The Mask of Fu Manchu starts as British museum archaeologist Sir Lionel Barton (Lawrence Grant) informs two of his esteemed colleagues McLeod (David Torrence) & Von Berg (Jean Hersholt) that he has discovered the whereabouts of Ghengis Khan's tomb somewhere near the edge of the Gobi Desert & that they will accompany him on an expedition there. However the British museum aren't the only ones interested in Khan's tomb as the evil Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) wants Khan's golden mask & scimitar & use them to convince millions in the East to follow him in a war against the West, scary eh? Fu Manchu's henchmen kidnap Sir Lionel & Fu Manchu tortures him in an attempt to discover the location of Khan's tomb, however the expedition organised by the British museum still goes ahead with Sir Lionel's daughter Sheila (Karen Morley) on board. They find the tomb, mask & scimitar before Fu Manchu who has to use all of his power, cunning & ruthlessness to obtain the artifacts...
Originally to be directed by Charles Vidor he was apparently fired after a few days of shooting & Charles Brabin was brought in to replace him I actually thought The Mask of Fu Manchu was a throughly enjoyable adventure film that plays pretty well even in the year 2006 well over 70 years since it was made. Based on the stories by Sax Rohmer the script by Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf & John Willard takes itself pretty seriously which works well & was probably very risqué back in the early 30's & is clearly very racist at times as even the main plot is basically the West fearing an uprise by the East, it has a fair amount of violence & exploitation that doesn't exactly rival The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) but must have been strong stuff back then & when viewed today it has a certain sadism which it takes great delight in. The film moves along at a great pace, it's never boring, there are some nice set pieces & very memorable scenes & dialogue. The Mask of Fu Manchu feels like an old James Bond or Indiana Jones type action adventure film with it's over-the-top villain & globe-trotting adventure elements which add up to make it a damn fine film!
Director Brabin does an OK job, obviously it can't live up to the latest Hollywood blockbuster in terms of special effects & budget but it can hold more than it's own in the story & entertainment department. There are some cool torture scenes, someone suspended over a pit full of Alligators on a bed that is slowing tipping over & a bit when someone is strapped into a chair & two spiked panels either side of him slowly start to close in & a clearly racist sequence where the white hero is stripped, tied up & whipped by two black slaves as Fu Manchu's daughter looks on enjoying every moment. There is even a cool ending as the hero uses a giant laser-gun to save the day.
With a supposed budget of $327,627 The Mask of Fu Manchu is generally well made considering it's age. The sets are impressive & the black & white cinematography serves it's purpose well enough. The acting was alright with Karloff standing out as the fiendish Fu Manchu, this was the only time Karloff played the role of Fu Manchu.
The Mask of Fu Manchu is great film from the 30's, it won't be everyones cup of tea that's for sure as I personally know people who wouldn't watch it purely because it's not in colour but if you are prepared to give it a go then I think it's a film most would like, better than expected & well worth a watch so don't let it's age put you off. This was the fourth Fu Manchu film & there would go on to be a further eight with the great Christopher Lee in the title role for five of those.
Originally to be directed by Charles Vidor he was apparently fired after a few days of shooting & Charles Brabin was brought in to replace him I actually thought The Mask of Fu Manchu was a throughly enjoyable adventure film that plays pretty well even in the year 2006 well over 70 years since it was made. Based on the stories by Sax Rohmer the script by Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf & John Willard takes itself pretty seriously which works well & was probably very risqué back in the early 30's & is clearly very racist at times as even the main plot is basically the West fearing an uprise by the East, it has a fair amount of violence & exploitation that doesn't exactly rival The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) but must have been strong stuff back then & when viewed today it has a certain sadism which it takes great delight in. The film moves along at a great pace, it's never boring, there are some nice set pieces & very memorable scenes & dialogue. The Mask of Fu Manchu feels like an old James Bond or Indiana Jones type action adventure film with it's over-the-top villain & globe-trotting adventure elements which add up to make it a damn fine film!
Director Brabin does an OK job, obviously it can't live up to the latest Hollywood blockbuster in terms of special effects & budget but it can hold more than it's own in the story & entertainment department. There are some cool torture scenes, someone suspended over a pit full of Alligators on a bed that is slowing tipping over & a bit when someone is strapped into a chair & two spiked panels either side of him slowly start to close in & a clearly racist sequence where the white hero is stripped, tied up & whipped by two black slaves as Fu Manchu's daughter looks on enjoying every moment. There is even a cool ending as the hero uses a giant laser-gun to save the day.
With a supposed budget of $327,627 The Mask of Fu Manchu is generally well made considering it's age. The sets are impressive & the black & white cinematography serves it's purpose well enough. The acting was alright with Karloff standing out as the fiendish Fu Manchu, this was the only time Karloff played the role of Fu Manchu.
The Mask of Fu Manchu is great film from the 30's, it won't be everyones cup of tea that's for sure as I personally know people who wouldn't watch it purely because it's not in colour but if you are prepared to give it a go then I think it's a film most would like, better than expected & well worth a watch so don't let it's age put you off. This was the fourth Fu Manchu film & there would go on to be a further eight with the great Christopher Lee in the title role for five of those.