La vendetta di Fu Man Chu

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.

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 Vengeance of Fu Manchu" (1967), directed by Jeremy Summers, marks the third and final appearance of Christopher Lee as the infamous criminal mastermind in the 1960s Fu Manchu series. While the film attempts to breathe new life into the franchise, it ultimately falls short of its predecessors, offering a somewhat tepid conclusion to Lee's portrayal of the character.

Set against the backdrop of a globe-spanning criminal conspiracy, the film follows Fu Manchu's elaborate plot to discredit and destroy his nemesis, Nayland Smith, by creating an evil doppelganger. This premise, while intriguing, is not fully realized, often getting lost in a maze of subplots and poorly developed supporting characters.

Christopher Lee, as always, brings a commanding presence to the role of Fu Manchu. His performance remains the highlight of the film, infusing the character with a cold, calculating menace that elevates every scene he's in. Lee's ability to convey Fu Manchu's intelligence and cruelty with subtle facial expressions and measured delivery of dialogue is truly remarkable, especially considering the sometimes clunky script he's working with.

One standout scene involves Fu Manchu's meticulous preparation of his Nayland Smith duplicate. The sequence effectively showcases the villain's attention to detail and scientific prowess, while also highlighting the film's makeup and special effects, which are quite impressive for the time. This scene encapsulates the film's potential, blending suspense, horror, and science fiction elements in a way that, unfortunately, the rest of the movie struggles to maintain.

Director Jeremy Summers seems to struggle with the material, failing to capture the exotic atmosphere and tension that marked the better entries in the series. The pacing is often uneven, with long stretches of exposition interspersed with action sequences that lack true excitement or innovation. The globe-trotting nature of the plot, which should have added to the film's scope and excitement, instead feels disjointed and poorly integrated.

The supporting cast is a mixed bag. Douglas Wilmer, returning as Nayland Smith, gives a solid if unremarkable performance, while Tsai Chin once again shines as Fu Manchu's daughter Lin Tang, providing a worthy foil to Lee's calculated villainy. However, many of the other characters feel underdeveloped, serving more as plot devices than fully realized individuals.

The film's production design and cinematography are adequate but fail to capture the lush exoticism of the earlier entries in the series. The budget constraints are often apparent, particularly in some of the more ambitious set pieces that fall flat due to unconvincing effects or lackluster execution.

Thematically, "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" attempts to explore ideas of identity and the nature of evil, particularly through the doppelganger plot. However, these potentially interesting concepts are never fully developed, lost in the shuffle of convoluted plotting and action set pieces.

It's worth noting that, like its predecessors, the film is a product of its time and contains problematic portrayals of non-Western cultures and stereotypical depictions that modern viewers will likely find offensive. While this was unfortunately common in the genre and era, it does detract from the film's appeal to contemporary audiences.

"The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" is a film that will likely appeal primarily to completists and die-hard fans of the series or Christopher Lee's work.

While it offers some entertaining moments and the always-welcome presence of Lee as the titular villain, it ultimately fails to live up to the potential of its premise or the better entries in the Fu Manchu series. The film serves as a somewhat disappointing conclusion to Lee's portrayal of the character, hinting at what might have been with a stronger script and more assured direction.

For those interested in 1960s pulp adventure cinema or the evolution of the Fu Manchu character on screen, "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" may be worth a watch. However, casual viewers or those new to the series would be better served by starting with earlier, stronger entries in the franchise.

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".

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.