none of the inventiveness that Don Sharp brought to the first two films in this series. ... Christopher Lee and Tsai Chin are as impeccably sinister as before; but the hordes of blackpyjamaed henchmen are a curiously wooden lot, as though they had strayed on to the set from a Red Guard parade." [4]
Dr. Fu Manchu is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 100 years, and he has also become an archetype of the evil criminal genius and mad scientist, while lending his name to the Fu Manchu moustache.
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, was a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Major Yamauchi in the British drama series Tenko and as Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine.
Herta-Maria Perschy was an Austrian actress whose career included performances on screen with actor Rock Hudson and on American television in both daytime and prime time.
Denis Nayland Smith is a character who was introduced in the series of novels Dr. Fu Manchu by the English author Sax Rohmer. He is a rival to the villain Dr. Fu Manchu.
Tsai Chin is a Chinese-British actress, singer, director, and teacher. Her career spans more than six decades and three continents.
Howard Marion-Crawford, was an English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.
Rowland Vance Lee was an American film director, actor, writer, and producer.
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971. Low-budget and second features, often produced at Merton Park Studios, formed much of its output. It was the UK distributor of many films produced by American International Pictures (AIP), who distributed AA's films in the United States.
The Castle of Fu Manchu is a 1969 film and the fifth and final Dr. Fu Manchu film with Christopher Lee portraying the title character. The film, directed by Jesús Franco, is an English-language coproduction between companies from various European countries including the UK, Spain and West Germany.
Malcolm Neville Lockyer was a British film composer and conductor.
Douglas Norman Wilmer was an English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 1965 TV series Sherlock Holmes.
Wolfgang Kieling was a German actor.
The Face of Fu Manchu is a 1965 thriller film directed by Don Sharp and based on the characters created by Sax Rohmer. It stars Christopher Lee as the eponymous villain, a Chinese criminal mastermind, and Nigel Green as his pursuing rival Nayland Smith, a Scotland Yard detective.
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.
Jeremy Summers was a British television director and film director, known for directing television series such as The Saint and films such as Five Golden Dragons, The House of 1,000 Dolls, and The Vengeance of Fu Manchu.
Fah Lo Suee is a character who was introduced in the series of novels Dr. Fu Manchu by the English author Sax Rohmer (1883-1959). She is the daughter of Dr. Fu Manchu and an unnamed Russian woman, sometimes shown as an ally, sometimes shown as a rival. The character featured in cinema and comic strips and comic books alongside her father, sometimes using another names, and she has also become an archetype of the Dragon Lady.
Horst Frank was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1955 and 1999. He was born in Lübeck, Germany and died in Heidelberg, Germany.
Harald Leipnitz was a German actor, who was born in Wuppertal and died in Munich of lung cancer.
Five Golden Dragons is a 1967 international co-production comedy action film set in Hong Kong and photographed in Techniscope on location in September 1966 at the Tiger Balm Pagoda and Shaw Brothers studios. It was directed by Jeremy Summers and starred Bob Cummings in his final theatrical feature film, Margaret Lee who sings two songs in the film, Rupert Davies and a cast of "guest stars".
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.