Sax Rohmer (1883-1859) was among the most popular novelists of the early 20th Century. He was particularly well known for his creation of the character Fu Manchu--a truly diabolical Chinese scientist who, along with his equally evil daughter Fa Lo See, sought world domination through the most vicious means possible. In the process, Rohmer virtually created the idea of "the yellow peril" in the American and European mind, and his distinctly racist characterizations would color Western concepts of the far East for half a century.
Rohmer's Fu Manchu has reached the screen on several occasions, perhaps most notably in an unexpectedly sadistic 1932 THE MASK OF FU MANCHU, starring Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy. The 1940 serial was directed by Republic Studio's reliable team of John English and William Witney, and at the time it was felt to propel the genre to a new height; in hindsight, however, it seems fairly obvious that English and Witney's SPY SMASHER and THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL are really the high water mark of Republic serials. Whatever the case, the directing team does indeed give this tale considerable style and drive.
The story is very linear: Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) is aided by lethal daughter Fah-Lo-Suee (Gloria Franklin) and a host of mind-controlled henchmen in an effort to secure the scepter of Ghengis Kahn--and thereby fulfill an ancient prophecy that will cause all of Asia to rise up under his leadership and get rid of those wretched Anglo-Saxon types for once and all. Needless to say, the Anglo-Saxons, both English and American, take an extremely dim view of the whole thing and set out to thwart his evil designs.
The serial starts out extremely well, with a host of imaginative visuals bolstered by a host of equally imaginative tortures. Unfortunately, Henry Brandon's Fu Manchu proves considerably more interesting than any of the good guys who oppose him, and in consequence the whole thing looses steam long about the fifth chapter and doesn't really regain it until the final third. But Brandon's memorable performance, the often remarkable visual designs, and the impressive fight choreography does make it entertaining throughout--even if you do wind up rooting for Fu Manchu instead of Sir Dennis Naylund Smith (William Royle) and his incredibly tiresome friend Allan Parker (Robert Kellard), who are supposed to be the heroes of the piece.
The whole thing, of course, is just as racist as it can be, and the final chapter is appallingly so. But even though it may cause you to roll your eyes it remains a fun sort of thing for hardcore serial fans, who will likely enjoy it quite a bit. As for the DVD--the film has been remastered, but the picture is rather fuzzy and the sound occasionally muddy as well. The package contains a brief but entertaining and enlightening documentary (described as a commentary) by Richard Valley and a handful of cast biographies for good measure.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
"Sax Rohmer's villainous character comes to Republic Serials ~ Dr. Fu Manchu"
VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present "Drums of Fu Manchu" (1940) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters of fiendish cliffhangers mixed with hair breadth escapes ending each episode...the plot is a dangerous and exciting one as The nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world...Dr. Fu Manchu nemesis is Dr. Dennis Nayland Smith, he and his associates fight to keep the evil Fu Manchu from getting his hands on the keys that will enable him to take over the world...will Fu Manchu secure the long lost scepter of Genghis Khan with which he hopes to gain control of various Himalayan tribes which in turn will lead him to eventual world domination...can the his long time nemesis Sir Nayland Smith and his young partner Allen Parker save the day...all this and more is waiting for you to savor.
Under director's John English and William Witney with stories suggested by Sax Rohmer...an Asian mysterious screenplay by Franklin Adreon and Morgan Cox...the cast include Henry Brandon as Dr. Fu Manchu (appeared in "The Searchers" as the villainous Indian Chief "Scar"), William Royle as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith (Scotland Yard), Robert Kellard as Allan Parker (the hero), Gloria Franklin as Fah-Lo-Suee (daughter of Fu Manchu), Olaf Hytten as Dr. Flinders Petrie, Tom Chatterton as Prof. Edward Randolph, Luana Walters as Mary Randolph, John Merton (Republic henchman & all around villain) as Loki, George Cleveland as Dr. James Parker and Dwight Frye (from the "Count Dracula" and "Frankenstein" films) as Prof. Anderson...another great serial provided by Republic Pictures during their heyday of the early '40s...contains the superior Republic stuntwork and action sequences that the studio was noted for. check out Robert Kellard the action sequences...Kellard resembled Republic's ace stuntman David Sharpe, and this my friend was no coincidence...Sharpe visibly doubled Kellard in the action scenes, many are still classics in my book.
Chapter Titles
1. Fu Manchu Strikes
2. The Monster
3. Ransom in the Sky
4. The Pendulum of Doom (from Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum")
5. The House of Terror
6. Death Dials A Number
7. Vengeance of the Si Fan
8. Danger Trail
9. The Crystal of Death
10.Drums of Doom
11.The Tomb of Genghis Khan
12.Fire of Vengeance
13.The Devil's Tattoo
14.Satan's Surgeon
15.Revolt
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Video Commentary by Scarlet Street Publisher Richard Valley
Cast Bios for
WILLIAM WITNEY
HENRY BRANDON
WILLIAM ROYLE
ROBERT KELLARD
GLORIA FRANKLIN
Photo Gallery: include great stills from "Drums of Fu Manchu"
Check out other VCI Cliffhangers of: ADVENTURES OF THE FLYING CADETS (Bobby Jordan & Jennifer Holt), ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER (Don "Red" Barry), BUCK ROGERS (Buster Crabbe), DICK TRACY & G Men (Ralph Byrd), JUNGLE JIM (Grant Wihers & Raymond Hatton), KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED (Allan "Rocky" Lane), LAST FRONTIER (Lon Chaney Jr), MIRACLE RIDER (Tom Mix), THE PHANTOM (Tom Tyler)...if you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above.
Great job by VCI Entertainment and a special thanks to Ray Faioloa for supervising the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print, Eric Hoffmann (film collector & historian) for writing the liner notes and a very special thank you to Richard Valley (publisher of Scarlet Street Magazine) for his excellent and enlightening commentary...a spectacular train wreck, a giant realistic looking octopus and the swinging pendulum torture device borrowed from Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum"...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch serial from VCI...just the way we like 'em!
Total Time: 269 mins on 2 DVD's ~ VCI Entertainment 8296 ~ (2/25/2003)
What a classic
What a great movie.With one of the best villians of the 20th Century you can't go wrong.This movie is a pleasure to watch.The plot is remarkable.Controlling people using lobotimies and the implementation of the infernal "drum".Wow they had great ideas back then that won't be out of place today.The way they compelled you to watch the next chapter was brilliant.You know he will survive but wonder how does he escape.I tell you this movie deserved at least 3 oscars.The picture is perfect but the sound is average(when you are used to 5.1 surround then tell me again).How they got the picture like that I don't know.If you are a serial-movie fan or a classic movie collector even a film student.Buy this!!In a nutshell this movie lived up and exceeded the hype it generated and quite frankly this film is a masterpiece.One of the best movies of the 20th Century.
This dvd, the Adventures of Captain Marvel, was ordered on Aug. 31, but has NOT yet been delivered to me. This is the first and only opportunity I've been afforded to contact you about this. Please cancel my order.
-Trevor Von Eeden/thv2101@columbia.edu- More Info about this DVD Director(s): John English - William Witney DVD Release Date: Released the 16 December 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present Edgar Rice Burroughs "Jungle Girl" (1941) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with action sequences...with his infant daughter Nyoka, Dr. John Meredith lives in the African Jungle trying to help the local natives of the Masamba tribes...the tribe owns diamond mines and a gang of thugs is itching to take it away with the help of Shamba the witch doctor who very much dislikes Dr. Meredith...thus enters Slick Latimer who shoots Dr. Meredith in back...the evil twin brother Bradley Meredith who is Latimer's partner takes his brothers place...Jack Stanton and his sidekick Curley come to the aid of Nyoka whenever the 15 chapters need them...can Nyoka and native boy Wakimbu keep the evil native chief Shamba from their... More Info about this DVD Director(s): William Witney - John English DVD Release Date: Released the 03 July 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Republic was certainly best known for serials, but other studios often got into the act. One of these was Columbia Pictures. In truth, Columbia's serials weren't anything to write home about--but there was one exception: the 1943 THE PHANTOM, which cracks along at a memorable pace with an entertaining storyline, some excellent fight choreography, visually interesting set pieces, and a truly fine performance from Tom Tyler in the title role.
Tom Tyler (1903-1954) was a handsome, well-built man who played in well over 150 films between 1924 and 1953--but whose final years was marred by rheumatoid arthritis that reduced him to small supporting roles. But he was very much at his peak in 1941 when he appeared in the legendary Republic serial THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN... More Info about this DVD Director(s): B. Reeves Eason DVD Release Date: Released the 30 January 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present Alex Raymond and Dashiell Hammett comic strip character from King Features Syndicate "Secret Agent X-9" (1945) (Dolby digitally remastered), 13 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with action sequences...the story line opens with Secret Agent X-9 on a destroyer and changing into a Nazi uniform impersonating a German Office, then giving his position over a wireless hoping a German submarine in nearby waters will over hear and blast her out of the water...does Phil Corrigan who is Agent X-9 join forces with Ah Fong and Jan Wiley trying to defeat Nabura who just so happens to be a most sinister Japanese agent around and one of the nastiest villains you'll ever run into...will Hakahima the Japanese scientist use his discovery of aviation fuel and... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ray Taylor - Lewis D. Collins DVD Release Date: Released the 28 January 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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So does Glen Gordon as 50's TV's deliciously nefarious incarnation of Sax Rohmer's icon of Evilll...Dr. Fu Manchu. Ian Fleming's Dr. No was Fu-ster reborn to face-off against 007. Here Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his Yankee buddy,Dr.John Petrie, reprise Rohmer's reprise of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to keep the never-ending battle between Good & Evil never-ending.The disc provides four outrageous Saturday matinee, serial-like adventures that demonstrate how Olden Days TV could do so much with so little. THE MASTER PLAN is best serving; and example of audacity no modern or PM director would dare: revival of Adolf Hitler himself.(Shades of Outer Limits/Twilight Zone & the FuMANCHURIAN CANDIDATE!)Are these ADVENTURES great? Is Elvis King & Little Richard Queen of Rock'n'Roll? The... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Franklin Adreon - William Witney DVD Release Date: Released the 21 January 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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