The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966)

Fu Manchu's up to his old tricks, 22 March 2008

Fu Manchu's up to his old tricks – he's trying to take over the world. This time he's kidnapped the daughters of several esteemed scientists to use as blackmail so their fathers will help him with his plans. He's constructing something akin to a laser that can destroy entire cities. As usual, Nayland Smith is hot on his trail.

I believe I've seen all of the Christopher Lee Fu Manchu movies and this one, The Brides of Fu Manchu, is to me the best. What sets this Fu Manchu movie apart from the others, especially those made later on, is the lively direction, the competent editing, and a much more coherent story. I'm one of those who will often defend Jess Franco till I'm blue in the face, but I can't do that with his Fu Manchu movies. Compared to The Brides of Fu Manchu, Uncle Jess' Fu Manchu movies are almost unwatchable. If you don't believe me just take a look at The Castle of Fu Manchu. It's God awful! Getting back to this movie, another plus for The Brides of Fu Manchu is the seemingly always enjoyable Christopher Lee. Lee is solid and certainly had a knack for playing the baddie as good as anyone. He imbibes Fu Manchu with a real sense of evil. You get the feeling that he's a man capable of doing anything to anybody at anytime. The rest of the cast is good, but nothing to write home about. Although not terribly memorable, it was nice to see Carole Gray in another film.

For someone new to the series, The Brides of Fu Manchu would seem to make a good place to start. It's not perfect, but it is entertaining. For what it's worth, I'll give it a 7/10.

7/10