The Face of Fu Manchu Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 23 reviews in total 15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: 'The Face Of Fu Manchu' isn't a great movie by any means but it's fun to watch. Christopher Lee and especially Nigel Green are just terrific. from Perth, Australia 12 April 2004 'The Face Of Fu Manchu' is the first in a series of five movies produced by the legendary Harry Allan Towers. Towers is probably best known for his collaborations with Jess Franco, indeed Franco directed the last two movies in the series, but this one is directed by Don Sharp ('Rasputin: The Mad Monk', 'Psychomania') and scripted by Towers himself. Horror legend Christopher Lee plays the fiendish Dr Fu Manchu, super criminal, and Nigel Green ('Zulu', 'Countess Dracula') plays his nemesis Sir Nayland Smith. Towers plays fast and loose with Sax Rohmer's original characters and stories with entertaining results. The main reason the movie works is because of the performances by Lee and especially Green, who is just terrific.

The plot concerns the kidnapping of a German scientist (played by Joachim Fuchsberger) who Fu Manchu forces to develop a super weapon. The lovely Karin Dor ('You Only Live Twice') plays the scientist's daughter, Tsai Chin is Fu Manchu's evil daughter Lin Tang, and Howard Marion-Crawford is Nayland Smith's Watson-like sidekick Dr. Petrie. 'The Face Of Fu Manchu' isn't a great movie by any means but it's fun to watch, and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 15 people found the following review useful: The high point of this five-film series unwisely tries to adopt the style of the James Bond films. from Burlington, NJ 22 March 1999 Hit and run independent film financier Harry Alan Towers made his bid for the big time in 1965. Spending more money than he ever had (or would) again, scouting attractive international locations, hiring respected craftsmen and actors and launching a multi-million dollar publicity campaign to promote his pet project.

"The Face of Fu Manchu", the unlikely recipient of all this attention, represents a plateau to which Towers would never aspire again. After publicly purchasing the pulp adventure novels of Sax Rohmer, Towers signed horror film icon Christopher Lee to a six-picture deal as the title menace. As director, Towers hired Don Sharp, maker of numerous elegant, effective horror films and probably the most talented director to put his name on a Towers contract. Writing the script himself under his nom de cinema Peter Welbeck, Towers ignored the plots of all the Rohmer novels and concocted his own. The film wisely retains the period setting of early-twentieth century London (which required shooting in Dublin, for the sake of authenticity), but alters the deductive tone of the books in favor of action sequences in the style of the James Bond films, which were then in their first flush of international success. The finished film is beautiful to see, filmed in technicolor and cinemascope, it truly looks more expensive than it is.

Encouraged, Towers launched an expensive international publicity campaign whose most notable stunt was wallpapering election-year New York City with oversized "Fu Manchu For Mayor" posters In the end, "Face" failed to return enough money to justify the huge outlay spent in making and promoting it. The film seemed to please no one: fans of the series were outraged by the James Bondian gunplay, fights and car chases, while Bond fans were alienated by the period trappings (1920s cars just don't go that fast!). More likely, this type of film just did not have the potential to reach the mainstream audience needed to make it a success. Although Towers continued the series, the films would steadily decline in quality, from the high point of "Face" to the home-movie calibre of the final entry, "Castle of Fu Manchu". Was the above review useful to you?

8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Probably the best of the Chris Lee 'Fu Manchu' movies from Newcastle, England 14 April 2001 Undoubtedly the best of the series of Fu Manchu films produced in the late 60s, well cast and well directed by Don Sharp, who commendably eschewed camp 'Boys Own' heroics to produce a gripping adventure-thriller. Christopher Lee (as one would expect) is suitably menacing and inscrutable as Fu Manchu, even though the emphasis on his hypnotic eyes is an obvious reference to his role as Dracula. The ever-reliable Nigel Green (Zulu)turns in a solid 'Holmes-ian' performance as Fu Manchu's nemesis Nayland Smith, while James Robertson Justice has a memorable cameo as an irascible museum curator. The highpoint of the film is undoubtedly the chilling sequence set in a English village, where all the inhabitants have been killed by poisoned gas. It still sends a shiver up the spine.

The first sequel, Brides of Fu Manchu, with Douglas Wilmer as Nayland Smith, is watchable, even though it is basically a retread of the first movie, but the films which followed (especially the two directed by the notorious Jess Franco)are absolutely dire. Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: The best of the Fu Manchu series finally on DVD from Washington DC, USA 13 December 2004 So far only available on VHS in Region 1, I picked up the Region 2 DVD release of 'Face of Fu Manchu' recently and blessed my region-free DVD player for every wonderful fun-filled moment of this enjoyable fantasy romp. Based on the character originally envisioned by British author Sax Rohmer, Christopher Lee made a total of five appearances in the 1960s as arch villain Fu Manchu. This entry (the first in the series) is by far the best, closely followed by the second 'Brides of Fu Manchu' (another Region 2 only DVD release). What makes this entry so enjoyable is the wonderful Nigel Green as Fu Manchu's greatest nemesis - Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard.

In fact it is in the opening minutes of this movie that we see Smith invited by the Chinese government to witness the execution of Fu Manchu. Fast forward a couple of months and Smith is sturdy in his belief that Fu Manchu survived and is behind a series of grisly crimes in western Europe. Then when a professors servant is found murdered in the same manner in which Fu Manchu's followers had practiced, Smith becomes even more convinced that he is up against the evil genius. Through a series of machinations Smith learns that the professor has been kidnapped by Fu Manchu and is being forced to make a toxin that could wipe out most of the western world. Of course (in a plot device also used in the following 'Brides of Fu Manchu') the professors daughter has also been captured and is being used to comply the professor to complete his task. Directed with skill by Don Sharp this movie is fast-paced enough to overlook the plot holes and colorful enough to keep the fun factor umped up to the ultimate degree. It's a visual feast and the movie is also helped by a tight script and some well drawn characters. I grew up watching these movies on British television and my memories did not disappoint me.

Also notable is the inclusion of one-time Bond girl Karin (You Only Live Twice) Dor ho turns in a strong performance as the professors daughter. This is an ultimate Saturday afternoon movie to be watched relaxed in a recliner with a bag of popcorn in one hand and a soda in the other, all the while reveling in every outlandish moment. Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Executioner... In the name of Imperial China... 27 March 2002 ...Death to Fu-Manchu! And so begins this great movie! Well, maybe its not so great overall, but the opening sequence of this film rivals any other in intensity. After all, would you lay down face up for your own beheading? The fun thing about this movie is that every character, regardless of age or sex, avidly fist fights several times throughout the picture. Bottom line is... great fun to watch, just don't take it too seriously. Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: An enjoyable film!

from Chyby, Poland 26 December 2002 "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.

Was the above review useful to you? 10 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Very entertaining and a treat for Christopher Lee fans. from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls 10 August 2004 The legendary Boris Karloff played the fiendish Dr. Fu Manchu back in 1932. Who else than Christopher Lee would be able to bring this notorious screen-villain back to life? Karloff and Lee both have an amazing charisma and disguised in many evil characters before The Yellow Peril Dr. Fu Manchu surely is one that speaks most to the imagination. In this first film of the new series, Dr. Fu Manchu hypnotized a look-alike of his and this person was decapitated. While everybody initially believes Fu Manchu is dead, vicious events start to happen again. The clever archenemy of Fu Manchu, Scotland Yard's Nayland Smith, once again opens the hunt for this diabolical doctor. The Face of Dr. Fu Manchu isn't a very suspenseful film and the script (written by the legendary producer Harry Alan Towers) hasn't got any compelling aspects to offer.

Yet, it's enormous fun to see Lee act at his fiendish best and horror fans will enjoy watching all his terrific torturing-tricks! Director Don Sharp (also known for his brilliantly insane film `Psychomania') makes great use of the ominous locations and the scenery and all the rest is up to Lee and a surprisingly good performance by Nigel Green! The Face of Fu Manchu meant the start of a new series of film, all starring Lee as the abominable Dr. Four sequels followed, of which the last two were directed by Jess `Godfather of Sleaze' Franco. Every single film is worth watching only because they're so much fun! Don't ever expect a masterpiece, though! If you do desire to stumble upon a masterpiece, track down `The Mask of Fu Manchu' starring Boris Karloff. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Evil eyes from Hamburg, Germany 24 July 2009 Since 1923, Sax Rohmer's arch-villain Fu Manchu had been brought from the novels to the screen again and again, the most famous interpretation probably created by Boris Karloff in 1932.

Between 1965-68, Christopher Lee starred in 5 more Fu Manchu movies. The German co-producers often added stars from the Edgar Wallace series, such as Joachim Fuchsberger and Karin Dor when the new series opened with "The Face of Fu Manchu". Strangely enough, it begins as if it was a sequel to something, describing Fu Manchu faking his execution while Nayland Smith watches, although we are not told how they got into this situation. Anyway, Fu Manchu comes to London with a weapon of mass destruction, while Smith tries to stop him. Smith had a feeling" from the beginning that he was cheated at the execution, but it was not completely reasonable for a man like him, since the first hints at new activities were vague. So I thought he might have been be a bit more surprised when he actually meets the criminal mastermind. The last third of the movie is a bit rushed, especially the scenes in Tibet. It is not a perfect movie because it has a few holes, but it was a good start for the new series. I voted 7/8/5/7/4 for the five movies. Was the above review useful to you?

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: "The best in an ultimately ill-fated series." *** This review may contain spoilers *** *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* Commissioner Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard (NIGEL GREEN) witnesses the execution of Oriental crime lord Fu Manchu (CHRISTOPHER LEE) in Imperial China. However, a few years later back in London, Smith is uneasy because he had a dream in which Fu Manchu was still alive. His nightmare coincides with the fact that a huge crime wave has been erupting all over Europe. It is so well organised that only a criminal of Fu Manchu's stature could be behind it. His closest friend and colleague Dr Petrie (HOWARD MARION CRAWFORD) thinks he's mad, but Smith does some research and discovers that a Chinese actor who was an exact double of Fu Manchu disappeared before the criminal was apprehended. Smith is convinced that it was the actor (in a deep state of hypnosis) whom he saw beheaded while the real Fu Manchu made his escape.

Meanwhile, a renowned German scientist called Professor Muller (WALTER RILLA) has disappeared and the body of his manservant was discovered outside of London's Lime House strangled with a red Tibetan prayer scarf, which is the trademark of Fu Manchu's henchmen. Smith fears that his old enemy is in London and has kidnapped Muller for his own evil ends. In order to discover what he was working on, Smith visits Muller's assistant Carl Janssen (JOACHIM FUCHSBERGER) who tells him that they were working on the distillation of the seeds of the "Black Hill Poppy". This is a rare flower that grows in the mountains of Tibet and when the seeds are distilled, it produces a gas that when exposed below freezing point, has the potential to kill up to ten thousand people. Smith's worst fears are confirmed; Fu Manchu and his evil daughter Lin Tang (TSAI CHIN) have got the professor and are forcing him to perfect the gas in order to hold the world to ransom...

The fiendish Oriental mastermind Fu Manchu and his adversaries Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard and the coroner Dr Petrie were the brainchild of novelist Sax Rohmer whose series of novels were highly popular during the 1920's. The character of Fu Manchu had appeared on celluloid several times before Christopher Lee inherited the role in 1965. During the twenties a number of two-reel silents were made along with the following talkies. Warner Oland played him in the following talkies made by Paramount, THE MYSTERIOUS DR FU MANCHU (1929), THE RETURN OF DR FU MANCHU (1930) and DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON (1931). In 1939, actor Henry Brandon played him in a serial entitled DRUMS OF FU MANCHU. However, the most famous portrayal before Christopher Lee's was Boris Karloff in MGM's THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932).

In the 1960's, Rohmer's novels enjoyed a successful reissue in paperback and producer Harry Alan Towers bought the rights to all the novels and decided to create a series of films featuring Fu Manchu's exploits as a possible rival to the James Bond films. THE FACE OF FU MANCHU was the first in the series and Towers wrote the script under the pseudonym of Peter Welbeck. Director Don Sharp shot the film in Ireland in February and March 1965 and he fought hard to get the time and locations he required. The recreations of 1920's London were actually filmed in parts of Dublin with surprisingly brilliant results. The opening execution sequence was shot at Kilmainham jail in County Wicklow and the prison also doubled as the Tibetan monastery in the climatic scenes. The resulting picture was a hit with both critics and audiences on its release in late 1965 and four sequels subsequently followed.

They were THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU (1966), THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU (1967), THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU (1968) and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (produced 1968 but shelved until 1972). The series rapidly declined into shambling nonsense in which all aspects of the productions suffered including the loss of period detail, abysmal direction, inadequate plots, poor acting and increasingly shoestring budgets. THE FACE OF FU MANCHU is without doubt the best in this ultimately ill-fated series. It benefits from the stylish direction of Don Sharp who gets fine performances from Lee as Fu Manchu; Tsai Chin as his daughter-in-crime Lin Tang while Nigel Green is absolutely outstanding as Nayland Smith. Smith and his colleague Dr Petrie are very much in the Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson vein and it makes you wish that both Green and Marion-Crawford were both teamed with Sharp to do a Holmes picture. Alas, it never happened. Sharp handles the nonsensical material with considerable skill so that we the audience happily suspend our disbelief and just wallow in it.

The action scenes are also a delight including a spirited car chase through the Essex marshes with splendid vintage automobiles. Add to that the atmospheric lighting of Ernest Steward and you have the perfect schoolboy's adventure yarn, which will appeal as much to adults. Was the above review useful to you? 5 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Pretty to look at, disappointing to watch. from Dublin, Ireland 20 September 1999 In the light of its considerable reputation, this is a big disappointment. It's the old tale of Fu Manchu, the Yellow Peril, trying to take over the world. The racism of this is so self-evident it's probably not worth mentioning, although the blazing red whenever the Chinese are around, and the worker-like garb of Manchu's henchmen, suggest some sort of allegory of Communism - or is this story of a megalomaniacal, world-domination-lusting, Chinaman a parody of such portentousness? I really wanted to like this film, but there's so much wrong with it. It's been called a spoof, but if so, the joke's on me.

The 1920s setting is somewhat rudimentary - a few contemporary cars and hats in what looks like a very 1960s London (although the reviewer below suggests it is in fact Dublin). Far from camp, the plot is played so straight as to be unenjoyable. Every absurdity and implausibility, rather than hurtling us into the giddy realms of fantasy, rather lumbers us in a plot of cliched hackery. The acting is abysmal - I've never gotten the point of Christopher Lee (he never had Peter Cushing's middle-aged anguish), although his plummy English tones in the supposed role of a fiendish Chinaman, offers some amusement, as does his daft moustache; worst of all is Nigel Green as the oaklike hero, Nayland Smith - a man so unexpressive and graceless should be funny, but here is dull, slowing down the film at every turn. Only FU Manchu's very sexy daughter, Tsai Chin, enthralls, her subservience to her father suggesting perverse depths of sado-masochism. This is all the more frustrating in that the film has merit in abundance.

The colour schemes, costumes, set-designs and compositions are frequently gorgeous, if sometimes let down by leaden direction; the afoementioned incestuous undertones in the relationship between Fu and daughter; a splendid ironising, despite the racism, of the noble West - Nayland Smith is quite clearly insane, and with his Chinese ladyservant, and death mask ornaments, seems more of a mirror image than a foil for Fu Manchu (there is also something wrong with chemists that research into a concoction that can wipe out whole peoples - there is a RIVER KWAI-like frisson in the plight of the Professor who ironically, and enthusiastically, aids his captor); there is a splendidly directed and designed car chase, reminiscent, as Tom Milne notes, of silent serials. Best of all is the setting of this grotesque potboiler in placid England. This discrepancy gives the film an AVENGERS-like chill on occasion, especially the amazing scene where Fu Manchu first exercises his power, and wipes out an entire village - spinetingling, chilling, and much more frightening than a similar scene in GOLDFINGER. Was the above review useful to you?

Page 1 of 3: Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu ( 1969 ) The Castle of Fu Manchu (original title) PG | An evil Chinese mastermind plots to freeze the Earth's oceans. Director: Jesús Franco (as Jess Franco) Writers: a list of 199 titles created 30 Jan 2011 a list of 2896 titles created 15 Nov 2014 a list of 201 titles created 10 Jan 2015 a list of 99 titles created 11 Mar 2015 a list of 35 titles created 2 months ago Title: Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969) 2.7/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Fu Manchu inoculates ten women with poison, to kill ten world leaders. Director: Jesús Franco In his remote Asian hideaway the evil Fu Manchu plots the death and discredit of his arch rival, Inspector Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard, as the first step in his plan to become leader of ... See full summary » Director: Jeremy Summers Fu Manchu and his army of henchmen are kidnapping the daughters of prominent scientists and taking them to his remote island headquarters. Instead of asking for ransom, Fu demands that the ... See full summary » Director: Don Sharp Grisly strangulations in London alert Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard to the possibility of the fiendish Fu Manchu may not be dead after all, even though Smith witnessed his execution. A ... See full summary » Director: Don Sharp "Red Lips" are two female detectives trying to find missing models and dancers. A pop artist called Klaus Thriller and his werewolf-like assistant, Morpho, are the main suspects for the ... See full summary » Director: Jesús Franco Sumuru, the beautiful leader of the all-female kingdom of Femina, plans to use her women to take over the world.

Director: Jesús Franco A mineral is discovered which can turn metal to gold or humans into zombies. When the mineral is stolen, secret agents are sent in to get the mineral back! Director: Jesús Franco Christopher Lee plays the Lord Chief Justice of 17th century England who condemns women as witches to further his political and sexual needs. Director: Jesús Franco New inmate Marie arrives at an island prison in the women's sector and receives the number 99. The inmates are controlled by the sadistic lesbian warden Thelma Diaz and Governor Santos and ... See full summary » Director: Jesús Franco Somewhere in the jungles of South America mercenaries stop a truck which has allegedly loaded fruit. The cargo turns out to be six young women. Apprehended and handed over to the custody of the local women's prison. Director: Jesús Franco Comedy about the surreal holiday of two teenage Spanish girls, where they meet a bizarre assortment of villains and new friends. Director: Jesús Franco Janine Reynaud stars as a nightclub stripper who free-floats through a spectral 60's landscape littered with dream-figures, dancing midgets and bizarre S&M games.

Director: Jesús Franco Edit Storyline The evil mastermind Fu Manchu plots his latest scheme to basically freeze over the Earth's oceans with his diabolical new device. Opposing him is his arch-nemesis, Interpol's very British Dr. Nayland Smith. Written by crow_steve@hotmail.com He's Back!!! The World's Most Evil Man with a Fiendish Plan of Conquest Genres: Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia A sixth film was contracted but due to this movie's dismal box office performance and even worse critical reaction, it was swiftly canceled. See more » Goofs The first scenes where Fu-Manchu is directing the sinking of the liner were the final scenes of a previous Fu-Manchu movie: The brides of Fu Manchu, where he shots his lieutenant who was trying to stop Fu Manchu surpass the maximum of the machine. See more » Quotes Lin Tang : Father! Doctor Kessler and the girl, they have escaped! They have reached the tunnel! Fu Manchu : Excellent. And when the crystals are released into the tunnel - they will die. See more » Crazy Credits Maria Perschy's character is called Dr.

Ingrid Koch but on the credits her character's name is given as Marie. See more » Connections The Fifth and Final of the Series 27 February 2011 | by Michael_Elliott Castle of FuManchu, The (1968) * 1/2 (out of 4) The fifth and final film in Christopher Lee's FuManchu series is considered by many to be the worst but I personally found it so bad that I was able to have a little fun with it. The film has FuManchu (Lee) once again trying to take over the world and by now you might be asking when the guy is just going to give up and go home. Anyway, this time he plans on freezing all the oceans in the world so he kidnaps a doctor to perform an operation on the one man who knows how to do such a thing. THE CASTLE OF FUMANCHU isn't a good movie so you shouldn't go into the film expecting anything other that pure silliness. There's no question this is a bad movie but thankfully it's bad enough to be mildly entertaining but I'm sure most people will be smart enough to hit the eject button by the thirty-minute mark.

Once again Lee appears to have only enough energy to cash a paycheck as he's obviously not too thrilled about doing this picture. As in the previous film, Lee pretty much just sleepwalks through the film and offers up very little energy. The supporting cast includes Gunther Stoll playing the doctor, Jose Manuel Martin as an opium dealer and cult favorite Rosalba Neri playing an assassin. These supporting players are certainly one of the few good things in the film. The film has a bigger budget than most Franco pictures but that's not saying too much because we still get all sorts of cheapness including some stock footage from the Titanic picture A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, which certainly doesn't mix well with any of the new footage. The film does have some decent cinematography but there's just not enough here to make it worth viewing. Fans of Lee, Franco or FuManchu are bound to be disappointed with this film, which turned out to be the last in the series. 4 of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Free ebooks written by Rohmer Sax. Read books online at ReadAnyBook.com.

8.4/10 28 Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (15 February 1883 - 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is most remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal ... Dr. Fu Manchu. Born in Birmingham, Rohmer had an entirely working class education and early career before beginning to write. His first published work was in 1903, the short story The Mysterious Mummy for Pearson's Weekly. He made his early living writing comedy sketches for music hall performers and short stories and serials for magazines. In 1909 he married Rose Knox. He published his first novel Pause! anonymously in 1910 and the first Fu Manchu story, The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, was serialized over 1912-13. It was an immediate success with its fast paced story of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'.

The Fu Manchu stories, together with those featuring Gaston Max or Morris Klaw, made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid writers in of the 1920s and 1930s. But Rohmer was very poor at handling his wealth. After World War II the Rohmers moved to New York. Rohmer died in 1959 due to an outbreak of avian influenza ("Asian Flu"). Ward was often attacked, even shortly after the Manchu stories were published, for creating a character that reflected "racist assumptions".[2] He himself, "bemused" at the furor, occasionally defended his character by saying that the portrait was "fundamentally truthful" because "criminality was often rampant among the Chinese", especially in Limehouse.[2] A number of films were made featuring Dr. Fu Manchu. Warner Oland starred in three early talkies: 1929's The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu, 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon. Boris Karloff starred in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu.

There was a Republic Pictures serial, Drums of Fu Manchu in 1940 and a short-lived TV series, The Adventures of Fu Manchu in 1956. The character was revived after his creator's death for a series of variable quality starring Christopher Lee: The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969). Pulp film legend Harry Alan Towers produced two films based on the Sumuru character in the 1960s, and an updated space fantasy version in 2002. Legendary comic actor Peter Sellers starred in the 1980 spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. The Fu Manchu characters were featured in Marvel Comics' long-running series, Master of Kung-Fu and were revived for two novels by Rohmer's friend and biographer, Cay van Ash. A new authorized novel featuring the characters, The Terror of Fu Manchu by William Patrick Maynard was published in April 2009.

Sax Rohmer #1 was the first single and track from the Mountain Goats album Heretic Pride. see also: Dr. Fu Manchu | Antagonists Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit "Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow likeShakespeare and a face like Satan, ... one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present ... Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man." –The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu A master criminal, Fu Manchu's murderous plots are marked by the extensive use of arcane methods; he disdains guns or explosives, preferring dacoits, Thuggee, and members of other secret societies as his agents armed with knives, or using "pythonsand cobras ... fungi and my tiny allies, the bacilli ... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons. In the 1933 novel, The Bride of Fu Manchu, Fu Manchu claims to hold doctorates from four Western universities.

In the 1959 novel, Emperor Fu Manchu, he reveals he attended Heidelberg, the Sorbonne, and Edinburgh. At the time of their first encounter (1911), Dr. Petrie believed that Fu Manchu was around 70 years old. This would have placed Fu Manchu in the West studying for his first doctorate in the 1860s or 1870s. According to Cay Van Ash, Rohmer's biographer and former assistant who became the first author to continue the series after Rohmer's death, "Fu Manchu" was a title of honour, which meant "the Warlike Manchu." Van Ash speculates that Fu Manchu had been a member of the Imperial family who backed the losing side in the Boxer Rebellion. In the earliest books, Fu Manchu is an agent of the secret society, the Si-Fan and acts as the mastermind behind a wave of assassinations targeting Western imperialists. In later books, he vies for control of the Si-Fan which is more concerned with routing Fascist dictators and halting the spread of Communism. The Si-Fan is largely funded through criminal activities, particularly the drug trade and white slavery.

Dr. Fu Manchu has extended his already considerable lifespan by use of the elixir vitae, a formula he spent decades trying to perfect. Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie Edit Opposing Fu Manchu in the early stories are Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie. They are in the Holmes and Watsontradition, with Dr. Petrie narrating the stories while Nayland Smith carries the fight, combating Fu Manchu more by dogged determination than intellectual brilliance (except in extremis). Nayland Smith and Fu Manchu share a grudging respect for one another, as each believes a man must keep his word even to an enemy. In the first three books, Nayland Smith is a colonial police commissioner in Burma granted a roving commission which allows him to exercise authority over any group that can help him in his mission. He resembles Sherlock Holmes in physical description and acerbic manner, but not in deductive genius. He has been criticised as being a racist and jingoisticcharacter, especially in the early entries in the series, and gives voice to anti-Asian sentiments.

When Rohmer revived the series in the early 1930s, Smith (who has been knighted) is Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. He later resigns this post and accepts a position with British Intelligence. Several books have him placed on special assignment with the FBI. Over the years, Smith has been played by many actors, all of them middle-aged. This is despite the original character's age ranging from a young man in the early books in the 1910s to an old man in the books from the late 1950s: O.P. Heggie (52–53) in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) and The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930) Lewis Stone (53) in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) William Royle (53) in Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) Lester Matthews (56) in The Adventures of Dr.

Fu Manchu (1956) Nigel Green (41) in The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) Douglas Wilmer (46–47) in The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966) and The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967) Richard Greene (50–51) in The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969) Peter Sellers (54) in The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980) Kâramanèh Edit "Many there are, I doubt not, who will regard the Eastern girl with horror. I ask their forgiveness in that I regarded her quite differently. No man having seen her could have condemned her unheard. Many, having looked into her lovely eyes, had they found there what I found, must have forgiven her almost any crime." –The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu Prominent among Fu Manchu's agents was the "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh. Her real name is unknown. She was sold to the Si-Fan by Egyptian slave traders while still a child.

Kara falls in love with the narrator of the first three books in the series, Dr. Petrie. She rescues Petrie and Nayland Smith many times. Eventually the couple are united and she wins her freedom. They marry and have a daughter, Fleurette, who figures in later novels. Author Lin Carter later created a son for Dr. Petrie and Kara, but this is not considered canonical. Fah lo Suee Edit Fu Manchu's daughter, Fah lo Suee, is a devious mastermind in her own right, frequently plotting to usurp her father's position in the Si-Fan and aiding his enemies within and outside of the organisation. Her real name is unknown; Fah lo Suee was a childhood term of endearment. She was introduced anonymously while still a teenager in the third book in the series and plays a larger role in several of the titles of the 1930s and 1940s. She was known for a time as Koreani after being brainwashed by her father, but her memory was later restored. She is infamous for taking on false identities, like her father, among them Madame Ingomar and Queen Mamaloi.

In film, she has been portrayed by numerous actresses over the years. Her character is usually renamed in film adaptations because of difficulties with pronunciation. Anna May Wong played Ling Moy in 1931's Daughter of the Dragon. Myrna Loy was the similarly named Fah lo See in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu. Gloria Franklin was Fah lo Suee in 1940's Drums of Fu Manchu. Laurette Luezplayed Karamaneh in 1956's The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, but the character owed more to Fah lo Suee than Rohmer's depiction of Karamaneh. Tsai Chin was Fu Manchu's daughter, Lin Tang in the five Christopher Lee films of the 1960s. Controversy Edit After the 1932 release of MGM's adaptation of The Mask of Fu Manchu, which featured the Asian villain telling an assembled group of "Asians" (consisting of caricatural Indians, Persians and Arabs) that they must "kill the white men and take their women", the Chinese embassy in Washington issued a formal complaint against the film.

Following the 1940 release of Republic Pictures' serial adaptation of Drums of Fu Manchu, the US State Department requested the studio make no further films with the character as China was an ally against Japan. Likewise Rohmer's publisher, Doubleday, refused to publish further additions to the best-selling series for the duration of the Second World War once the United States entered the conflict. BBC Radio and Broadway investors subsequently rejected Rohmer's proposals for an original Fu Manchu radio serial and stage show during the 1940s. The re-release of The Mask of Fu Manchu in 1972 was met with protest from the Japanese American Citizens League, who stated that "the movie was offensive and demeaning to Asian-Americans." Rohmer himself was quoted in the biography his wife co-authored Master of Villainy to respond to charges that Fu Manchu had demonised all Chinese people by stating that Of course, not the whole Chinese population of Limehouse was criminal. But it contained a large number of persons who had left their own country for the most urgent of reasons. These people knew no way of making a living other than the criminal activities that had made China too hot for them. They brought their crimes with them.

It was Rohmer's contention that he based Fu Manchu and other "Yellow Peril" mysteries on real Chinese crime figures he knew during his time as a newspaper reporter covering Limehouse activities. In May 2013, this again received media's attention as General Motors pulled an advertisement after receiving complaints that it included a song containing reference to "the land of FuManchu". Cultural impact Edit The character of Fu Manchu became a stereotype often associated with the Yellow Peril. Fu Manchu has inspired numerous other characters, and is the model for most villains in later "Yellow Peril" thrillers.

Examples include Pao Tcheou, Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon, Dr Goo-Fee from Fearless Fly, L'Ombre Jaune/ Monsieur Ming from Bob Morane, Li Chang Yen from The Big Four, James Bond adversary Dr No, The Celestial Toymaker from the Doctor Who story of the same name, Dr Benton Quest's archenemy Dr Zin from the Jonny Quest television series, Dr Yen-Lo from The Manchurian Candidate, Lo-Pan from Big Trouble in Little China, Marvel Comics foes the Mandarin and the Yellow Claw, DC Comics' Rā's al Ghūl, Wo Fat from the CBS TV series Hawaii Five-O, "The Craw" in more than one episode of Get Smart, Ancient Wu from the video game True Crime: Streets of LA, and "Fu Fang" in The Real Ghostbusters NOW Comics. Fu Manchu and his daughter are the inspiration for the character Hark and his daughter Anna Hark in the comic book series Planetary.

He was also parodied by Kenneth Williams in the radio show Round the Horne as the Oriental criminal mastermind Dr Chou En Ginsberg MA (failed), accompanied by his common-as-muck concubine Lotus Blossom, played by a cockney Hugh Paddick. Appearing in ten-minute sketches within the show he was the villain for Kenneth Horne's master spy in adventures such as "The Man with the Golden Thunderball", which also spoofed James Bond. Fu Manchu was parodied in the character of "Fiendish Dr. Wu" in the 2009 parody film Black Dynamite, in which the executor of an evil plan against African-Americans is an insidious, Fu-Manchu sporting Kung Fu master. While not of Chinese descent, "Egyptian" arch-villain "Kathulos" (then revealed to be a survived Atlantean) of Robert E. Howard's Skull-Face novella is inspired by Fu Manchu.

"Comrade Li" in Peter George's Commander-1 (1965) is essentially the same type of villain—despite his name having only a thin veneer of Communism or Marxism, being rather a suave philosopher steeped in ancient Chinese learning—whose cold-blooded machinations bring about a nuclear holocaustin which nearly all humanity perishes (including China, which he sought to make great) and who eventually meets a suitable gruesome and ignominious end. A character with the name "Fred Fu Manchu" appeared as a famous Chinese bamboo saxophonist as part of The Goon Show, a 1950s British radio comedy programme. He appeared in his very own episode, "The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu" in 1955 (announced as "Fred Fu-Manchu and his Bamboo Saxophone"), as well as making minor appearances in other episodes (including "China Story", "The Siege of Fort Night" and "The Lost Emperor"(as "Doctor Fred Fu Manchu: oriental tattooist")).

The character was invented and performed by Spike Milligan, who used the character to mock British xenophobia and self-satisfaction, the traits summoning the original Fu Manchu into existence, and not as a slur against Asians. Fu Manchu is also one of the earliest known examples of an evil scientist or archenemy, with Professor Moriarty, Doctor Jack Quartz (from Nick Carter), Zenith the Albino (from Sexton Blake), and some others being among the few other precedents. The style of facial hair associated with him in film adaptations has become known as the Fu Manchu moustache, although Rohmer's writings described the character as wearing no such adornment. In 1977, Trebor produced a Fu Munchews sweet. Books The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1913) (US Title: The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu).

The Return of Dr Fu-Manchu (1916) (UK Title: The Devil Doctor) The Hand of Fu Manchu (1917) (UK Title: The Si-Fan Mysteries) Daughter of Fu Manchu (1931) The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) The Bride of Fu Manchu (1933) (original US Title: Fu Manchu's Bride) The Trail of Fu Manchu (1934) President Fu Manchu (1936) The Drums of Fu Manchu (1939) The Island of Fu Manchu (1941) The Shadow of Fu Manchu (1948) Re-Enter: Fu Manchu (1957) (UK Title: Re-Enter: Dr. Fu Manchu) Emperor Fu Manchu (1959) was Rohmer's last novel.

The Wrath of Fu Manchu (1973) was a posthumous anthology containing the title novella, first published in 1952, and three later short stories: "The Eyes of Fu Manchu" (1957), "The Word of Fu Manchu" (1958), and "The Mind of Fu Manchu" (1959). Ten Years Beyond Baker Street (1984). The first of two authorised continuation novels by Cay Van Ash, Sax Rohmer's former assistant and biographer. The novel is set in a narrative gap within The Hand of Fu Manchu and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, His Last Bow (both published in 1917). Holmes comes out of retirement to aid Dr Petrie when Nayland Smith is abducted by the Si-Fan. The Fires of Fu Manchu (1987). The second of two authorised continuation novels by Cay Van Ash. The novel is set in 1917 and documents Smith and Petrie's encounter with Fu Manchu during the First World War culminating in Smith's knighthood.

A third Van Ash title, The Seal of Fu Manchu was underway when Van Ash died in 1994. The incomplete manuscript is believed lost. The Terror of Fu Manchu (2009). The first of three authorised continuation novels by William Patrick Maynard. The novel expands on the continuity established in Van Ash's books and sees Dr Petrie teaming with both Nayland Smith and a Rohmer character from outside the series, Gaston Max in an adventure set on the eve of the First World War. The Destiny of Fu Manchu (2012). The second of three authorised continuation novels by William Patrick Maynard. The novel is set between Rohmer's The Drums of Fu Manchu and The Island of Fu Manchu on the eve of the Second World War and follows the continuity established in the author's first novel. The Triumph of Fu Manchu was announced in 2013. The third of three authorised continuation novels by William Patrick Maynard. The novel is set between Rohmer's The Trail of Fu Manchu and President Fu Manchu. The League of Dragons by George Alec Effinger was an unpublished, unauthorised novel involving a young Sherlock Holmes matching wits with Fu Manchu in the nineteenth century.

Chapters have been published in the anthologies,Sherlock Holmes in Orbit (1995) and My Sherlock Holmes (2003). This lost university adventure of Holmes is narrated by Conan Doyle's character Reginald Musgrave. Fu Manchu also made appearances in the following non-Fu Manchu books: Anno Dracula (1994) by Kim Newman. An alternate histories adventure with Fu Manchu in an anonymous cameo appearance as one of the London crime lords of the nineteenth century. He also appears in Newman's Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles in several of the stories that make up the book. He is never named by name, but the references are quite clear. "Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong" and "Part of the Game" are a pair of related short stories by F. Paul Wilson appearing in his collection, Aftershocks and Others: 19 Oddities (2009) and feature anonymous appearances by Dr Fu Manchu and characters from Little Orphan Annie. Fu Manchu also appears anonymously in several stories in August Derleth's Solar Pons detective series. Derleth's successor, Basil Copper also made use of the character.

Fu Manchu is the name of the Chinese ambassador in Kurt Vonnegut's Slapstick (1976). It is revealed that Chiun, the Master of Sinanju has worked for the Devil Doctor, as have previous generations of Masters in The Destroyer novel No. 83 Skull Duggery. In other media Edit Fu Manchu first appeared on the big screen in the 1923 British silent film serial The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu starringHarry Agar Lyons. Lyons returned to the role the next year in The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fu Manchu. In 1929 Fu Manchu made his American film début in Paramount's early talkie, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu starringWarner Oland, best known for his later portrayal of Charlie Chan in the 1930s. Oland repeated the role in 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon as well as in the short, Murder Will Out as part of the omnibus film, Paramount on Parade where the Devil Doctor confronts both Philo Vance and Sherlock Holmes.

The most infamous incarnation of the character was MGM's The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) starring Boris Karloff andMyrna Loy. The film's tone has long been considered racist and offensive, but that only added to its cult status alongside its campy humour and Grand Guignol sets and torture sequences. The film was suppressed for many years, but has since received critical re-evaluation and been released on DVD uncut. Fu Manchu returned to the serial format in 1940 in Republic Pictures' Drums of Fu Manchu, a 15-episode serial considered to be one of the best the studio ever made. It was later edited and released as a feature film in 1943. Other than an obscure, unauthorised 1946 Spanish spoof El Otro Fu Manchu, the Devil Doctor was absent from the big screen for 25 years, until producer Harry Alan Towers began a series starring Christopher Lee in 1965.

Towers and Lee would make five Fu Manchu film through the end of the decade: The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu(1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), and finally The Castle of Fu Manchu(1969). The character's last authorised film appearance was in the 1980 Peter Sellers spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchuwith Sellers featured in a double role as both Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith. The film bore little resemblance to any prior film or the original books. In the film, Fu Manchu claims he was known as "Fred" at public school, a reference to the character of "Fred Fu Manchu" from The Goon Show which had co-starred Sellers. Jess Franco, who had directed The Blood of Fu Manchu and The Castle of Fu Manchu, also directed The Girl From Rio the second of three Harry Alan Towers films based on Rohmer's female Fu Manchu character, Sumuru.

He later directed an unauthorised 1986 Spanish film featuring Fu Manchu's daughter, Esclavas del Crimen. Television Edit In 1956, the television arm of Republic Pictures produced a 13-episode syndicated series, The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu starring Glen Gordon as Dr. Fu Manchu, Lester Matthews as Sir Denis Nayland Smith, and Clark Howat as Dr. John Petrie. The title sequence depicted Smith and Fu Manchu in a game of chess as the announcer stated that "the Devil is said to play for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, Evil Incarnate." At the conclusion of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Petrie had foiled Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, he would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled. It was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon as well as William Witney. Unlike the Holmes/Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement officer and Petrie as a staff member for the Surgeon General.

In 1990, TeleMundo broadcast an affectionate spoof, The Daughter of Fu Manchu featuring Paul Naschy as the Devil Doctor and starring the Hispanic comedy troupe, The Yellow Squad. Music The Rockin' Ramrods had a 1965 song titled "Don't Fool With Fu Manchu"[10] The stoner rock band Fu Manchu was named after him. Jamaican reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker recorded a song titled "Fu Man Chu" in 1968 with the chorus, "This is the face of Fu Manchu." Radio Edit Fu Manchu's earliest radio appearances were on the Collier Hour 1927–31 on the Blue Network. This was a radio programme designed to promote Collier's magazine and presented weekly dramatisations of the current issue's stories and serials. Fu was voiced by Arthur Hughes. A self-titled show on CBS followed in 1932–33. John C. Daly, and later Harold Huber, played Fu. Additionally, there were "pirate" broadcasts from the Continent into Britain, from Radio Luxembourg and Radio Lyons in 1936 through 1937.

Frank Cochrane voiced Fu Manchu. The BBC produced a competing series, The Peculiar Case of the Poppy Club starting in 1939. That same year The Shadow of Fu Manchu aired in the United States as a thrice weekly serial dramatising the first nine novels.[11] Comic strips Edit Fu was first brought to newspaper comic strips in a black and white daily strip drawn by Leo O'Mealia and ran from 1931 to 1933. The strips were adaptations of the first two Fu Manchu novels and part of the third. They were copyrighted by "Sax Rohmer and The Bell Syndicate, Inc". Comic books Edit Fu Manchu made his first comic book appearance in Detective Comics # 17, and continued, as one feature among many in the anthology series, until No. 28. These were reprints of the earlier Leo O'Mealia strips. Original Fu stories in comics had to wait for Avon's one-shot The Mask of Dr. Fu Manchu in 1951. A similar British one-shot The Island of Fu Manchuwas published in 1956.

In the 1970s, Fu Manchu appeared as the father of the character Shang-Chi in the series Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. However Marvel Comics cancelled the book in 1982, and issues over licensing the character and concepts from the novels (such as his daughter) have hampered Marvel's ability to both collect the series in trade paperback format and reference Fu Manchu as Shang-Chi's father. As such, the character is either never mentioned by name, or by alias ("Mr. Han"). Though Fu Manchu himself was killed off in #118 of his son's comic, he has since been (partially) resurrected by an evil terror group known as the Shadow Council in the series Secret Avengers. Fu Manchu appeared as a villain in the first volume of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which crosses over countless public domain fiction) where he attempts to steal a piece ofCavorite to make an airforce and attack England, and is a participant in a gang war against Professor Moriarty.

Because the original character is still in copyright, the character in the comic is referred to only as "the Doctor" or "the Devil Doctor", thus not requiring royalty payments to the copyright owners. Some or all of the information and/or categories on this page may have come from another site such as the Villains Wikia or TVTropes.org . This may include previous edits that are different than the current version. Changes to this page to provide original content are welcomed and encouraged, but this notice must remain on the page at all times. To visit this page on the Villains Wikia, click here . Sax Rohmer : About the Author @ Classic Reader Member Login About the Author Prolific English mystery writer, best known for the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu and his opponents Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. Petrie, named after the Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, and the beautiful Kâramanéh, the source of Petrie's daydrems, whose "eyes held a challenge wholly Oriental in its appeal." In spite of Rohmer's popularity, his family lived long times in poverty because of the bad deals he made with the publishers.

"Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources, if you will, of a wealthy government - which, however, already has denied all knowledge of his existence. Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr Fu Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man..." (from The Mystery of Dr Fu Manchu, 1913) Sax Rohmer was born Arthur Henry Ward in Birmingham of Irish parents. His father, William Ward, was employed as an office clerk and eventually held the position of office manager. Rohmer's mother, Margaret Mary (Furey) Ward, was neurasthenic and increasingly dependent on alcohol. Young Sax Rohmer received no formal schooling until he was nine or ten years old, but his father probably taught his son to read.

Rohmer adopted the name Sarsfield at the age of 18, impressed by his mother's alcoholic claims being descended from a famous 17th-century Irish general Patrick Sarsfield. He later explained that the pen name came from 'sax' which was Saxon for 'blade' and 'rohmer' which meant 'roamer'. After finishing his schooling, Rohmer worked in odd jobs, but even as a child, he had dreamed to become a writer. He was briefly in a bank clerk in Threadneedle Street, then as a clerk in a gas company, an errand boy at a small local newspaper, and a reporter on the weekly Commercial Intelligence. At the age of 20 Rohmer started his writing career. "My earliest interests," he later told, "were centered in Ancient Egypt and I accumulated a large library on Egyptology and occult literature." In 1903 Rohmer's first short story, The Mysterious Mummy', appeared in Pearson's Weekly. He made a short trip to the Continent and upon his return started to make his way into the cheap printing literary business and theatrical word.

In 1909 he married Rose Elizabeth Knox, whose father had been a well-known comedian in his youth. When Rose Knox met Rohmer, she was performing in a juggling act with her brother Bill. For almost two years they kept the marriage a secret from Rose's family - she lived with her sister and Rohmer with his father. Rose was psychic and Rohmer himself seemed to attract metaphysical phenomena - according to a story, he consulted with his wife a ouija board as to how he could best make a living. The answer was 'C-H-I-N-A-M-A-N'. Rohmer wrote comedy sketches for entertainers and continued to produce stories and serials to the nespaper and magazine markets. These early writings were later gathered in collections. Rohmer's first book, Pause! appeared in 1910, and his first Fu Manchu novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, three years later. It gained an immediate success. In the character of the seemingly deathless Dr. Fu Manchu, Rohmer expressed racist fears, which had produced the concept of the "Yellow Peril" - according to the racist prejudices Chinese were mandarin warlords and opium den keepers in Limehouse.

However, the sociologist Virginia Berridge has estimated, that the ethnic Chinese population in London's East End, in the period of 1900 through to the Second World War, was counted only in hundreds. Majority of the population worked in such professions as cooking and laundering clothes. Most of the cocaine came from Germany, where it was sold nearly without restrictions. The irrational racist hatred also oozed from the novels of Edgar Wallace and John Buchan, who often had wicked Jews in his work. In 2001 a Saudi Arab and real-life character, Osama bin Laden, became know as the greatest terrorist mastermind of the time. He has also disappeared mysteriously. "Here, perhaps, lies one of the secrets of Fu Manchu's power to fascinate," Clive Bloom wrote in Cult Fiction (1996). "The Sinophobic message of Rohmer's books is underpinned by three theories: the notion of conspiracy which is based upon a corporate, international secret society acting out of Limehouse, the notion of a parallel supernatural plane of existence and the notion of eternal recurrence." '"Greeting! I am recalled home by One who may not be denied. In much that I came to do I have failed.

Much that I have done I would undo; some little I have undone. Out of fire I came--the smoldering fire of a thing one day to be a consuming flame; in fire I go. Seek not my ashes. I am the lord of the fires! Farewell. "FU-MANCHU."' (from The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, 1913) Originally Fu Manchu made his entrance in the story THE ZAYAT KISS in October 1912 issue of the British magazine The Story-Teller. Fu Manchu had green eyes, "an emanation of Hell", as Rohmer wrote. Sir Denis Nayland Smith is the opponent of the diabolically ingenious villain for more than a quarter of a century. He is a spymaster, Burmese Commissioner, and a controller of the British Secret Service and the CID. During the following years the stories were published in collections, but at the end of the third book The Si-Fan Mysteries (1917), Fu Manchu is dead, and another villain has taken his place. '"That is almost incredible," I said; terror can have no darker meaning than that which Dr. Fu-Manchu gave to it.

Fu-Manchu is dead, so what have we to fear?" "We have to fear," replied Smith throwing himself into a corner of the settee, "the Si-Fan!"' In 1915 Rohmer invented detective character Gaston Max, who appeared first in The Yellow Claw. Another interesting series characters was the occult detective Morris Klaw, who solved his cases by using his own dreams and visions. Sumuru was a female master plotter, whom Rohmer abandoned after five published volumes. The detective Paul Harley was the hero of Fire-Tongue (1921) and Bat-Wing (1921). Chief Inspector Red Kerry solved crimes in Dope (1919) and other stories. For periods during the 1920s and 1930s, Rohmer was one of the most widely read and most highly paid magazine writers in the English language. He also produced works for the stage, and created tunes to several of his songs by humming them and having them transcribed by a collaborator. Rohmer's interest in mysticism and occult made him to join the occult organization of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Its other members included Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats. Rohmer's supernatural stories include Brood of the Witch Queen (1918), in which an Egyptian mummy is revived to practice ancient sorcery in the modern world, and Grey Face (1924), in which a supposed reincarnation of Cagliostro causes much havoc. The Green Eyes of Bâst (1920) was an occult detective tale about the mysteries of the ancient Egypt. Success brought Rohmer financial security - for a short time. He traveled with his wife in the Near East, Jamaica, and in Egypt, and built a country house called Little Gatton in the Surrey countryside. But the money went as fast as it come - Rohmer's business instincts were not good and he gambled much of his earnings at Monte Carlo. In 1955 Rohmer was said to have sold the film, television and radio rights in his books for more than four million dollars. Fu Manchu series started again after years of silence in Daughter of Fu Manchu (1931).

In The Island of Fu Manchu (1941) Sir Lioner Barton, the greatest Orientalist in Europe, says that Fu Manchu is "an enemy whose insects, bacteria, stranglers, strange poisons, could do more harm in a week than Hitler's army could do in a year." After the World War II the Rohmers moved to New York City. In order to qualify for permanent-resident status, they had to leave the country temporarily. From New York they moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, before finally settling in White Plains, New York. Among Rohmer's later works are Hangover House (1949), based on an unproduced play from the late 1930s, and the Sumuru series, five paperback novels published between 1950 and 1956. During the Korean War period, Rohmer declared that Dr. Fu Manchu was "still an enemy to be reckoned with and as menacing as ever, but he has changed with the times. Now he is against the Chinese Communists and, indeed, Communists everywhere, and a friend of the American people." Sax Rohmer died from a combination of pneumonia and stroke on June 1, 1959.

Emperor Fu Manchu (1959) was Rohmer's last work of fiction. The golden age of Fu Manchu stories - and also the peak of Sax Rohmer's career - was in the 1930s, although the Chinese super-criminal was revived again in 1957. Sequel Ten Years Beyond Baker Street (1984) was written by Cay Van Ash, in which the Evil Doctor fights Sherlock Holmes. It was followed by The Fires of Fu Manchu (1987). There are also radio adaptations, and a Marvel comic (The Hands of Shang-Chi), the tv series The Adventures of Fu Manchu (1955-56), starring Glenn Gordon as Fu Manchu and Lester Matthews as Nayland Smith. Rohmer's villain has inspired several movies, starring among others Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, and Peter Sellers (The Fiendish Plot of Dr Fu Manchu in 1980). John Carradine and Sir Cedric Hardwicke played Fu Manchu and Nyland Smith in a television pilot directed by William Cameron Mezies.

- Sinister Oriental Fu Manchu stereotypes were feared since turn of the century, appearing in wide numbers in popular fiction. Among the best know doppelgangers is Dr. No from Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Dr. No (1958). In Finlad, the Library Office at the Ministry of Education viewed Rohmer's works with suspicion. From the 1910s the office published Arvosteleva kirjaluettelo (Critical Book Catalogue), a more or less official guide for librarians in their book selection. It constantly warned about buying cheap novels and other popular literature for public libraries. Sax Rohmer's work received in the 1920s mixed critics: The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1923): "Horror story, written quite skilfully." The Devil Doctor (1925): "Adventure stories about the strange Dr. Fu-Manchu has been translated into Finnish before. They are written fairly skillfully and have plenty of suspense and Oriental atmosphere. But first of all, they are horror stories and they are not generally recommendable." The review was written by Helle Cannelin, director of the Library Office 1921-49.

Cannelin did not like Conan Doyle's detective novels, too. - Keltainen kynsi (The Yellow Claw, 1927), Tulikieli (Fire-Tongue, 1927): "The writer is not totally untalented, but it looks like he is putting on paper miserable adventure stories with a sneer. However, they have readers here and elsewhere - among young boys, who knows. - Worth only for 'a collection of insignificant books'." (Martti Tolvanen, Lic.Med.) Most author biographies courtesy of Author's Calendar . Used with permission. Free e-books written by Rohmer Sax . Read online and download books at (Page 1) Add to my authors Rohmer Sax Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (15 February 1883 - 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is most remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu. Born in Birmingham, Rohmer had an entirely working class education and early career before beginning to write. His first published work was in 1903, the short story The Mysterious Mummy for Pearson's Weekly.

He made his early living writing comedy sketches for music hall performers and short stories and serials for magazines. In 1909 he married Rose Knox. He published his first novel Pause! anonymously in 1910 and the first Fu Manchu story, The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, was serialized over 1912-13. It was an immediate success with its fast paced story of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with those featuring Gaston Max or Morris Klaw, made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid writers in of the 1920s and 1930s. But Rohmer was very poor at handling his wealth. After World War II the Rohmers moved to New York. Rohmer died in 1959 due to an outbreak of avian influenza ("Asian Flu").

Ward was often attacked, even shortly after the Manchu stories were published, for creating a character that reflected "racist assumptions".[2] He himself, "bemused" at the furor, occasionally defended his character by saying that the portrait was "fundamentally truthful" because "criminality was often rampant among the Chinese", especially in Limehouse.[2] A number of films were made featuring Dr. Fu Manchu. Warner Oland starred in three early talkies: 1929's The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu, 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu, and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon. Boris Karloff starred in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu. There was a Republic Pictures serial, Drums of Fu Manchu in 1940 and a short-lived TV series, The Adventures of Fu Manchu in 1956.

The character was revived after his creator's death for a series of variable quality starring Christopher Lee: The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969). Pulp film legend Harry Alan Towers produced two films based on the Sumuru character in the 1960s, and an updated space fantasy version in 2002. Legendary comic actor Peter Sellers starred in the 1980 spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. The Fu Manchu characters were featured in Marvel Comics' long-running series, Master of Kung-Fu and were revived for two novels by Rohmer's friend and biographer, Cay van Ash. A new authorized novel featuring the characters, The Terror of Fu Manchu by William Patrick Maynard was published in April 2009. Sax Rohmer #1 was the first single and track from the Mountain Goats album Heretic Pride. see also:

Question: Who played Fu Manchu in the 1960s films based on the books by Sax Rohmer?
Answer: Christopher Lee