User Reviews

Created by British author Sax Rohmer, the evil Dr. Fu Manchu appeared for the first time in 1912, in a story serialized in one of the many pulp magazines of those years. While originally a personification of the racism present during the time of its creation (the infamous "Yellow Peril"), Fu Manchu has become one of the most famous characters in science fiction, serving as model to other villainous character as one of the earliest examples of the Supervillain archetype. The fascinating evil genius (and his nemesis, Sir Denis Nayland Smith) appeared in so many successful novels that of course, film adaptations became the next step, resulting in many different versions of the stories made since the first British film serial in 1923. Many talented actors like Harry Agar Lyons, Warner Oland and Christopher Lee have played the famous criminal, but the most famous interpretation of Fu Manchu is definitely the one done by horror legend Boris Karloff in the 1932 film, "The Mask of Fu Manchu".

Based on Rohmer's story of the same name, "The Mask of Fu Manchu" is the story of the discovery of Ghengis Khan's tomb, where his legendary Mask and Sword are supposed to be hidden. British archaeologist Sir Lionel Barton (Lawrence Grant) has discovered the exact location, but he is kidnapped by Dr. Fu Manchu's (Boris Karloff) criminal gang, in order to proclaim himself Kahn's heir and lead the Asian nations to a war against the British empire. Knowing this, Sir Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone) takes his own group of archaeologists and, along with Barton's only daughter Sheila (Karen Morley) and her fiancée Terry (Charles Starrett), attempt to find Kahn's tomb before Fu Manchu, hoping to rescue Sir Lionel Barton in the process. However, Dr. Fu Manchu and his daughter Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy) will prove to be terrible enemies for the British agent and his team.

Written by the prolific writer Edgar Allan Woolf (with Irene Kuhn and John Willard as collaborators), the film is as faithful as possible to its pulp novel origins, keeping the essence of the Rohmer's series of books in both style and substance. As in the novels, the story flows at a fast pace, mixing horror and science fiction as the adventurers must face the criminal mastermind, who here is presented as a fascinating and very powerful adversary of Smith and his team. In fact, it could be said that the writers seemed more interested in the villains than in the heroes, as Fu Manchu and his daughter are easily the most developed characters. The treatment of Fah Lo See is really interesting, as the script (written in the years before the Hays Code) allows her to be a very sexual predator, and as wicked as her father.

"The Mask of Fu Manchu" was directed by Charles Brabin, a very experienced director of silents who after the introduction of sound, directed several "talkies" before retiring. Brabin's experience in Silent films may be the reason behind the very visual flare of the movie, as he gives an amazing use to Tony Gaudio's cinematography to create one of the most stunningly looking pieces of science fiction of the 30s, truly capturing the "feeling" of the pulp novels where the story had its origins. As the writers, Brabin seems to fall in love with his villains, and injects them the haunting mix of sadistic eroticism that previous incarnations of Fu Manchu lacked. Interestingly, this movie, Brabin's 8th film with sound, was also the first "talkie" directed by Charles Vidor, who here received his first chance as an assistant in a big studio movie.

As written above, it's the villains what make "The Mask of Fu Manchu" special, and fortunately, the cast portraying them was the most perfect one for the job. Myrna Loy is simply gorgeous as Fah Lo See, and while her role doesn't have too much screen time, she makes every scene memorable as Manchu's daughter. Legendary horror icon Boris Karloff makes wonders in the role of Fu Manchu, as he takes the character of the evil genius to higher levels of monstrosity. While the make-up (by Cecil Holland) is not as effective as the ones by Jack Pierce at Universal, Karloff manages to be a very convincing Fu Manchu in probably the best representation of the character. As Fu Machu's nemesis, Lewis Stone shows the necessary dignity and wit of the British gentleman he is portraying, but sadly his screen time is very limited and instead we get more of the mediocre performances by Karen Morley and Charles Starrett, who look very weak as the romantic couple.

It seems like time hasn't been nice to this film when compared to other films inspired by pulp novels, and not only because of it's constant racism towards the Asians (like with the novels, the "Yellow Peril" stereotype is quite notorious), but mainly because it uses devises so typical of adventure films today, that it make the film look dated and clichéd; however, taking into account the times when this movie was made, one can see it as the possible source of those clichés. On a different subject matter, the movie indeed suffers from the bad performances of those put on the main spotlight, as like many directors that started in silent films, Brabin struggles with the most dialog-based scenes. Still, Karloff, Loy and Stone shine despite Brabin's own problems and the lack of talent of the two lead actors.

True, "The Mask of Fu Manchu" looks campy and terribly dated by today standards, but it certainly has many characteristics that make it worthy of the title of "classic". It's horror elements are few, but it's an enormously influential film for the action and adventure genres (an influence that can be traced even to the "Indiana Jones" series). While not exactly a perfect movie, "The Mask of Fu Manchu" delivers a nice pack of thrills and fun, and one of Karloff's finest performances. 7/10

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?

...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.

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.

No self-respecting fan of the great Boris Karloff should miss his juicy performance in this raunchy and very unconventional film. As the evil and maniacal Asian mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu, Karloff plans to kill off "the white race" as he hunts down the highly desirable mask and sword of Genghis Khan, which winds up in the possession of a group of British treasure seekers. Boris seems to really relish his part as he tortures his captives with a grinning sadistic glee. Myrna Loy plays his self-described "ugly and insignificant daughter", who harbors a sado-masochistic appetite and nymphomania.

The sets are glorious, some sequences are disturbing for the time they were made, and there is newly restored controversial dialogue in the recent editions of the film, with "politically incorrect" slang being used on both sides of the line. There is sometimes a criticism toward the movie for its usage of this type of speech, but the time in which the feature was produced should be historically considered, as well as fairly noting that no race is spared during the length of the film. While Fu Manchu is referred to as a "yellow devil" by his victims, for instance, he is also denouncing Christianity and roaring with contempt to his eastern followers with his authoritative command for them to "kill the white men and take their women!"

There are also some unintentional laughs to be found on occasion, and many of them come courtesy of Karen Morley as "Shelia", who is just atrocious with her comedic overacting. Running a scant 68 minutes, this is a wild and wacky good time for fans of old movies, serials, and Boris Karloff in particular. Enjoy! *** out of ****

Once you get past a knighted member of the British Secret Service (Lewis Stone) doesn't have a British accent, but Fu Manchu does. Another knighted Brit (Lawrence Grant) does have a British accent but his daughter (Karen Morely) does not. Somehow, Fu Manchu has people hiding in sarcophagi dressed as mummies in the British Museum, plus one guy who appears to be wearing a beret inside a sarcophagus, but disappears. Once you overlook all this, and a few other things, such as the British finding Genghis Khan's tomb in about the same amount of time that Sir Lionel Barton is kept under a constantly ringing bell, this is actually pretty entertaining.

You have Karloff as Fu Manchu who has all these elaborate methods of torture and killing people, and like in the Bond films, people tend to escape before dying. At one point, Karloff looks a bit like Carmen Miranda at the Carnival in Rio. Myrna Loy, as others have commented, seems to be a sadistic nymphomaniac, which for some people, is quite possibly the perfect mate.

Overlook all of the things that don't make a lot of sense and just enjoy!

Wow, given all the good reviews, I must have seen a different movie – I thought this a contender for "Worse Movie Ever That I Actually Watched All the Way Through" award! I love B movies even with highly implausible or silly plots but this one was tough to get through. Given the cast of Karloff, Stone, Hersholt, and Loy, I expected to like it, even though I don't care much for "evil mastermind" type movies. I thought Karloff and Loy were good and Karloff was suitably evil and Loy oh so good and campy in her lustfulness for the Charles Starett character (well, he was awfully good looking). The most irritating aspect of the movie was the daughter of the captured archaeologist (played by Karen Morley). She was hysterical all the time and could easily be a finalist for the "Dumbest Woman on the Planet" prize. Given the many well written and generally positive reviews of this movie, perhaps I should give this movie a second look - but probably won't.

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

Myrna Loy, best known as Nora Charles in the "Thin Man" series, gives Boris Karloff a run for his money in "The Mask of Fu Manchu." Sax Rohmer's well educated (degrees in philosophy, medicine, and, hmm...music?... law?) master of evil hasn't had too many high class, well-crafted films devoted to his exploits, and this M-G-M effort has more class than craft, but Miss Loy's appearance as Manchu's daughter enlivens the otherwise dreary 67 minutes. Karloff, fresh from his star making role in "Frankenstein," is tame in comparison.

THE MASK OF FU MANCHU has recently had several minutes of missing material restored to it, footage that has not been seen in decades. This longer cut of the film is currently enjoying a limited theatrical release, and it would be nice to see that followed by a DVD release. Probably one of the best of the films to be based on author Sax Rohmer's stories (along with FACE OF FU MANCHU and DRUMS OF FU MANCHU), it would be nice to see a potential DVD release possibly include commentary by Boris Karloff's daughter, Sara, or a look at the making of the film. Karloff commented in interviews that MASK was a troubled production, with constant changes to the script throughout the filming. In spite of that, the final film manages to capture the feel of the pulp tales that inspired it.

Amazing Sets and Bizarre Costumes and Props propel this undeniably Visual smörgåsbord of a Film into a Class all its own.

The three times Doctor is Diabolical, Demented and uses unspeakable means of Menacing rarely seen on the Screen. There are incredible incidents of Stylized Sadism, a Creepy otherworldly Atmosphere of Horror and Mad Scientists Gizmo's, hypos, and mind altering Drugs all present in a most Grotesque nature.

A Female tortuous Nymph seductively saying "Whip him harder...whip him faster!" and the obligatory Yellow Hordes yelling "Kill the white man and take his women!"...WOW.

You won't find any of that in the Post Hays Code Hollywood.

This isn't exactly the deepest or most politically correct film, but it sure is silly old-fashioned fun. This is a prime example of a Saturday morning B-type movie, though its production values are a little better than average, since it's made by a larger studio.

The first thing you will probably notice when you see the movie is that many of the Chinese in this movie, and ALL of the main actors, are Caucasians--so, those who have strong "politically correct" tendencies, you MIGHT want to find a different picture to watch. I agree that it's sad to see people such as Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy playing Chinese people in this film, but unfortunately, it WAS the norm for this era. Apart from Keye Luke playing "#1 son" in CHARLIE CHAN pictures, Chinese people rarely played lead actors. Such ridiculous celebrities as Katherine Hepburn(!!!), Walter Huston, Sidney Toler, Louise Ranier and Paul Muni played Chinese people--and did so VERY unconvincingly.

Now, apart from all this, the movie is pretty good, though not great. Despite having Boris Karloff, this really isn't a horror film and is a pretty much average performance from him. However, this still IS a good thing as his movies almost always are entertaining fun and this film is no exception.

Sax Rohmer's cruel criminal mastermind Fu Manchu is the personification of the West's fear of oriental races rising up against the white man in their quest for world domination: the 'yellow peril' incarnate in one man. A Fu Manchu movie made in the early '30s, when xenophobia against the Chinese was still rife, was never going to be anything but offensive and demeaning to Asians, especially with the titular character played by Boris Karloff in 'yellow face'. And let's not go into the fact that Fu Manchu's slaves are all bald black men in loin-cloths...

Karloff's Fu Manchu is certainly a despicable fellow, but I was surprised at how much opportunity this criminal genius allowed for his enemies to escape his fiendish death-traps. Like Austin Powers vs sharks with laser beams on their heads, the heroes' means of execution are ridiculously convoluted, giving the victims plenty of time to escape or be rescued. I understand that drawing out the seemingly inevitable is intended to be more cruel than simply chopping off their heads, but it would definitely allow less margin for error.

This time around, the evil Chinaman is trying to get his hands on the legendary scimitar and death mask of Genghis Khan, so that he can declare himself Genghis come to life and lead his followers to victory. Scotland Yard's finest, Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone), and a team of archaeologists try to find Khan's tomb before Fu Manchu, in a plot that is strikingly similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sadly, The Mask of Fu Manchu isn't quite as action-packed as Raiders - in fact, it's quite dreary and tedious for much of the time - but the overall pulpy vibe and some wonderful set design just about make it worthwhile (the villain's mad scientist laboratory and a huge spiral staircase are very impressive).

The film wraps things up in an ending that also bears remarkable similarity to the first Indiana Jones movie: the good guys blast Fu Manchu's army with an electricity ray, the streams of deadly energy passing between men just like God's rays from the Ark that zap those nasty Nazis.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb. Not as bad as the later Christopher Lee Fu Manchu films, but still not great.

Englishmen race to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan. They have to get there fast, as the evil genius Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) is also searching, and if he gets the mysteriously powerful relics, he and his diabolical daughter (Myrna Loy) will enslave the world!

Interestingly, this film parallels "The Mummy" (another Karloff film from rival Universal that came out the same year) with its reference to the curse of King Tut's tomb. An intentional jab?

Most reviews focus on the inherent racism of talking about "Eastern races", and using a villain who needed so much makeup to look Asian that he no longer even looked human. These are fair criticisms.

But although it is easy today to see the racism in the film, what is more interesting is how it was pointed out at the time. The Chinese embassy was specifically upset, and did not appreciate Fu Manchu's orders to "Kill the white man and take his women!"

If we ignore the racial factor (and it may be hard), the film is actually quite good, with a dastardly villain who schemes and tortures. Replace Fu manchi with, say, a Nazi, and this could be looked back on as a brilliant horror mystery.

"The Mask of Fu Manchu" is a badly dated film with an over the top performance by Boris Karloff. Myrna Loy as Fah Lo See, Fu Manchu's daughter, manages to outdo Karloff, by turning in an ever worse performance by just standing around and not doing anything at all. Years later, she must have, or should have been, embarrassed by being in this picture. In 1972 the film's re-release was met with protest from the Japanese American Citizens League, which stated that "the movie was offensive and demeaning to Asian-Americans".

Other reviewers have written that "The Mask Of Fu Manchu is every bit as racist in its attitudes as The Birth Of A Nation" or that "it's racist." Others have been more coy by writing "those who have strong "politically correct" tendencies, you MIGHT want to find a different picture to watch," which is code for it is racist, but that is OK with me.

Many, many times a movie can be worthwhile when it does no more than create and display a strange world. Almost always that's the case where the world is new and/or synthesized from previous abstract sources.

"Metropolis" of five years earlier is often celebrated as a film. Its only value is in the art design, but that's miraculous in a way. Unfortunately the story is as thuggishly stupid as the notions it criticizes. And that mars a movie for me.

This one is even more clever in the visual world it creates. And yes the story is dumb, and also racist. But it is not hypocritical: all the people involved are dishonorable, worthy of a Tod Browning script.

The visual notions are astonishingly varied. Nominally this is a mystical Chinese (Northern Chinese, more deeply mystical) environment added to a 30's German-influenced visual depiction of science. There are lots of "electrical" visuals, zaps and blinkers. Abstractions of reality dominate: staircases that stand alone: monumental pedestals and other features in internal spaces; statues and icons that become characters from props.

The styles aren't Chinese at all but borrowed from any place or era with an association with the mystical.

Deep, deep shadows. Many ceremonial movements in everyday tasks (as well as ceremonies). Vast ambitions, though this was commonplace by then. Direct precode references to sex and the implication that somehow rape on a national scale had something to do with mystical/ scientific power.

(Remember, this is BEFORE Hitler's ascendancy.)

The story and most characters are irrelevant and that underscores the effect of the tone.

Watch Indiana Jones if you must, if you need movement. Watch this if you want to be saturated with cinematic color.

Ted's Evaluation -- 4 of 3: Every cineliterate person should experience this.

'The Mask of Fu Manchu' is a truly ridiculous film, but not without some merit. The audience it once played for in 1932 is clearly far from the audience that is moviegoers today. This is most evident in the comedy element, which was probably not intended to play as overtly as the director intended. I found myself laughing consistently at the over-the-top portrayal of Fu Manchu and his Eastern counterparts, which really plays more like modern day sketch comedy than a movie storyline. The British, as well, were largely a laughable bunch--everything from their self-important wardrobe to their shameless racism. Of course it's tough to say how much of this was intended by the filmmakers as a sort of cultural satire.

Despite these comedic inconsistencies, 'The Mask of Fu Manchu' manages to hold our attention with a cliché but nevertheless historically effective big-Hollywood plot line. It has everything we've grown accustomed to in a blockbuster: an evil villain, a damsel in distress, a bumbling Brit or two. All we need is a guy in a bat costume, a few more extended portions of pointless but artsy dialogue, Will Ferrell as Fu Manchu, and some improved cinematography, and we'd have a genuine modern-day hit on our hands.

While not generally associated with the great horror films of the early 1930's, MGM certainly made some noteworthy contributions to the genre during that period, most notably Tod Browning's great trio of films: "Freaks," "The Devil Doll," and "Mark of the Vampire." And then there is the fascinating "The Mask of Fu Manchu," directed by the underrated Charles Brabin and starring the man who, by 1932, had established himself as Hollywood's master of the macabre, the great Boris Karloff.

Forget the convoluted plot, involving a lot of twists and turns trying to receive the mask and sword of Genghis Kahn. The script, as with Sax Rohmer's original novel, hews closely to the western view of Asians during the period as a sub-human "race" bent on bringing death and destruction to the good, pure, non-racist (Ha!) Caucasian peoples of the world. Concentrate, instead, on Tony Gaudio's fluid camera-work, Cedric Gibbons' suitably elaborate production designs, and Adrian's equally elaborate costumes.

Focus especially, though, on the performances, which are the heart of this film. Rarely did Karloff convey more sheer, unadulterated menace than here as Fu Manchu. From the first time we see him, his face distorted behind a magnifying glass, to the climax as he prepares to lead his "yellow hordes" on an orgy of death and destruction, he dominates every scene and commands your attention all the way, like the consummate actor he was. Lewis Stone comports himself with the innate dignity he brought to every role as his adversary, Inspector Neyland Smith. Likewise Jean Hersholt as the archaeologist Von Berg. Future Durango Kid Charles Starrett and 1930s ingénue Karen Morley are appropriately bland and attractive as the young lovers. Finally, there is the young Myrna Loy, just on the cusp of major stardom, playing the last of her many early faux-Asian vamp roles as Fu's sadistic daughter. To see her going almost orgasmic at the sight of Starrett being tortured is to witness pre-code high camp at its best.

In short, see "Mask of Fu Manchu" for what it is: A true camp-fest of large proportions and solid performances, particularly by Karloff and Loy.

The sets and 'Oriental' costumes are very good, but are a real gumbo of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Hollywood Modern and whatever. Of course, since the evil Doctor Fu Manchu is planning to name himself the new Genghis Khan and unite the Orient to kill off all Westerners it seems appropriate.

Much of the dialog and narration is laughable today and some of the acting is over the top. The is interesting in many places if you will suspend disbelief. Boris Karloff (Dr. Fu Manchu) and Myrna Loy (his daughter Fah Lo See) both do very well.