Well, ol’ Dr. Fu Manchu (the legendary Sir Christopher Lee… Hammer’s iconic Dracula… but don’t let that last name fool you, Lee isn’t Asian in the least… I mean he isn’t Dracula either, but I think you dig what I’m laying down) is up to his old bullshit again… namely acting like the pulp fiction super villain he is!
What’s his plot this go around? Well Fu, along with his daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin, You Only Live Twice), have taken up residence in a lost Amazonian city where he has discovered a rare venom that only affects men. To that end he has his henchmen abduct a cadre of comely ladies whom are soon snake-bit and in possession of a “kiss of death” that proves lethal to any guy they put a lip-lock upon… after making them blind for weeks on end that is!
Soon the Lethal Ladies of Fu Manchu are out and about, kissing the sworn enemies of the villain including his arch-nemesis, police commissioner Nayland Smith (Richard Greene, 1939’s adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes masterpiece The Hound of the Baskervilles) who very quickly deduces just what he’s been poisoned with and blindly stumbles off to South America in the hopes of finding a cure and stopping Fu Manchu’s plans of venom-based world domination!
Directed and co written by horror/Euro-sleaze legend Jess Franco (The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, A Virgin Among the Living Dead), The Blood of Fu Manchu is the fourth in a series of films concerning Sax Rohmer’s famous creation from frequent Franco producer/screenwriter Harry Allan Towers… and although all five films feature Lee, only this one and the fifth picture, 1969’s Castle of Fu Manchu (we’ll get to that one soon), were created by Franco (along with co-writer Manfred R. Köhler, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism).
Filmed in Brazil and Madrid, The Blood of Fu Manchu boasts lush jungle environs, interesting historical filming locations, and incredibly fun, comic book camp sets filled with strange machinery, hooded henchmen, torture dungeons, snakes, and of course beautiful women… and with those sets (and costuming… including many gorgeous outfit changes for both Lee and Chin) the film features eye-popping color (which is really brought to vivid life courtesy of the new 4K restoration from the uncut original camera negative utilized by Blue Underground for these 4K/Blu-ray combo releases).
The main negative here is that the pulp fun comes to a halt when long stretches of time are given to ridiculous bandito Sancho Lopez (Ricardo Palacios) and his gang as they invade the local town; willy-nilly sexually assaulting, riding horses through people’s homes, stealing from a church, carrying (and murdering) livestock, shooting people for prescription eyewear they statistically wouldn’t be able to take advantage of… just all forms of shenanigans that have nothing to do with moving the narrative forward in any significant way… though Lopez and Fu Manchu do cross-paths eventually…
There’s also a B plot (that Sancho Lopez tomfoolery is definitely C plot or lower) involving dashing archeologist Carl Jansen (Götz George), Smith’s associate Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford, Dr. Watson from 1954’s television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes), and nurse Ursula Wagner (Franco regular Maria Rohm, Venus in Furs, Count Dracula), who take over the legwork of solving the mystery from the increasingly incapacitated and sweaty Smith.
Performances here are mostly solid, with Lee making for a cold, calculating antagonist and Marion-Crawford appearing to be having a great time… Chin is fun also as Fu Manchu’s femme fatale daughter… hell even Palacios is enjoyable in small doses… but don’t expect much from the character of Nayland Smith who is side-lined for a majority of the picture (which gives Greene little to do as a result). Additionally look for a brief cameo from Goldfinger‘s Shirley Eaton who would star as another of author Rohmer’s creations in Franco’s Sumuru films.
Adding to the machinations we get some special features which begin with an info-packed and highly listenable audio commentary courtesy of film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, as well as a duo of trailers for the film.
The included Blu-ray edition of The Blood of Fu Manchu features the commentary and trailers listed previously along with The Rise of Fu Manchu (an archival featurette which features interviews with Franco, Towers, Lee, Chin, and Eaton), an interview with author/Franco expert Stephen Thrower (in which he discusses the film and it’s place in the Franco/Towers oeuvre), and newly expanded poster and still gallery, and the Rifftrax version of the film which features MST3K alum comically commenting on the film.
Also available in a new 4K/Blu-ray combo edition from Blue Underground is the aforementioned The Castle of Fu Manchu…
Fu and Lin (a returning Lee and Chin) are back baby… and what heinous hijinks are they up to now? Apparently trying to convince us that some ages-old Titanic flick stock footage (tinted blue) is the result of Fu Manchu’s new ability to freeze the world’s oceans via a diabolical new invention… leaving ships helpless to avoid icy disaster!
How does Fu Manchu fuel his weather device? Partially with opium… a fucking lot of it… so in order to ensure he has enough he takes over the governor’s castle in Istanbul, which just so happens to be packed fat as fuck with the drug, with the help of local crime-lord Omar Pasha (José Manuel Martín)… whom Fu Manchu screws over lickety-split.
In order to convert the opium into fuel, Fu Manchu kidnaps the only scientist able to perfect the feat, Dr. Heracles (Gustavo Re)… but that egghead has a bad ticker, so Fu has to kidnap a doctor duo to try and keep Heracles alive… while Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie (Greene and Marion-Crawford once again) attempt to foil him every step of the way!
Franco (along with co-writer/producer Towers… although Manfred Barthel has been credited with the screenplay as well) bring the appropriate high-pulp adventure to the piece, and the returning cast are as solid as they were on the last go around (Marion-Crawford and Franco have a particularly fun, if brief, scene during the director’s extended cameo).
Adding to the cast immeasurably is the presence of Lady Frankenstein‘s Rosalba Neri as Lisa, Omar Pasha’s cross-dressing, ass-kicking major domo!
Adding to the fun is some beautiful scenery (this time from Istanbul and Madrid), a heavy usage of Mario Bava-style gel lighting in Fu Manchu’s headquarters, and an exciting, water-drenched finale!
Less exciting is the film’s reliance on stock footage not only in regards to that Titanic footage, but also in a pilfered sequence of a dam being destroyed… it cheapens the film unnecessarily instead of adding the desired increased scope.
Bonus features this go-around include another audio commentary courtesy of Howarth and Thompson, along with The Castle of Fu Manchu‘s international trailer.
Once again that bonus material is mirrored on the included Blu-ray edition of the film, and is joined by another archival featurette featuring interviews with Franco, Towers, Lee, and Chin, another interview with author Thrower (this time focused on Castle of Fu Manchu), a newly expanded poster and still gallery, and Rifftrax‘s comedy commentary on the film.
While definitely “of their time”; this double dose of Fu Manchu flicks is campy, color-drenched escapism that is equal parts James Bond yarn and irresistible pulp novel adventure!
