Drums of Fu Manchu

Starring:Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, George Cleveland, John Dilson, John Merton, Dwight Frye, Wheaton Chambers, George Pembroke, Guy D'Ennery, Bill Yrigoyen, John Lester Johnson, Evan Thomas, Bob Woodward (II), Hector Sarno
Director: John English, William Witney
Studio: Vci Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Serial gets 4 stars, transfer gets 1 star = 2 and a half stars
None Better
The Yellow Peril In Serial Style
"Sax Rohmer's villainous character comes to Republic Serials ~ Dr. Fu Manchu"
What a classic

Drums of Fu Manchu
Starring: Henry Brandon , William Royle , Robert Kellard , Gloria Franklin , and Olaf Hytten
Director: John English , and William Witney
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Phantom - Serial
Adventures of Captain Marvel
Mandrake the Magician
Jungle Girl - Serial
Fu Manchu Tu-Fer: The Blood of Fu Manchu/The Castle of Fu Manchu

ASIN: B000087F3F
Release Date: 2003-01-28

Description

In order to gain complete control of the barbaric bond of Asia, the nefarious Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) must acquire the fabled scepter of Genghis Khan. To find the lost tomb housing the scepter, he must first locate and assemble the Cardack segment, which will disclose the location of the tomb. Opposing him is his old nemesis, Sir Nayland Smith (William Royle) and Allen Parker (Robert Kellard). The adventures range from the United States to Asia, and contain some of the most fiendish cliffhangers ever put on film. "William Witney, the greatest director of movie serials considered this to be his and Republic's best work. A gem from the golden age of movie serials: slick direction, the look of a big budget production, a diabolical villain, and lots of imaginative cliffhangers." - Hank Davis, BIG REEL Magazine. Bonus Features: Video Commentary by Scarlet Street Publisher, Richard Valley| "History of Fu Manchu" Booklet Insert by Eric Hoffman| Photo Gallery| Bios| Chapter Menu. Specs: 2-DVD9s; Dolby Digital Mono; 269 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1940; SRP - $19.99.

Customer Reviews:

Serial gets 4 stars, transfer gets 1 star = 2 and a half stars.......2006-10-17

The serial is a better than average product of the great Republic Studios. Unfortunately, the transfer is pretty bad, with just barely acceptable image and sound quality. Perhaps, as another reviewer stated, there is no longer an original negative or interpositive for this serial, and what we're seeing is the best that could be obtained. Nevertheless, it's pretty hard to watch on a technical basis and for that reason, I recommend a rental rather than a purchase, unless the price comes down to $10 or less.

None Better.......2006-01-07

One of the best of all time, if not the very best. It's certainly an all-time favorite of serial fans. Great cliffhangers, intelligent resolutions. Right up there with "Spy Smasher," my own personal favorite.

Fu Manchu, a creation of the great British mystery writer Sax Rohmer, became one of the all-time great villains in print and in the movies. He is played here by the young Henry Brandon ("Secret Agent X-9," 1937). Born in Germany, Brandon had become well known for his part as the bad guy Silas Barnaby (billed as Harry Kleinbach) in Laurel & Hardy's "Babes in Toyland." He made 105 movies, including four serials.

My only complaint is the weak ending, but they had an excuse. Republic obviously intended to produce a sequel, but World War Two intervened. The American government was anxious not to offend China by portraying the Chinese in a bad light, so they "convinced" Republic not to do another "yellow menace" portrayal, and there was never a sequel.

The Yellow Peril In Serial Style.......2005-10-18

Sax Rohmer (1883-1859) was among the most popular novelists of the early 20th Century. He was particularly well known for his creation of the character Fu Manchu--a truly diabolical Chinese scientist who, along with his equally evil daughter Fa Lo See, sought world domination through the most vicious means possible. In the process, Rohmer virtually created the idea of "the yellow peril" in the American and European mind, and his distinctly racist characterizations would color Western concepts of the far East for half a century.

Rohmer's Fu Manchu has reached the screen on several occasions, perhaps most notably in an unexpectedly sadistic 1932 THE MASK OF FU MANCHU, starring Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy. The 1940 serial was directed by Republic Studio's reliable team of John English and William Witney, and at the time it was felt to propel the genre to a new height; in hindsight, however, it seems fairly obvious that English and Witney's SPY SMASHER and THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL are really the high water mark of Republic serials. Whatever the case, the directing team does indeed give this tale considerable style and drive.

The story is very linear: Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) is aided by lethal daughter Fah-Lo-Suee (Gloria Franklin) and a host of mind-controlled henchmen in an effort to secure the scepter of Ghengis Kahn--and thereby fulfill an ancient prophecy that will cause all of Asia to rise up under his leadership and get rid of those wretched Anglo-Saxon types for once and all. Needless to say, the Anglo-Saxons, both English and American, take an extremely dim view of the whole thing and set out to thwart his evil designs.

The serial starts out extremely well, with a host of imaginative visuals bolstered by a host of equally imaginative tortures. Unfortunately, Henry Brandon's Fu Manchu proves considerably more interesting than any of the good guys who oppose him, and in consequence the whole thing looses steam long about the fifth chapter and doesn't really regain it until the final third. But Brandon's memorable performance, the often remarkable visual designs, and the impressive fight choreography does make it entertaining throughout--even if you do wind up rooting for Fu Manchu instead of Sir Dennis Naylund Smith (William Royle) and his incredibly tiresome friend Allan Parker (Robert Kellard), who are supposed to be the heroes of the piece.

The whole thing, of course, is just as racist as it can be, and the final chapter is appallingly so. But even though it may cause you to roll your eyes it remains a fun sort of thing for hardcore serial fans, who will likely enjoy it quite a bit. As for the DVD--the film has been remastered, but the picture is rather fuzzy and the sound occasionally muddy as well. The package contains a brief but entertaining and enlightening documentary (described as a commentary) by Richard Valley and a handful of cast biographies for good measure.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

"Sax Rohmer's villainous character comes to Republic Serials ~ Dr. Fu Manchu" .......2005-09-06

VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present "Drums of Fu Manchu" (1940) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters of fiendish cliffhangers mixed with hair breadth escapes ending each episode...the plot is a dangerous and exciting one as The nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world...Dr. Fu Manchu nemesis is Dr. Dennis Nayland Smith, he and his associates fight to keep the evil Fu Manchu from getting his hands on the keys that will enable him to take over the world...will Fu Manchu secure the long lost scepter of Genghis Khan with which he hopes to gain control of various Himalayan tribes which in turn will lead him to eventual world domination...can the his long time nemesis Sir Nayland Smith and his young partner Allen Parker save the day...all this and more is waiting for you to savor.

Under director's John English and William Witney with stories suggested by Sax Rohmer...an Asian mysterious screenplay by Franklin Adreon and Morgan Cox...the cast include Henry Brandon as Dr. Fu Manchu (appeared in "The Searchers" as the villainous Indian Chief "Scar"), William Royle as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith (Scotland Yard), Robert Kellard as Allan Parker (the hero), Gloria Franklin as Fah-Lo-Suee (daughter of Fu Manchu), Olaf Hytten as Dr. Flinders Petrie, Tom Chatterton as Prof. Edward Randolph, Luana Walters as Mary Randolph, John Merton (Republic henchman & all around villain) as Loki, George Cleveland as Dr. James Parker and Dwight Frye (from the "Count Dracula" and "Frankenstein" films) as Prof. Anderson...another great serial provided by Republic Pictures during their heyday of the early '40s...contains the superior Republic stuntwork and action sequences that the studio was noted for. check out Robert Kellard the action sequences...Kellard resembled Republic's ace stuntman David Sharpe, and this my friend was no coincidence...Sharpe visibly doubled Kellard in the action scenes, many are still classics in my book.

Chapter Titles
1. Fu Manchu Strikes
2. The Monster
3. Ransom in the Sky
4. The Pendulum of Doom (from Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum")
5. The House of Terror
6. Death Dials A Number
7. Vengeance of the Si Fan
8. Danger Trail
9. The Crystal of Death
10.Drums of Doom
11.The Tomb of Genghis Khan
12.Fire of Vengeance
13.The Devil's Tattoo
14.Satan's Surgeon
15.Revolt

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Video Commentary by Scarlet Street Publisher Richard Valley
Cast Bios for
WILLIAM WITNEY
HENRY BRANDON
WILLIAM ROYLE
ROBERT KELLARD
GLORIA FRANKLIN
Photo Gallery: include great stills from "Drums of Fu Manchu"

Check out other VCI Cliffhangers of: ADVENTURES OF THE FLYING CADETS (Bobby Jordan & Jennifer Holt), ADVENTURES OF RED RYDER (Don "Red" Barry), BUCK ROGERS (Buster Crabbe), DICK TRACY & G Men (Ralph Byrd), JUNGLE JIM (Grant Wihers & Raymond Hatton), KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED (Allan "Rocky" Lane), LAST FRONTIER (Lon Chaney Jr), MIRACLE RIDER (Tom Mix), THE PHANTOM (Tom Tyler)...if you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above.

Great job by VCI Entertainment and a special thanks to Ray Faioloa for supervising the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print, Eric Hoffmann (film collector & historian) for writing the liner notes and a very special thank you to Richard Valley (publisher of Scarlet Street Magazine) for his excellent and enlightening commentary...a spectacular train wreck, a giant realistic looking octopus and the swinging pendulum torture device borrowed from Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum"...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch serial from VCI...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 269 mins on 2 DVD's ~ VCI Entertainment 8296 ~ (2/25/2003)

What a classic.......2004-09-13

What a great movie.With one of the best villians of the 20th Century you can't go wrong.This movie is a pleasure to watch.The plot is remarkable.Controlling people using lobotimies and the implementation of the infernal "drum".Wow they had great ideas back then that won't be out of place today.The way they compelled you to watch the next chapter was brilliant.You know he will survive but wonder how does he escape.I tell you this movie deserved at least 3 oscars.The picture is perfect but the sound is average(when you are used to 5.1 surround then tell me again).How they got the picture like that I don't know.If you are a serial-movie fan or a classic movie collector even a film student.Buy this!!In a nutshell this movie lived up and exceeded the hype it generated and quite frankly this film is a masterpiece.One of the best movies of the 20th Century.

DVD:

DVD

Sling Blade [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: My Big Fat Greek Wedding / The In-Laws (Full Screen Edi

Dolly Dearest - Die Braut des Satans