The Mask of Fu Manchu

The Mask of Fu Manchu
Directed by	Charles Brabin Charles Vidor (uncredited)
Written by	Sax Rohmer [novel] Irene Kuhn Edgar Allan Woolf John Willard
Starring	Boris Karloff Lewis Stone
Cinematography	Tony Gaudio
Editing by	Ben Lewis
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	5 November 1932
Running time	68 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Mask of Fu Manchu is a Pre-Code adventure film released in 1932, featuring Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his daughter. The movie revolves around Fu Manchu's quest for the sword and mask of Genghis Khan. Lewis Stone plays his nemesis. Directed by Charles Brabin, it is considered the best of the Fu Manchu films produced in the 1930s.

Plot

Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone) of the British Secret Service warns Egyptologist Sir Lionel Barton (Lawrence Grant) that he must beat Fu Manchu in the race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan. The power-mad Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) intends to use the sword and mask to proclaim himself the reincarnation of the legendary conqueror and inflame the peoples of Asia and the Middle East into a war to wipe out the "white race". Sir Lionel is kidnapped soon afterward and taken to Fu Manchu. Fu Manchu tries bribing his captive, even offering his own daughter, Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy). When that fails, Barton suffers the "torture of the bell" (lying underneath a gigantic, constantly-ringing bell) in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to reveal the location of the tomb.

Barton's daughter Sheila (Karen Morley) insists on taking her father's place on the expedition, as she knows where the tomb is. She finds the tomb and its treasures with the help of her fiance Terrence "Terry" Granville (Charles Starrett), Von Berg (Jean Hersholt), and McLeod (David Torrence). Nayland Smith joins them soon afterward.

McLeod is killed by Fu Manchu's men during a robbery attempt. When that fails, an emissary offers to trade Barton for the priceless artifacts. Despite Terry's misgivings, Sheila persuades him to take the relics to Fu Manchu without Smith's knowledge. However, when Fu Manchu tests the sword, he determines that it is a fake (Nayland had switched them). Terry is whipped under the supervision of Fah Lo See, who is attracted to him. Meanwhile, Fu Manchu has Barton's corpse delivered to Sheila. When Nayland tries to rescue Terry, he is taken captive as well.

Terry is injected with a serum that makes him temporarily obedient to Fu Manchu and he is released. He tells Sheila and Von Berg that Nayland Smith wants them to bring the sword and mask to him. Sheila senses something is wrong, but Von Berg digs up the real relics, and they follow Terry into a trap.

Captured by Fu Manchu, the party is sentenced to death or enslavement, but not before Sheila manages to bring Terry back to his senses. Sheila is to become a human sacrifice, Nayland Smith is to be lowered into a crocodile pit, and Von Berg placed between two sets of metal spikes inching toward each other. Terry is prepared for another dose of the serum, which will make him a permanent slave of the whims of Fu Manchu's daughter. However, Nayland Smith manages to free himself, Terry, and Von Berg. Using one of Fu Manchu's own weapons—a death ray that shoots an electric current—the men incapacitate the arch-villain as he raises the sword to execute Sheila. When Fu Manchu drops the sword, Terry picks it up and hacks him to death. While Terry frees Sheila and carries her away, Nayland Smith and Von Berg incinerate Fu Manchu's followers using the same weapon. Safely aboard a ship bound for England, Nayland Smith tosses the sword over the side so that the world will be safe from any future Fu Manchu.

Cast

• Boris Karloff as Dr. Fu Manchu
• Lewis Stone as Sir Denis Nayland Smith
• Karen Morley as Sheila Barton
• Charles Starrett as Terry Granville
• Myrna Loy as Fah Lo See
• Jean Hersholt as Dr. Von Berg
• Lawrence Grant as Sir Lionel Barton
• David Torrence as McLeod

Controversy

During its initial release, The Mask of Fu Manchu was criticized by the Chinese government (the Chinese embassy in Washington launched a formal complaint against the film) for its hostile depiction of the Chinese,"Would you all have maidens like this for your wives? Then conquer and breed! Kill the white man and take his women!"^[1]

Some other critics also objected to the film's depictions of violence and sexuality.^[2] The film's re-release in 1972 was met with protest from the Japanese American Citizens League, who stated that "the movie was offensive and demeaning to Asian-Americans." Because of the criticism of the film's racism, the 1992 VHS release of the film removed several scenes containing the most criticized lines of dialogue, such as the "Kill the white man" speech.^[2]

The latest release of this movie by TCM has restored the film to its original version.

See also

• Boris Karloff filmography
• Pre-Code Hollywood

References

1. ^ Christopher Frayling, quoted in "Fu Manchu", in Newman,Kim (ed.), The BFI Companion to Horror. London, Cassell,1996, pp.131-2 . ISBN 030433216X
2. ^ ^{a b} Gregory William Mank, Hollywood Cauldron: 13 Horror Films from the Genres's Golden Age McFarland, 2001 (pp.53-89 ) ISBN 0786411120

External links

• The Mask of Fu Manchu at the Internet Movie Database