Opiniones de usuarios

This is an exciting and suspenseful , though mediocre Fu Manchu movie , but still enjoyable . It's a little boring , but is better than following entries , the low-budgeted and lackluster Jess Frank movies : ¨Kiss of the dead¨ and ¨The castle of Fumanchu¨ which most critics felt were the weakest of the series .

The co-protagonist is Nyland Smith , finely played by Douglas Wilmer -character also interpreted by Nigel Green and Richard Greene- ; he's a good English actor , usually playing in secondary roles -El Cid- , here he is the starring and is very well . The baddies are Horst Frank , a German actor usually playing as the villain-role and Christopher Lee , as always acting as a magnificent evil-doer . As usual , there appears Howard Marion Crawford who is the assistant of Nyland Smith , a Watson-alike . And of course , the Fu Manchu's daughter , habitually played by T Sai Chin , acting perfectly as a nasty murderous.

In the film there are action , adventures , thriller , sadism and exotic outdoors filmed in China , because being produced by the Chinese Shaw Brothers and Harry Allan Towers (producer of the Fu Manchu's five movies) . The movie will appeal those have seen the different entries and Christopher Lee fans ; the best installments are directed by Don Sharp : ¨Face of Fu Manchu (1965)¨ and ¨Brides of Fu Manchu(1966)¨. Rating : Average but entertaining .

This is the third film in the revived Fu Manchu series from hit-and-run international film financier Harry Alan Towers. It represents yet another step down in this steadily deteriorating series. Towers' first mistake was in replacing director Don Sharp with Jeremy Summers, a TV-director whose only other theatrical credit was Gerry & the Pacemakers' feature "Ferry Cross the Mersey". His next mistake was filming in less-than ideal international locations, a characteristic of most of Towers' subsequent productions.

Filmed in Hong Kong, the film manages to pass up every opportunity for location flavor; the cramped film could have been made on any soundstage in the world. For reasons unknown, Summers chose to shoot with live sound on Hong Kong's non-soundproofed stages and, in the sceneof a delicate medical operation conducted, supposedly, in the bowels of a Tibetan temple, construction noises and traffic sounds are clearly audible.

The part of nominal star Christopher Lee is essentially an extended cameo. Instead, the film highlights Maria Rohm, Towers' German-born wife, who has never made a film for anyone but her husband. Here, she has one of her showiest roles as a nightclub singer, wearing a variety of glamorous costumes and lip syncing two awful songs performed on the soundtrack by Samantha Jones.

Ironically, this would be the only film in the series given USA release through a major distributor: Warner Brothers. But they held it low regard: a number of release prints were struck in black and white and it played on the bottom half of a double bill with "The Shuttered Room".

In the 60's series of five Fu Manchu movies made by Cristhoper Lee as the Chinese fiend, this is the one in the middle, without the direction of Don Sharp (replaced by Jeremy Summers) who made the better two entries. It's still an interesting movie, Fu Manchu tries to ruin his enemy reputation by replacing him with a killer lookalike (done with a complicated facial surgery) and, as usual, planning world domination as the boss of a new international organization. Douglas Wilmer shines as Nayland Smith or the zombie-like killer, Lee is perfect as usual and the always reliable Howard Marion Crawford as Dr. Petrie (a character clearly inspired by Conan Doyle's Dr. Watson) got some good moments too. Sadly, after "Vengeance" trashy Spanish director Jesus Franco took the series for the last two film, the less interesting entries by far.

Evil Oriental mastermind Fu Manchu (CHRISTOPHER LEE) and his daughter in crime Lin Tang (TSAI CHIN) return to their ancestral China from where they plot their latest diabolical scheme for world domination. First they create an explosion causing a rocky mountain to subside, thus creating the illusion that all communications have been cut off between the village that neighbors Fu Manchu's palace and Shanghai. Secondly they abduct a renowned plastic surgeon called Dr Lieberson (WOLFGANG KIELING) and force him to create a double of Nayland Smith (DOUGLAS WILMER). The real Smith is subsequently abducted and brought to Fu Manchu's palace. Meanwhile, the double who is a prisoner under a deep state of hypnosis kills Smith's housekeeper and is subsequently arrested, tried and hanged for the crime. Fu Manchu is delighted as the whole world thinks that Nayland Smith was a psychopathic killer and his reputation is posthumously ruined. While all this is going on, Fu Manchu will have the pleasure of murdering the real Smith on the quiet. A wanted American criminal mastermind called Rudolph Moss (NOEL TRETHARNAN) has recently arrived at Fu Manchu's palace with a pact signed by the world's criminal bosses agreeing to the Yellow Peril becoming their leader. Fu Manchu plans to use Dr Lieberson to create further doubles of all the criminals' enemies and give them the same treatment as he intends for Nayland Smith. Smith must escape, clear his name and stop an international murder spree erupting.

THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU was the third of producer Harry Alan Towers' series of international productions starring Christopher Lee as Sax Rohmer's fiendish Oriental mastermind. Don Sharp had directed the first two films in the series, but Jeremy Summers took over for this one entry. Summers was essentially a TV director who occasionally made feature films. These include the Gerry & The Pacemakers movie FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY (1965) and the Tony Hancock vehicle THE PUNCH AND JUDY MAN (1964). On TV he has directed episodes of such British cult classics as JASON KING and RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED) as well as contributing to notable UK soap operas such as CORONATION STREET and BROOKSIDE. Summers' father was Walter Summers who directed the notable Bela Lugosi horror film THE DARK EYES OF London (1939). Incidentally, this was the first film in the UK to receive the "H" for horrific certificate in Britain.

The film marks first step down the slippery slope of the series' degeneration into becoming shambling nonsense. The script is both poorly plotted and confused. Matters are not helped by an unwise emphasis on torture and sadism like when Fu Manchu brands Liebrson's daughter (MARIA ROHM) with a branding iron in order to force him to carry out his demands. These scenes are disheartening and make one wish for the return of the light direction of Don Sharp in THE FACE OF FU MANCHU (1965). The production also has the air of being a half-hearted effort all round as most of the performances are all at best average with the possible exception of Tsai Chin whose portrayal of Lin Tang is still undeniably evil without any sign of remorse in her actions. The direction is coherent and well-paced (which saves the picture from being a complete disaster) but shows little enthusiasm for the material. The film wasn't particularly successful, but Towers was able to squeeze out two more (and even worse) sagas featuring Fu Manchu. They were THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (1968), which were shot back to back by Spanish director Jess Franco. This series could have lasted for a long time if they had referred back to the original source for plots rather than trying to invent their own.

Lin Tang doesn't sit at the feet of Fu Manchu anymore - she got promoted and takes a throne at his side now. Can't say that the movie moves up a level, though, if I compare it to its predecessors. The 3rd one of the series was the first one not directed by Don Sharp, it was most likely not made with the same production time and budget, and the story is, mildly put, simple. Fu Manchu wants revenge on his personal enemy Nayland Smith, and afterwards achieve world domination, of course. Some unnecessary things are stretching the story to 80+ minutes, such as the tavern brawl with the sailors or the introduction of Horst Frank as an additional villain. Fu Manchu asks him to do the torturing for one day as if he thought he must give this character something to do. Peter Carsten gets a better role as a gangster who is joining the good guys after his downfall. Although it is impressive to see the impersonator of Nayland Smith become a murderer under Fu Manchu's command, showing absolutely no emotion and not saying a word during his trial, one can't help wondering why the judge and lawyers didn't think he might be hypnotized or something like that. Did they just think he must be the shy type of guy who doesn't talk much? The green misty hills of Ireland are posing successfully for China again, compliments for the choice of locations. Voted 7/8/5/7/4 for the five movies.

I sat down to watch the 1967 "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" after having watched the 1965 and 1966 sequels, and I must admit that writer Harry Alan Towers actually managed to deliver an entertaining and enjoyable movie here; one that was right up alongside the 1966 "The Brides of Fu Manchu".

The storyline in "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" is pretty straight forward and very easy to follow. Though this third movie doesn't offer any insight into how Fu Manchu (played again by Christopher Lee) is capable of returning to life after having been blown up in the previous two movies. But such are things and we the audience just accept it as it is.

And the storyline did deviate somewhat from the usual straight forward world domination plots from the previous movies, and director Jeremy Summers managed to presents it in an enjoyable manner.

"The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" is fast paced with a good combination of storytelling and action. So the movie progress at a good pace, which meant that there weren't really any dull moments throughout the course of the story.

Visually, then it felt like they had more money to work with, and it was showing for the costumes, props and sets, which definitely helped spruce up the movie, giving it a more polished and well-rounded finish.

I found "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" to be as entertaining as it was enjoyable, and I am rating this 1967 movie a well-deserved six out of ten stars.

Try, try, try again. That should be evil super mastermind Fu Manchu's motto. After one failed attempt after another that pretty much ends up in his hideout / palace spectacularly exploding, for his credit he always returned on his quest for world domination. As each scheming plot being more diabolical than the last, but the quality of these features were also on the slide. Same formula, but well-worn. Despite Christopher Lee returning dressed up in make-up as Fu Manchu, his presence seemed lacking with a script that didn't really offer him all that much to do. "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" would be the third film internationally produced by Harry Alan Towers, but director Don Sharp of the previous two films is replaced and it shows in the final product. "Vengeance" isn't all that bad, but it's bounded by feeble writing and lackadaisical direction for most part making it quite an uninterestingly limited and convoluted venture. The story follows Fu Manchu and his daughter return to China to his isolated palace hideaway in the hills where he plots his vengeance against his arch rival commissioner Neyland Smith of Scotland Yard, while hosting a criminal diplomat for gaining support to lead the world's criminals. While this had two sub-plots within the narrative, neither one projected much excitement with its elaborate developments and the location work felt rather stagy with less adventure and scope. The local Hong Kong locations were done through Shaw Brother studios. Director Jeremy Summers brought a crisply polished tinge, but the execution is drably projected with a less than speedy pace. Too few hardy set-pieces, but its misogynistic edge is still evident in some torture sequences. The performances are decent. Douglas Wilmer admirably acquits himself as Neyland Smith and Howard Marion-Crawford gives a fine-tuned performance as his friend Dr. Petrie. A methodical Lee is given small opportunities and so is and effective Tsai Chin's, maybe even more so minor as Manchu's sadistic daughter. Horst Frank venomously overdoes Lee in the evil stakes and a beautiful Maria Rohm flaunts around. Patchy serial comic-strip entertainment.

Fu Manchu and his daughter Lin Tang(Tsai Chin)return home to China.This time Fu Manchu kidnaps a Christian missionary working in China,who is also a surgeon.He is kidnapped to perform an operation on one of Fu's dacoits to make him look just like Nayland Smith.However he wants duplicates made of all the major police chiefs of the world,to discredit them as well.He calls Rudolph Moss(Horst Frank),the head of American syndicate,to join him.Christopher Lee is again amazing as a Fu Manchu-the film is pretty well-made and exciting.Followed by two euro-trash cheapies "The Blood of Fu Manchu" and "The Castle of Fu Manchu".

Fu Manchu and his daughter return home to China. Fu kidnaps a Christian missionary surgeon working in China n order to perform an operation on one of Fu's dacoits and make him look just like someone else. Christopher Lee is again an amazing Fu. The film is quite well-made and exciting. The plot is gripping, exaggerated yes but not as badly as some of the other Fus, and perhaps this one has a bit more shock value too.

This has got relatively more torture scenes than the overrated FACE OF FU MANCHU although they are nowhere as imaginative and adult comics/pulp flavored as in the classic MASK OF FU MANCHU. Minor points of interest: feeble and failed attempt to add some sensuality by a few uninspired nightclub scenes with Maria Rohm, one karate-style fight scene, and the presence of one Oriental among the good guys and one Westerner among Fu's camp to break down good guys - bad guys pattern along racial lines.

The Third Entry in the Five Film Series seems Longer than its 91 minute Running Time.

There are a few Flourishes of Note. The Location Shooting adds a Grandiose and Beautiful Backdrop, some Torture Scenes are Visceral with Gruesome Devices keeping with the Sadistic Tone of the "Fu' Films, and Christopher Lee again Strikes an Imposing Figure as the Towering Megalomaniac.

The Plot, however, is not Worthy of Fu's Intellect. Replacing Law Enforcement Leaders with Doppelgangers, one at a time, seems to be a rather Lengthy, Round About way, of Conquering the World.

A Cowboy Hat wearing "Gangster" looks Ridiculous in the Setting, as does most of the Dialog from most of the Non-Asian Bad-Guys.

Nayland Smith (Fu's Arch-Enemy) is Reduced to Zombification and is Replaced by another American, a Dull FBI Agent who is used for a Few Weak Kung-Fu Scenes.

The Least of the First Three "Fu" Movies and by most accounts the Last that is at all Tolerable.

Note...Filmed in part at the legendary "Shaw Brothers" Studio in Hong Kong. It didn't help much.

The organised criminals of the Western world want Chinese criminal mastermind Fu Manchu to be their leader. Fu Manchu agrees and puts into motion a plan to discredit those who oppose him by replacing them with doppelgangers programmed to commit murder.

"The world will hear from me again": so says Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu at the end of this schlocky potboiler; he wasn't lying either, for he would return for two more films directed by Spanish exploitation legend Jess Franco. However, Fu Manchu's days were clearly numbered, even then: Sax Rohmer's creation had long been considered incredibly racist, perpetuating the idea of the 'yellow peril' in which Asians are viewed as a threat to the West. What made Fu Manchu even more controversial is that he is always played by a caucasian, in this case by Mr. Lee in 'yellow face', sporting a droopy moustache, his eyes made up to look Chinese.

Putting political correctness to one side, I still find The Vengeance of Fu Manchu to be an objectionable movie, simply because it is so tedious, when it could have been a load of fun. Even when dealing with outrageous ideas such as using plastic surgery to create exact doubles of people, it still manages to be one deathly dull watch, lacking in excitement and energy. It starts off promisingly, with our despicable villain and his equally vile daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) sentencing three men to death, but as soon as the tiresome plot kicks in, it all gets incredibly wearisome.

The film hits rock bottom with the most boring court-room scene imaginable - totally bereft of tension, since we, the viewer, already know that the man being tried for murder isn't Scotland Yard hero Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer), but one of Fu Manchu's surgically-altered henchmen.

Sexy blonde Maria Rohm adds a little much-needed glamour to proceedings as singer/gangster's moll Ingrid, and Tony Ferrer threatens to inject some excitement as tough Shanghai cop Inspector Ramos, but his scenes are all too brief. Lee is given little to do except look evil.

Evil genius Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee once again playing the role) plots the death of his arch rival, Inspector Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard. A surgeon that Fu has abducted is forced into surgically turning one of Fu's henchmen into a Smith lookalike (quite amazing considering they are of different races and he was only given 48 hours to carry out the procedure!). "The face of Nayland Smith, the mind of a murderer" says Fu. In London Smith is abducted and shipped to China, at the same time his clone commits and is executed for murder. Far fetched yes but I really liked this part of the plot. Back to the start of the film we see three men executed at Fu's fortress, his equally cruel daughter is allowed to decide their deaths. These are rather gruesome, including a beheading, maybe not suitable for young viewers. More violence is seen throughout including a woman being branded on her back, torture and plenty of martial art fighting. This is hardly Bruce Lee standard but it's fun to watch none the less. Female glamour comes in the form of the beautiful Maria Rohm as Ingrid, in real life she was married to producer Harry Alan Towers. In this day and age I can't imagine a white actor being made up to play a non-white character and I can't help but snigger a little at the sight of Lee in Oriental make up but he plays it well. I have seen all of the Fu Manchu movies in this franchise starring Lee and found this entry to be one of the better ones. The plot is gripping, exaggerated yes but not as badly as some of the others, and perhaps this one has a bit more shock value too.

Christopher Lee is good enough reason to see anything. Not everything he has been in has been good, then again that is true for most actors, but he was/is never less than watchable and at his very best he was magnetic. He was my main reason for seeing 'The Vengeance of Fu Manchu', or any of the five films he starred in for that matter, and if it weren't for him there would have been no knowledge of the films or any incentive in watching them.

The best of the five films by far is the first one, 'The Face of Fu Manchu'. Not my definition of a great film but the only mind to me that was above average and in enough aspects pretty good. Afterwards, the series declined with each sequel, from above average, to watchable, to lacklustre at best to rock bottom. Of the four sequels, 'The Vengeance of Fu Manchu' is the second best after 'The Brides of Fu Manchu'. Not to say that is much of an endorsement though, because neither were particularly good, but worse followed. Found this to be lacklustre and at times barely mediocre, at the same it was not unwatchable.

Lee oddly enough is not the main thing that stops 'The Vengeance of Fu Manchu' from being a disaster. Actually found the best thing of the film to be Tsai Chin, who again is deliciously nasty with the evil dripping off her. Although underused and there was the sense that his enthusiasm was lessening Lee is still very powerful and charismatic, the character appropriately fiendish as ought.

Also found 'The Vengeance of Fu Manchu' to have moments of eerie style and atmosphere and the sets don't look too cheap although clearly not authentic. The film started okay.

Despite saying that there were moments visually, that is not saying that 'The Vengeance of Fu Manchu' was a good looking film. Like 'The Brides of Fu Manchu', the editing looked incomplete and the photography fairly erratic. Again the music occasionally had haunting moments, but was even more ill-fitting and intrusive here and furthermore had a couple of cheap-sounding and poorly sung nightclub numbers that added absolutely nothing and were really out of place. The sound quality was similarly pretty poor at times and betrayed the locations' lack of authenticity. Douglas Wilmer was serviceable in 'The Brides of Fu Manchu', but to me was bland and stiff here and the rest of the cast have far too little to do.

Maria Rohm stands out the most in this respect but that is in no way meant as a good thing, quite the contrary. This is also the first film in the series to not be directed by Don Sharp and the difference in quality is incredibly glaring, Jeremy Summers' directing here came over as heavy-handed and half-hearted, especially in any scene containing any kind of torture. Half-hearted is another good way to sum up the film. The script is even more of a tonal muddle than previously to the point of confusion, due to trying to do too much, and is also very limp. The story is this time round very tedious in pace and often uneventful in what was going on, and the complete lack of suspense, creepiness and surprises replaced by useless padding (the nightclub numbers especially), gratuitous over-emphasis on torture and senseless further hurt it.

In summary, lacklustre but not an insult. 4/10

"The Vengeance of Fu Manchu," directed by Jeremy Summers in 1967, is another chapter in the saga of the infamous villain, Dr. Fu Manchu. This time, Fu Manchu's quest for power is driven by a personal vendetta against his nemesis, Nayland Smith. The film promises high-stakes action and exotic intrigue, yet ultimately struggles to deliver a cohesive and engaging story.

Christopher Lee returns as Dr. Fu Manchu, bringing his usual intensity and gravitas to the role. Lee's portrayal remains a highlight, with his commanding presence and chilling demeanor lending an air of authenticity to an otherwise uneven film. His ability to embody the sinister genius of Fu Manchu is compelling, making him the standout performer once again.

The plot centers around Fu Manchu's elaborate scheme to destroy Nayland Smith and wreak havoc on the world. To achieve this, he orchestrates a series of devious plans involving brainwashing, impersonation, and assassination. The film's premise is intriguing, promising a blend of mystery and action that keeps the audience guessing.

One particularly memorable scene is the climactic showdown in Fu Manchu's hideout. The atmosphere is tense, with dark, shadowy sets and suspenseful music heightening the sense of danger. The final confrontation between Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith is filled with dramatic tension and provides a fitting end to the film's conflict. The set design, with its intricate details and foreboding ambiance, adds to the scene's impact, making it a visual highlight.

Despite these strong points, "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" suffers from several significant flaws. The pacing is uneven, with moments of excitement often bogged down by slower, less engaging sequences. The script lacks depth, with many characters, including the female leads, receiving minimal development. This results in a narrative that feels disjointed and lacks the emotional resonance needed to fully engage the audience.

The film's portrayal of Asian characters and cultures continues to be problematic. The use of Western actors in yellowface and the reliance on stereotypes reflect the outdated and insensitive attitudes of the time. This aspect of the film can be uncomfortable to watch and detracts from its overall enjoyment.

Additionally, the film's special effects and action sequences, while ambitious, often fall short of modern standards. Some scenes appear overly staged or lack the necessary polish to be truly convincing. This can take the viewer out of the moment, reducing the impact of key action scenes.

While Christopher Lee's performance and certain standout scenes provide some entertainment value, the film's numerous shortcomings prevent it from being a truly satisfying entry in the Fu Manchu series. It remains a curious artifact of its time, offering glimpses of potential that are never fully realized. For fans of classic villainy and 1960s adventure films, it may still hold some appeal, but it ultimately fails to live up to its intriguing premise.

Although sinking deeper into mediocrity with each new instalment, some of the old patina still lingers on in #3 of the Harry Alan Towers' Fu Manchu franchise. Irish locations, for example, once again still standing in for blighty (which presumably explains the presence of Eddie Byrne in a very small part). But this also marks Towers' arrival (again doubling up as screenwriter 'Peter Welbeck') in Hong Kong, where he doubtless shot this instalment back to back with the ghastly 'Five Golden Dragons', (with which it shares director Jeremy Summers and leading lady Maria Rohm) and the silly 'Sumuru' (whose headquarters looks suspiciciously like Fu Manchu's castle here).

There are rather more German actors than usual this time round, including Peter Carsten playing a goodie, and Wolfgang Kieling as Dr. Lieberson, fresh from playing the ill-fated Gromek in 'Torn Curtain'. Although Tsai Chin has long been deeply ashamed of her participation in these films, she is at least genuinely Chinese, and her presence as Lin Tang remains one of their strongest features - cool, mean, a first-class henchbabe, and dressed to kill in a variety of sensational outfits that look as they consumed much of the film's budget.

Dr Fu Manchu – along with Bulldog Drummond – is now a bit of a hot potato in adventure fiction and a liberal shorthand for the shockingly racist excesses of our past culture. Indeed, Sax Rohmer's books – initially a trilogy in the mid-1910s before several more appeared in the '30s – were borne out of a xenophobia for East Asia grandly termed 'the Yellow Peril' and were offensive to some even then. Surprisingly, the character himself rarely showed up in his own franchise. Most of the action followed his enemies, the Holmes and Watson avatars Sir Denis Nayland-Smith and Dr Petrie, in a series of exotic, ludicrously pulpy plots.

The 1960s saw contentious producer Harry Alan Towers revive the character for a cycle of five independent British films so cheesy that the ushers must have handed out crackers on the way in. Christopher Lee – best known at the time, of course, as Dracula in several wonderfully schlocky Hammer productions – played Fu Manchu in yellow-face in what basically amounted to a series of extended cameos. The Holmes and Watson connection remained with the starring of Douglas Wilmer, who had played Holmes on television for the BBC, and Howard Marion-Crawford, who had been Watson to Ronald Howard's Holmes in the drily amusing 1954 TV series. This third film jettisoned the director of the first two films, Don Sharp, and replaced him with Jeremy Summers, who had made the deservedly obscure Gerry and the Pacemakers film Ferry Cross the Mersey but also episodes of many of my favourite ITC series.

The plot in this one is thin but does the business sure enough. After previous encounters with his English foe, Fu Manchu is so hungry for vengeance – hence the title – that he forces a plastic surgeon to change one of his servants into a doppelgänger for Nayland Smith. As the servant is also Oriental, we get a reverse Gustav Graves from Die Another Day.Is it me or do many of these bad-guys make the most unreasonable demands? So while the real Nayland Smith is captured and brought to Fu Manchu's wilderness lair, the lookalike replaces him, moves around like a robot and commits murder. He is then arrested, tried and scheduled to hang, thereby ruining Nayland Smith's reputation as one of England's finest. Fu Manchu plans to do this to several other prominent law-enforcers across the world, thus undermining that whole law and order thing that bothers him so much. Meanwhile, he plays host to a seedy man in a cowboy hat who is apparently – and this bit I loved – the Ambassador of the American Underworld.

There's a fair bit of filler, of course – a boring meeting with Interpol, a nonsensical fight on a boat, a sprawling bar fight with sailors, an FBI character who does nothing at all and an unnecessary lounge number – but there is some surprising shots of the Chinese mountains and a couple of exciting ninja scenes which, while doing nothing for the Bruce Lee fan, does bring the energy up. Christopher Lee is listless as ever while Douglas Wilmer somehow keeps his dignity while he is bundled into a crater, a prison cell and a hay cart and inexplicably walks around with what appears to be a door around his neck. It's all wonderfully silly and, despite lagging at some points, is exciting enough. As long as you're in the mood for some cheesy fun, it's worth a watch.

1967's "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" came third in the Christopher Lee series, allowing for on location shooting in Hong Kong and Kowloon (interiors at Dublin's Ardmore Studios), a picturesque opening in which Fu returns to his birthplace in the northern province of China to set up a truly international criminal organization led by himself, at the same time that arch nemesis Nayland Smith (again played by Douglas Wilmer) is forming a coalition of police chiefs (the origins of Interpol). The villainous American ambassador from San Francisco is played by German Horst Frank, resolutely unconvinced until he learns of Fu's ultimate revenge, forcing a noted surgeon (Wolfgang Kieling) to transform a Chinese underling into the exact visage of Nayland Smith, certainly good enough to fool his sidekick Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford). The switch takes place on a Scottish holiday, the real McCoy shipped off to Shanghai while the uncommunicative double waits until he's alone with Smith's female servant to strangle the life out of her. Just like the on screen characters, the audience waits, and waits, and waits for the journey to end so things can wrap up in satisfactory fashion, whether on horseback from Shanghai, by ship from America (Eddie Byrne a crooked captain), or Smith arriving in Fu's desolate mountain hideaway just as his convicted doppelganger is about to hang. With Lee's dominating presence reduced to 12 minutes (his shortest in the series), and Wilmer's dual roles actually offering less to work with, director Jeremy Summers allows the uninteresting background characters to take precedence, action scenes poorly choreographed as fists fly without landing, stunt doubles fall over without being touched, and only a few token karate kicks by Shanghai's Inspector Ramos (Tony Ferrer) to remind us that Bruce Lee was definitely not available (it's still better than Jesus Franco's final two in the series).