A Máscara de Fu Manchu

...dIrected by Charles Brabin. Boris Karloff stars in the title role, a Chinese scientist, warlord, and master criminal bent on world domination. He believes that if he can retrieve the long lost mask and sword of Genghis Khan he will be able to gather an army of followers with which to conquer the "white man's world". Out to stop him is the intrepid Sir Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone). Also starring Myrna Loy as Fu Manchu's cruel daughter, Karen Morley, Charles Starrett, Jean Hersholt, David Torrence, Lawrence Grant, Ferdinand Gottschalk, and Willie Fung.

Paramount had much success with a Fu Manchu series from 1929-1931 with Warner Oland in the lead. Those films are classier, and Fu Manchu is presented as more of a sympathetic character, seeking vengeance for the death of his family. In this version, he is just generically evil, more like a comic book villain. This outing has a lot going for it, though, like nice, large sets and elaborate costumes, ludicrously amusing torture devices, and ridiculous touches such as Fu Manchu's personal bodyguard squad consisting of large bald black men in loincloths. The plot is silly, and the stereotyping is both offensive and naively hilarious (apparently Chinese people literally worship Genghis Khan). One particular bit of business that I enjoyed in this was Fu Manchu's "box o' creepy creatures", a container he opens at one point that appears to hold snakes, large lizards, tarantulas and more, all just hanging out together in this box.

The movie ran into trouble once the production code went into full effect, and heavily edited versions floated around for years, but the copy I watched was fully restored, even if some of the scenes looked to be in much poorer condition than others. This is amusing in a cartoonish, high camp way, and for fans of unusual production design.

It didn't surprise me in the least that The Mask Of Fu Manchu was produced by Cosmopolitan Pictures. Even though the title is a bit of a misnomer. It isn't about The Mask Of Fu Manchu, it's about the mask and sword of Ghenghis Khan which Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu wants to discover and appropriate for himself so he can become a kind of Far Eastern Mahdi.

Cosmopolitan Pictures was the production outfit of William Randolph Hearst and while it's main reason for existence was to produce films for Marion Davies, it did produce other films. The Hearst press, especially on the West Coast was very big in stirring up anti-Chinese and anti- Japanese feelings among the white people constantly using the phrase The Yellow Peril to describe how if they're allowed to emigrate her they'll be taking over in a few generations. The fictional Fu Manchu fit the Hearst agenda quite nicely.

In the Fu Manchu stories it's like Professor Moriarty was the main protagonist. Fu Manchu's particular Holmes is Commissioner Nayland Smith played by Lewis Stone as stout a representative of the United Kingdom and their imperial pretensions as ever went out in the noon day sun.

As I said Fu Manchu is after the warrior symbols of Ghengis Khan so he can lead the Oriental people to their rightful place. Interestingly this Oriental messiah seems to have a number of black slaves doing his bidding in the film. The British government as personified by Nayland Smith wants archaeologists Jean Hersholt, David Torrance and Lawrence Grant to find the tomb and get this so the British can display it at the British Museum in London as a symbol of their superiority. Grant is kidnapped and tortured by Karloff, but Grant's daughter Karen Morley and her boyfriend, future Durango Kid Charles Starrett takes her father's place on the expedition.

Though I think that The Mask Of Fu Manchu is every bit as racist in its attitudes as The Birth Of A Nation, like The Birth Of A Nation it has some great performances. Led of course by that master of horror, Boris Karloff. Karloff played so many different and varied types in his long career, being Chinese was no big deal for him to play. Later on Karloff kind of made it up to the Chinese people by playing the educated detective Mr. Wong who unlike Charlie Chan never spoke in fortune cookie aphorisms.

Myrna Loy is Fu Manchu's 'unworthy' daughter and this is at the height of the phase in her career where she played Oriental temptresses. She conceives a real liking for Starrett to turn him into her Occidental boy toy. She's a willing and eager accomplice in her father's dirty deeds, perhaps to show herself as worthy.

The Mask Of Fu Manchu is as racist a film as you can get, but it's also holding up quite well as entertainment. And who was ever more sinister on the screen than Boris Karloff playing anything?

The Mask of Fu Manchu easily could have served as inspiration for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Archaeologists dashing to retrieve relic to save Western Civilization. Feats of derring-do. Scenes of despicable torture and heroic bravery. What makes this movie even better is in Raiders you know Dr. Jones will win. The Nazis are mere obstacles in his path to run over. But in this movie, Boris Karloff's performance as the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu makes the Nazis seem like mere shadows of a threat compared to his evil genius. His Fu Manchu is a villain you not only fear, but respect. Myrna Loy as his daughter is wickedly good. While the sparks put off by Fu Manchu's diabolical invention are impressive special effects, they are nothing in comparison to the sparks emitted by the young, scantily clad Myrna Loy.

This was a bit different with Boris Karloff playing an Asian "bad guy." He plays "Fu Manchu," and man who sets out to get Genghis Khan's mask and sword which supposedly will give him the power to rule over millions of people.

Despite the classic film casting of white people to play Asians, I found Karloff to be "cool" looking as was his evil daughter, a young Myrna Loy. I like Karen Morely, usually, but not in here where she plays an almost-hysterical daughter of one of the good guys.

"Fu Manchu" shows some of his unique methods of torture, nothing graphic, thankfully - not like today's blood and guts.

Some of this is amateurishly-done but overall it still a legitimate amount of real horror and terror and the cast certainly is entertaining. ("Andy Hardy" star Lewis Stone also is in here along with Jean Hersholt and Charles Starret.)

Summary: a decent and almost-mystical adventure story that doesn't overstay its welcome, either, at a tidy 68 minutes. Pretty good stuff.

The Mask of Fu Manchu is not perfect. The dialogue does feel corny to me, Karen Morley overacts dreadfully that it was difficult to take her hysteria seriously and Lewis Stone makes a piece of wood more animated. However, the black and white cinematography does show crispness and atmosphere and the sets and costumes are beautiful. The score is haunting and while occasionally silly the story is fun and never felt dull. The tortures were both scary and amusing, and I got some entertainment from the scene with the crocodiles. While Charles Starrett is not the most convincing of actors he does make up for it by his sexiness. The two best performances come from Myrna Loy and especially Boris Karloff. Loy is lustful and incredibly magnetic, while Karloff seems to be having the time of his life.

All in all, The Mask of Fu Manchu is a flawed film but it is a decent and fun one. 7/10 Bethany Cox