Fu Manchu
Encyclopedia
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character
introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer
during the first half of the 20th century. The character was also featured extensively in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 90 years, and has become an archetype
of the evil criminal genius while lending the name to the Fu Manchu moustache
.
, Thuggee
, and members of other secret societies as his agents armed with knives, or using "pythons and cobra
s... fungi
and my tiny allies, the bacilli
... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons.
In the 1933 novel, The Bride of Fu Manchu, Fu Manchu claims to hold doctorates from four Western universities. In the 1959 novel, Emperor Fu Manchu, he reveals he attended Heidelberg, the Sorbonne, and Edinburgh. In the early books, Dr. Petrie, believed that Fu Manchu was around 70 years old in 1911 at the time of their first encounter. This would have placed Fu Manchu in the West studying for his first doctorate in the 1870s.
According to Cay Van Ash
, Rohmer's biographer and former assistant who became the first author to continue the series after Rohmer's death, "Fu Manchu" was a title of honour, which meant "the Warlike Manchu." Van Ash speculates that Fu Manchu had been a member of the Imperial family who backed the losing side in the Boxer Rebellion
. In the earliest books, Fu Manchu is an agent of the secret society, the Si-Fan and acts as the mastermind behind a wave of assassinations targeting Western imperialists. In later books, he vies for control of the Si-Fan which is more concerned with routing Fascist dictators and halting the spread of Communism. The Si-Fan is largely funded through criminal activities, particularly the drug trade and white slavery. Dr. Fu Manchu has extended his already considerable lifespan by use of the elixir vitae, a formula he spent decades trying to perfect.
and Watson tradition, with Dr. Petrie narrating the stories while Nayland Smith carries the fight, combating Fu Manchu more by dogged determination than intellectual brilliance (except in extremis). Nayland Smith and Fu Manchu share a grudging respect for one another, as each believes a man must keep his word even to an enemy.
In the first three books, Nayland Smith is a colonial police commissioner in Burma granted a roving commission
which allows him to exercise authority over any group that can help him in his mission. He resembles Sherlock Holmes
in physical description and acerbic manner, but not in deductive genius. He has been criticized as being a racist and jingoistic character, especially in the early entries in the series, and gives voice to anti-Asian
sentiments. When Rohmer revived the series in the early 1930s, Smith (who has been knighted) is Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard
. He later resigns this post and accepts a position with British Intelligence. Several books have him placed on special assignment with the FBI.
Over the years, Smith has been played by many actors, all of them middle-aged. This is despite the original character's age ranging from a young man in the early books in the 1910s to an old man in the books from the late 1950s:
later created a son for Dr. Petrie and Kara, but this is not considered canonical.
played Ling Moy in 1931's Daughter of the Dragon
. Myrna Loy
was the similarly named Fah lo See in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu
. Gloria Franklin was Fah lo Suee in 1940's Drums of Fu Manchu
. Laurette Luez
played Karamaneh in 1956's The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, but the character owed more to Fah lo Suee than Rohmer's depiction of Karamaneh. Tsai Chin
was Fu Manchu's daughter, Lin Tang in the five Christopher Lee
films of the 1960s.
(who had also serialized the novel in his Cosmopolitan
magazine) to cease making further films based on the property.
Following the 1940 release of Republic Pictures' serial adaptation of Drums of Fu Manchu
, the U.S. State Department requested the studio make no further films with the character as China was an ally against Japan. Likewise Rohmer's publisher, Doubleday, refused to publish further additions to the bestselling series for the duration of the Second World War once the United States entered the conflict. BBC Radio and Broadway investors subsequently rejected Rohmer's proposals for an original Fu Manchu radio serial and stage show during the 1940s.
A planned 1972 U.S. network television screening of the 1966 Warner Bros. film The Brides of Fu Manchu
was cancelled due to protests from an Asian anti-defamation group.
Rohmer himself was quoted in the biography his wife co-authored Master of Villainy to respond to charges that Fu Manchu had demonized all Chinese people by stating that
It was Rohmer's contention that he based Fu Manchu and other "Yellow Peril" mysteries on real Chinese crime figures he knew during his brief stint as a newspaper reporter covering Limehouse activities.
often associated with the Yellow Peril
. Fu Manchu has inspired numerous other characters, and is the model for most villains in later "Yellow Peril" thrillers. Examples include Pao Tcheou
, Ming the Merciless
from Flash Gordon
, Dr, Goo-Fee from Fearless Fly,Li Chang Yen from The Big Four
, James Bond
adversary Dr. No, The Celestial Toymaker
from the Doctor Who
story of the same name, Dr. Benton Quest's archenemy Dr. Zin from the Jonny Quest
television series, Dr. Yen-Lo from The Manchurian Candidate
, Lo-Pan from Big Trouble in Little China
, Marvel Comics foes the Mandarin
and the Yellow Claw
, DC Comics' Rā's al Ghūl
, Wo Fat
from the CBS TV series Hawaii Five-O
, and Ancient Wu from the video game True Crime: Streets of LA
. Fu Manchu and his daughter are the inspiration for the character Hark and his daughter Anna Hark in the comic book series Planetary
.
He was also parodied by Kenneth Williams
in the radio show Round the Horne
as the Oriental criminal mastermind Dr Chou En Ginsberg MA (failed), accompanied by his common-as-muck concubine Lotus Blossom, played by a cockney Hugh Paddick
. Appearing in ten minute sketches within the show he was the villain for Kenneth Horne
's masterspy in adventures such as "The Man with the Golden Thunderball", which also spoofed James Bond
.
While not of Chinese descent, "Egyptian" arch-villain "Kathulos
" (then revealed to be a survived Atlantean
) of Robert E. Howard
's Skull-Face novella is inspired by Fu Manchu. "Comrade Li" in Peter George's Commander-1
(1965) is essentially the same type of villain—despite his name having only a thin veneer of Communism
or Marxism
, being rather a suave philosopher steeped in ancient Chinese learning whose cold-blooded machinations bring about a nuclear holocaust
in which nearly all humanity perishes (including China, which he sought to make great) and who eventually meets a suitable gruesome and ignominious end.
A character with the name "Fred Fu Manchu" appeared as a famous Chinese bamboo saxophonist as part of The Goon Show
, a 1950's British radio comedy programme. He appeared in his very own episode, "The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu" in 1955 (announced as "Fred Fu-Manchu and his Bamboo Saxophone"), as well as making minor appearances in other episodes (including "China Story", "The Siege of Fort Night" and "The Lost Emperor"(as "Doctor Fred Fu Manchu: oriental tattooist")). The character was invented and performed by Spike Milligan
, who used the character to mock British xenophobia and self-satisfaction, the traits summoning the original Fu Manchu into existence, and not as a slur against Asians.
Fu Manchu is also one of the earliest known examples of an evil scientist or archenemy
, with Professor Moriarty
, Doctor Jack Quartz (from Nick Carter), Zenith the Albino (from Sexton Blake
), and some others being among the few other precedents. The style of facial hair associated with him in film adaptations has become known as the Fu Manchu moustache
, although Rohmer's writings described the character as wearing no such adornment.
Fu Manchu also made appearances in the following non-Fu Manchu books:
In 1929 Fu Manchu made his American film debut in Paramount's early talkie, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
starring Warner Oland
, best known for his portrayal of Charlie Chan
. Oland repeated the role in 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon
as well as in the short, Murder Will Out as part of the omnibus film, Paramount on Parade
where the Devil Doctor confronts both Philo Vance
and Sherlock Holmes
.
The most infamous incarnation of the character was MGM's The Mask of Fu Manchu
(1932) starring Boris Karloff
and Myrna Loy
. The film's tone has long been considered racist and offensive, but that only added to its cult status alongside its campy humour and Grand Guignol
sets and torture sequences. The film was suppressed for many years, but has since received critical re-evaluation and been released on DVD uncut.
Fu Manchu returned to the serial format in 1940 in Republic Pictures' Drums of Fu Manchu
, a 15-episode serial considered to be one of the best the studio ever made. It was later edited and released as a feature film in 1943.
Other than an obscure, unauthorized 1946 Mexican film El Otro Fu Manchu, the Devil Doctor was absent from the big screen for 25 years, until producer Harry Alan Towers
began a series starring Christopher Lee
in 1965. Towers and Lee would make five Fu Manchu film through the end of the decade: The Face of Fu Manchu
(1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu
(1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu
(1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu
(1968), and finally The Castle of Fu Manchu
(1969).
An unrelated character of a crime-solving magician called Fu Manchu, portrayed by actor David T. Bramberg appeared as the main character on 3 Mexican films of the Golden Age, El Museo del Crimen, Asesinato en los Estudios and La Mujer sin Cabeza
, all detectivesque plots around murders.
The character's last authorized film appearance was in the 1980 Peter Sellers
spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
with Sellers featured in a double role as both Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith. The film bore little resemblance to any prior film or the original books. In the film, Fu Manchu claims he was known as "Fred" at public school, a reference to the character of "Fred Fu Manchu" from The Goon Show
which had co-starred Sellers.
Jess Franco, who had directed The Blood of Fu Manchu
and The Castle of Fu Manchu
, also directed The Girl From Rio
the second of three Harry Alan Towers
films based on Rohmer's female Fu Manchu character, Sumuru
. He later directed an unauthorized 1986 Spanish film featuring Fu Manchu's daughter, Esclavas del Crimen.
Nicolas Cage
made a camp cameo appearance as Fu Manchu in Rob Zombie
's faux
trailer
Werewolf Women of the SS, which is part of the 2007 film Grindhouse.
There have been several unsuccessful plans to revive the character for the big screen since the early 1970s. The most recent project was announced by Distant Horizons at Cannes in 2007.
and Cedric Hardwicke
.
In 1956, the television arm of Republic Pictures
produced a 13-episode syndicated series, The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu starring Glen Gordon as Dr. Fu Manchu, Lester Matthews
as Sir Denis Nayland Smith, and Clark Howat as Dr. John Petrie. The title sequence depicted Smith and Fu Manchu in a game of chess as the announcer stated that "the Devil is said to play for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, Evil Incarnate." At the conclusion of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Petrie had foiled Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, he would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled. It was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon
as well as William Witney
. Unlike the Holmes/Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement officer and Petrie as a staff member for the Surgeon General
.
In 1990, TeleMundo
broadcast an affectionate spoof, The Daughter of Fu Manchu featuring Paul Naschy
as the Devil Doctor and starring the Hispanic comedy troupe, The Yellow Squad.
. This was a radio programme designed to promote Collier's
magazine and presented weekly dramatizations of the current issues stories and serials. Fu was voiced by Arthur Hughes. A self titled show on CBS followed in 1932-33. John C. Daly, and later Harold Huber
, played Fu.
Additionally, there were "pirate" broadcast from the Continent into Britain, from Radio Luxembourg and Radio Lyons in 1936 through 1937. Frank Cochrane voiced Fu Manchu. The BBC produced a competing series, The Peculiar Case of the Poppy Club starting in 1939. That same year The Shadow of Fu Manchu
aired in the United States as a thrice weekly serial dramatizing the first nine novels.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
during the first half of the 20th century. The character was also featured extensively in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 90 years, and has become an archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of the evil criminal genius while lending the name to the Fu Manchu moustache
Fu Manchu moustache
A Fu Manchu moustache is a full, straight moustache that grows downward past the lips and on either side of the chin; and often, the tapered, pointed ends of the moustache hang past the jawline...
.
Fu Manchu
A master criminal, Fu Manchu's murderous plots are marked by the extensive use of arcane methods; he disdains guns or explosives, preferring dacoitsDacoity
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in India. The spelling is the anglicized version of the Hindi word and as a colloquial Anglo-Indian word with this meaning, also appears in the Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases Banditry is criminal activity involving robbery by groups of...
, Thuggee
Thuggee
Thuggee is the term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in South Asia and particularly in India.They are sometimes called Phansigar i.e...
, and members of other secret societies as his agents armed with knives, or using "pythons and cobra
King Cobra
The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m . This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia...
s... fungi
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
and my tiny allies, the bacilli
Bacillus
Bacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria and a member of the division Firmicutes. Bacillus species can be obligate aerobes or facultative anaerobes, and test positive for the enzyme catalase. Ubiquitous in nature, Bacillus includes both free-living and pathogenic species...
... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons.
In the 1933 novel, The Bride of Fu Manchu, Fu Manchu claims to hold doctorates from four Western universities. In the 1959 novel, Emperor Fu Manchu, he reveals he attended Heidelberg, the Sorbonne, and Edinburgh. In the early books, Dr. Petrie, believed that Fu Manchu was around 70 years old in 1911 at the time of their first encounter. This would have placed Fu Manchu in the West studying for his first doctorate in the 1870s.
According to Cay Van Ash
Cay Van Ash
Cay Van Ash was a Professor of English Literature at Waseda University in Japan and a writer....
, Rohmer's biographer and former assistant who became the first author to continue the series after Rohmer's death, "Fu Manchu" was a title of honour, which meant "the Warlike Manchu." Van Ash speculates that Fu Manchu had been a member of the Imperial family who backed the losing side in the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
. In the earliest books, Fu Manchu is an agent of the secret society, the Si-Fan and acts as the mastermind behind a wave of assassinations targeting Western imperialists. In later books, he vies for control of the Si-Fan which is more concerned with routing Fascist dictators and halting the spread of Communism. The Si-Fan is largely funded through criminal activities, particularly the drug trade and white slavery. Dr. Fu Manchu has extended his already considerable lifespan by use of the elixir vitae, a formula he spent decades trying to perfect.
Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie
Opposing Fu Manchu in the early stories are Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie. They are in the HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and Watson tradition, with Dr. Petrie narrating the stories while Nayland Smith carries the fight, combating Fu Manchu more by dogged determination than intellectual brilliance (except in extremis). Nayland Smith and Fu Manchu share a grudging respect for one another, as each believes a man must keep his word even to an enemy.
In the first three books, Nayland Smith is a colonial police commissioner in Burma granted a roving commission
Roving commission
A roving commission details the duties of a commissioned officer or other official whose responsibilities are neither geographically nor functionally limited....
which allows him to exercise authority over any group that can help him in his mission. He resembles Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
in physical description and acerbic manner, but not in deductive genius. He has been criticized as being a racist and jingoistic character, especially in the early entries in the series, and gives voice to anti-Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
sentiments. When Rohmer revived the series in the early 1930s, Smith (who has been knighted) is Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
. He later resigns this post and accepts a position with British Intelligence. Several books have him placed on special assignment with the FBI.
Over the years, Smith has been played by many actors, all of them middle-aged. This is despite the original character's age ranging from a young man in the early books in the 1910s to an old man in the books from the late 1950s:
- O.P. HeggieO.P. HeggieO.P. Heggie was an Australian film and theatre actor working in the United States.-Theatre:Before becoming a film actor, he appeared in numerous Broadway-theatre productions in New York City, New York.-Film:...
(52-53) in The Mysterious Dr. Fu ManchuThe Mysterious Dr. Fu ManchuThe Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1929 film starring Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu. It was the first Fu Manchu film of the talkie era. It was very loosely based on the novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer.-Synopsis:...
(1929) and The Return of Dr. Fu ManchuThe Return of Dr. Fu ManchuThe Return of Dr. Fu Manchu is the second of three films starring Warner Oland as the fiendish Fu Manchu, who returns from apparent death in the previous movie to seek revenge on those he holds responsible for the death of his wife and child. It was loosely adapted from the novel of the same name...
(1930) - Lewis StoneLewis StoneLewis Shepard Stone was an American actor.Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, son of Bertrand Stone and Philena Heald Ball. Stone's hair grew gray by the time he was twenty. He fought in the Spanish-American War, then returned to a career as a writer. He soon began acting...
(53) in The Mask of Fu ManchuThe Mask of Fu ManchuThe Mask of Fu Manchu is a Pre-Code adventure film released in 1932, featuring Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his daughter. The movie revolves around Fu Manchu's quest for the sword and mask of Genghis Khan. Lewis Stone plays his nemesis...
(1932) - William Royle (53) in Drums of Fu ManchuDrums of Fu ManchuDrums of Fu Manchu is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial very loosely based on the novel by Sax Rohmer, starring Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard...
(1940) - Lester MatthewsLester MatthewsLester Matthews was an English actor born in Nottingham, England, UK. In his career, he made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was on occasion erroneously credited as Lester Mathews and especially in later years was sometimes known as Les Matthews. He died on the 6 June 1975...
(56) in The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu (1956) - Nigel GreenNigel GreenNigel Green was a South African-born English character actor. Because of his strapping build and commanding demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic sixties films as Jason and the Argonauts, Zulu, Tobruk and The Ipcress File.-Early life and...
(41) in The Face of Fu ManchuThe Face of Fu ManchuThe Face of Fu Manchu is a 1965 British/German Constantin Film co-production thriller based on the character of Fu Manchu, the Chinese villain created by Sax Rohmer...
(1965) - Douglas WilmerDouglas Wilmer-Early life:Wilmer was born in London and educated at King's School, Canterbury and Stonyhurst College. He trained at RADA but was called up to the Army in World War II. Posted to an antitank battery in the Royal West African Frontier Force, he was invalided out after he acquired tuberculosis. He...
(46-47) in The Brides of Fu ManchuThe Brides of Fu ManchuThe Brides of Fu Manchu is a 1966 British/German Constantin Film co-production adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the second film in a series, and was preceded by The Face of Fu Manchu. The Vengeance of Fu Manchu followed in 1967, The...
(1966) and The Vengeance of Fu ManchuThe Vengeance of Fu ManchuThe Vengeance of Fu Manchu is a 1967 British film directed by Jeremy Summers starring Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer and Tsai Chin. It was the third British/German Constantin Film co-production of the Fu Manchu series and the first to be filmed in Hong Kong.-Plot:In his remote hideaway in the...
(1967) - Richard GreeneRichard GreeneRichard Marius Joseph Greene was a noted English film and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.It has been...
(50-51) in The Blood of Fu ManchuThe Blood of Fu ManchuThe Blood of Fu Manchu, also known as Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death, Kiss and Kill and Against All Odds, is a 1968 British adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the fourth film in a series, and was preceded by The Vengeance of Fu...
(1968) and The Castle of Fu ManchuThe Castle of Fu ManchuThe Castle of Fu Manchu also known by its German title Die Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Man Chu, is the fifth and final Fu Manchu film with Christopher Lee portraying the title character. The spy/crime film was filmed on location in Spain and Istanbul and originally released in West Germany in 1969...
(1969) - Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
(54) in The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu ManchuThe Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu ManchuThe Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1980 comedy film, notable as the final film of Peter Sellers, David Tomlinson and John Le Mesurier. Pre-production began with Richard Quine as director. By the time the film entered production, Piers Haggard had replaced him. Peter Sellers handled the...
(1980)
Kâramanèh
Prominent among Fu Manchu's agents was the "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh. Her real name is unknown. She was sold to the Si-Fan by Egyptian slave traders while still a child. Kara falls in love with the narrator of the first three books in the series, Dr. Petrie. She rescues Petrie and Nayland Smith many times. Eventually the couple are united and she wins her freedom. They marry and have a daughter, Fleurette, who figures in later novels. Author Lin CarterLin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
later created a son for Dr. Petrie and Kara, but this is not considered canonical.
Fah lo Suee
Fu Manchu's daughter, Fah lo Suee, is a devious mastermind in her own right, frequently plotting to usurp her father's position in the Si-Fan and aiding his enemies within and outside of the organization. Her real name is unknown; Fah lo Suee was a childhood term of endearment. She was introduced anonymously while still a teenager in the third book in the series and plays a larger role in several of the titles of the 1930s and 1940s. She was known for a time as Koreani after being brainwashed by her father, but her memory was later restored. She is infamous for taking on false identities, like her father, among them Madame Ingomar and Queen Mamaloi. In film, she has been portrayed by numerous actresses over the years. Her character is usually re-named in film adaptations because of difficulties with pronunciation. Anna May WongAnna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
played Ling Moy in 1931's Daughter of the Dragon
Daughter of the Dragon
Daughter of the Dragon is a movie directed by Lloyd Corrigan, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Anna May Wong as Princess Ling Moy, Sessue Hayakawa as Ah Kee, and Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu...
. Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
was the similarly named Fah lo See in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu
The Mask of Fu Manchu
The Mask of Fu Manchu is a Pre-Code adventure film released in 1932, featuring Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his daughter. The movie revolves around Fu Manchu's quest for the sword and mask of Genghis Khan. Lewis Stone plays his nemesis...
. Gloria Franklin was Fah lo Suee in 1940's Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial very loosely based on the novel by Sax Rohmer, starring Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard...
. Laurette Luez
Laurette Luez
Laurette Luez was a United States supporting actor and successful commercial model who appeared in films and on television during a 20 year career. She was a widely known Hollywood celebrity during the 1950s, owing much to publicity about her social life...
played Karamaneh in 1956's The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, but the character owed more to Fah lo Suee than Rohmer's depiction of Karamaneh. Tsai Chin
Tsai Chin (actress)
Tsai Chin , also known as Irene Chow, is a Chinese-born actress living in England.-Early life, family & education:Chin was born to Peking Opera actor Zhou Xinfang in 1936. She spent her early life in Shanghai. She had two short marriages which both ended in divorce. Her brother is Michael...
was Fu Manchu's daughter, Lin Tang in the five Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
films of the 1960s.
Controversy
After the 1932 release of MGM's adaptation of The Mask of Fu Manchu, which featured the Asian villain telling an assembled group of Muslims that they must "kill the white men and take their women", a Harvard University student group petitioned MGM producer William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
(who had also serialized the novel in his Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
magazine) to cease making further films based on the property.
Following the 1940 release of Republic Pictures' serial adaptation of Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial very loosely based on the novel by Sax Rohmer, starring Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard...
, the U.S. State Department requested the studio make no further films with the character as China was an ally against Japan. Likewise Rohmer's publisher, Doubleday, refused to publish further additions to the bestselling series for the duration of the Second World War once the United States entered the conflict. BBC Radio and Broadway investors subsequently rejected Rohmer's proposals for an original Fu Manchu radio serial and stage show during the 1940s.
A planned 1972 U.S. network television screening of the 1966 Warner Bros. film The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu is a 1966 British/German Constantin Film co-production adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the second film in a series, and was preceded by The Face of Fu Manchu. The Vengeance of Fu Manchu followed in 1967, The...
was cancelled due to protests from an Asian anti-defamation group.
Rohmer himself was quoted in the biography his wife co-authored Master of Villainy to respond to charges that Fu Manchu had demonized all Chinese people by stating that
- Of course, not the whole Chinese population of LimehouseLimehouseLimehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff to the west and Millwall to the east....
was criminal. But it contained a large number of persons who had left their own country for the most urgent of reasons. These people knew no way of making a living other than the criminal activities that had made China too hot for them. They brought their crimes with them.
It was Rohmer's contention that he based Fu Manchu and other "Yellow Peril" mysteries on real Chinese crime figures he knew during his brief stint as a newspaper reporter covering Limehouse activities.
Cultural impact
The character of Fu Manchu became a stereotypeStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
often associated with the Yellow Peril
Yellow Peril
Yellow Peril was a colour metaphor for race that originated in the late nineteenth century with immigration of Chinese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States, and later associated with the Japanese during the mid 20th century, due to Japanese military expansion.The term...
. Fu Manchu has inspired numerous other characters, and is the model for most villains in later "Yellow Peril" thrillers. Examples include Pao Tcheou
Pao Tcheou
Pao Tcheou is a fictional character from a series of French novels. Referring to himself as "Maitre de L'invisible" , due to his ability to turn himself invisible, Pao is a megalomaniacal Chinese villain, evocative of the Yellow Peril and similar to the famous Fu Manchu; indeed he is supposedly his...
, Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, TV shows and film adaptation.- First appearance :...
from Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
, Dr, Goo-Fee from Fearless Fly,Li Chang Yen from The Big Four
The Big Four (novel)
The Big Four is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on January 27, 1927 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It features Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp...
, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
adversary Dr. No, The Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 April to 23 April 1966.-Plot:...
from the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story of the same name, Dr. Benton Quest's archenemy Dr. Zin from the Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest (TV series)
Jonny Quest – often casually referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest – is an American science fiction/adventure animated television series about a boy who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures...
television series, Dr. Yen-Lo from The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate , by Richard Condon, is a political thriller novel about the son of a prominent US political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for the Communist Party....
, Lo-Pan from Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China is a 1986 American martial arts comedy film directed by John Carpenter. It stars Kurt Russell as truck driver Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancee from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown...
, Marvel Comics foes the Mandarin
Mandarin (comics)
The Mandarin is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain and the archenemy of Iron Man.In 2009, Mandarin was ranked as IGN's 81st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.-Publication history:...
and the Yellow Claw
Yellow Claw
The Yellow Claw is a fictional comic book supervillain in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 , published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor of Marvel.-Publication history:While the...
, DC Comics' Rā's al Ghūl
Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul is a DC Comics supervillain and is one of Batman's greatest enemies. His name in Arabic has been translated in the comics as "The Demon's Head" and references the name of the star Algol. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams, he was introduced in Batman #232's...
, Wo Fat
Wo Fat
Wo Fat is the name of a fictional villain in the long-running CBS series Hawaii Five-O. On the show, Wo Fat is the arch-nemesis of Steve McGarrett , the head of Hawaii's state police force. The character appeared in eleven episodes of Hawaii Five-O including the TV-movie pilot and the final...
from the CBS TV series Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, and Ancient Wu from the video game True Crime: Streets of LA
True Crime: Streets of LA
True Crime: Streets of LA is an action-adventure video game developed by Luxoflux and published by Activision for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube in November 2003 and the first game in the True Crime series...
. Fu Manchu and his daughter are the inspiration for the character Hark and his daughter Anna Hark in the comic book series Planetary
Planetary (comics)
Planetary is an American comic book limited series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics...
.
He was also parodied by Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
in the radio show Round the Horne
Round the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
as the Oriental criminal mastermind Dr Chou En Ginsberg MA (failed), accompanied by his common-as-muck concubine Lotus Blossom, played by a cockney Hugh Paddick
Hugh Paddick
Hugh William Paddick was an English actor, whose most notable role was in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne in sketches such as Charles and Fiona and Julian and Sandy...
. Appearing in ten minute sketches within the show he was the villain for Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Horne was an English comedian and businessman. The son of a clergyman and politician, he combined a successful business career with regular broadcasting for the BBC. His first hit series Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh written with his co-star Richard Murdoch arose out of his wartime service as...
's masterspy in adventures such as "The Man with the Golden Thunderball", which also spoofed James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
.
While not of Chinese descent, "Egyptian" arch-villain "Kathulos
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
" (then revealed to be a survived Atlantean
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
) of Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
's Skull-Face novella is inspired by Fu Manchu. "Comrade Li" in Peter George's Commander-1
Commander-1
Commander-1 is a 1965 novel by Welsh author Peter Bryan George and deals with the aftermath of a nuclear war between the United States, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China...
(1965) is essentially the same type of villain—despite his name having only a thin veneer of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
or Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, being rather a suave philosopher steeped in ancient Chinese learning whose cold-blooded machinations bring about a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
in which nearly all humanity perishes (including China, which he sought to make great) and who eventually meets a suitable gruesome and ignominious end.
A character with the name "Fred Fu Manchu" appeared as a famous Chinese bamboo saxophonist as part of The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
, a 1950's British radio comedy programme. He appeared in his very own episode, "The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu" in 1955 (announced as "Fred Fu-Manchu and his Bamboo Saxophone"), as well as making minor appearances in other episodes (including "China Story", "The Siege of Fort Night" and "The Lost Emperor"(as "Doctor Fred Fu Manchu: oriental tattooist")). The character was invented and performed by Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
, who used the character to mock British xenophobia and self-satisfaction, the traits summoning the original Fu Manchu into existence, and not as a slur against Asians.
Fu Manchu is also one of the earliest known examples of an evil scientist or archenemy
Archenemy
An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy .- Etymology :The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated...
, with Professor Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
, Doctor Jack Quartz (from Nick Carter), Zenith the Albino (from Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who appeared in many British comic strips and novels throughout the 20th century. He was described by Professor Jeffrey Richards on the BBC in The Radio Detectives in 2003 as "the poor man's Sherlock Holmes"...
), and some others being among the few other precedents. The style of facial hair associated with him in film adaptations has become known as the Fu Manchu moustache
Fu Manchu moustache
A Fu Manchu moustache is a full, straight moustache that grows downward past the lips and on either side of the chin; and often, the tapered, pointed ends of the moustache hang past the jawline...
, although Rohmer's writings described the character as wearing no such adornment.
Books
- The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1913) (US Title: The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu).
- The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1916) (UK Title: The Devil Doctor)
- The Hand of Fu Manchu (1917) (UK Title: The Si-Fan Mysteries)
- Daughter of Fu Manchu (1931)
- The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
- The Bride of Fu Manchu (1933) (original US Title: Fu Manchu's Bride)
- The Trail of Fu Manchu (1934)
- President Fu Manchu (1936)
- The Drums of Fu Manchu (1939)
- The Island of Fu Manchu (1941)
- The Shadow of Fu Manchu (1948)
- Re-Enter: Fu Manchu (1957) (UK Title: Re-Enter: Dr. Fu Manchu)
- Emperor Fu Manchu (1959) was Rohmer's last novel.
- The Wrath of Fu Manchu (1973) was a posthumous anthology containing the title novella, first published in 1952, and three later short stories: "The Eyes of Fu Manchu" (1957), "The Word of Fu Manchu" (1958), and "The Mind of Fu Manchu" (1959).
- Ten Years Beyond Baker Street (1984). The first of two authorized continuation novels by Cay Van AshCay Van AshCay Van Ash was a Professor of English Literature at Waseda University in Japan and a writer....
, Sax Rohmer's former assistant and biographer. The novel is set in a narrative gap within The Hand of Fu Manchu and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, His Last BowHis Last BowHis Last Bow is a collection of seven Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the title of the last story in that collection...
(both published in 1917). Holmes comes out of retirement to aid Dr. Petrie when Nayland Smith is abducted by the Si-Fan. - The Fires of Fu Manchu (1987). The second of two authorized continuation novels by Cay Van AshCay Van AshCay Van Ash was a Professor of English Literature at Waseda University in Japan and a writer....
. The novel is set in 1917 and documents Smith and Petrie's encounter with Fu Manchu during the First World War culminating in Smith's knighthood. A third Van Ash title, The Seal of Fu Manchu was underway when Van Ash died in 1994. The incomplete manuscript is believed lost. - The Terror of Fu Manchu is the first of a new series of authorized period Fu Manchu thrillers by William Patrick Maynard. It is set on the eve of the First World War and is narrated by Dr. Petrie. The novel was published in April 2009 by Black Coat Press. A second title by the same author, The Destiny of Fu Manchu set on the eve of the Second World War will be published in December 2011 by Black Coat Press.
- The League of Dragons by George Alec EffingerGeorge Alec EffingerGeorge Alec Effinger was an American science fiction author, born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio.-Writing career:...
was an unpublished, unauthorized novel involving a young Sherlock Holmes matching wits with Fu Manchu in the nineteenth century. Chapters have been published in the anthologies, Sherlock Holmes in Orbit (1995) and My Sherlock Holmes (2003). This lost university adventure of Holmes is narrated by Conan Doyle's character Reginald Musgrave.
Fu Manchu also made appearances in the following non-Fu Manchu books:
- Anno Dracula (1994) by Kim NewmanKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
. An alternate histories adventure with Fu Manchu in an anonymous cameo appearance as one of the London crime lords of the nineteenth century. - "Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong" and "Part of the Game" are a pair of related short stories by F. Paul WilsonF. Paul WilsonFrancis Paul Wilson is an American author, primarily in the science fiction and horror genres. His debut novel was Healer . Wilson is also a part-time practicing family physician. He made his first sales in 1970 to Analog while still in medical school , and continued to write science fiction...
appearing in his collection, Aftershocks and Others: 19 Oddities (2009) and feature anonymous appearances by Dr. Fu Manchu and characters from Little Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...
. - Fu Manchu also appears anonymously in several stories in August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
's Solar PonsSolar PonsSolar Pons is a fictional detective created by August Derleth as a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.-Approach:On hearing that he had no plans to write more Holmes stories, the young Derleth wrote to Conan Doyle, asking permission to take over the job...
detective series. Derleth's successor, Basil CopperBasil CopperBasil Copper is a prolific English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. He became a fulltime writer in 1970.In addition to horror and detective fiction, Copper is perhaps best known for his series of Solar Pons stories continuing the character created as a tribute to Sherlock Holmes...
also made use of the character. - Fu Manchu is the name of the Chinese ambassador in Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's Slapstick (novel) (1976) - It is revealed that Chiun, the Master of SinanjuSinanju (martial art)Sinanju is a fictional martial art of a cult paperback book series, The Destroyer, by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir...
has worked for the Devil Doctor, as have previous generations of Masters in the The Destroyer novel #83 Skull Duggery.
Film
Fu Manchu first appeared on the big screen in the 1923 British silent film serial The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu starring Harry Agar Lyons. Lyons returned to the role the next year in The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fu Manchu.In 1929 Fu Manchu made his American film debut in Paramount's early talkie, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1929 film starring Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu. It was the first Fu Manchu film of the talkie era. It was very loosely based on the novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer.-Synopsis:...
starring Warner Oland
Warner Oland
Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
, best known for his portrayal of Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
. Oland repeated the role in 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu is the second of three films starring Warner Oland as the fiendish Fu Manchu, who returns from apparent death in the previous movie to seek revenge on those he holds responsible for the death of his wife and child. It was loosely adapted from the novel of the same name...
and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon
Daughter of the Dragon
Daughter of the Dragon is a movie directed by Lloyd Corrigan, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Anna May Wong as Princess Ling Moy, Sessue Hayakawa as Ah Kee, and Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu...
as well as in the short, Murder Will Out as part of the omnibus film, Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade is a all-star revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Victor Heerman, Lothar Mendes, Otto Brower, Edwin H...
where the Devil Doctor confronts both Philo Vance
Philo Vance
Philo Vance featured in 12 crime novels written by S. S. Van Dine , published in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, movies, and on the radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, even foppish dandy, a New York bon vivant possessing a highly intellectual bent...
and Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
.
The most infamous incarnation of the character was MGM's The Mask of Fu Manchu
The Mask of Fu Manchu
The Mask of Fu Manchu is a Pre-Code adventure film released in 1932, featuring Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his daughter. The movie revolves around Fu Manchu's quest for the sword and mask of Genghis Khan. Lewis Stone plays his nemesis...
(1932) starring Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
and Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
. The film's tone has long been considered racist and offensive, but that only added to its cult status alongside its campy humour and Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
sets and torture sequences. The film was suppressed for many years, but has since received critical re-evaluation and been released on DVD uncut.
Fu Manchu returned to the serial format in 1940 in Republic Pictures' Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial very loosely based on the novel by Sax Rohmer, starring Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard...
, a 15-episode serial considered to be one of the best the studio ever made. It was later edited and released as a feature film in 1943.
Other than an obscure, unauthorized 1946 Mexican film El Otro Fu Manchu, the Devil Doctor was absent from the big screen for 25 years, until producer Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
began a series starring Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
in 1965. Towers and Lee would make five Fu Manchu film through the end of the decade: The Face of Fu Manchu
The Face of Fu Manchu
The Face of Fu Manchu is a 1965 British/German Constantin Film co-production thriller based on the character of Fu Manchu, the Chinese villain created by Sax Rohmer...
(1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu
The Brides of Fu Manchu is a 1966 British/German Constantin Film co-production adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the second film in a series, and was preceded by The Face of Fu Manchu. The Vengeance of Fu Manchu followed in 1967, The...
(1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu
The Vengeance of Fu Manchu
The Vengeance of Fu Manchu is a 1967 British film directed by Jeremy Summers starring Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer and Tsai Chin. It was the third British/German Constantin Film co-production of the Fu Manchu series and the first to be filmed in Hong Kong.-Plot:In his remote hideaway in the...
(1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu
The Blood of Fu Manchu
The Blood of Fu Manchu, also known as Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death, Kiss and Kill and Against All Odds, is a 1968 British adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the fourth film in a series, and was preceded by The Vengeance of Fu...
(1968), and finally The Castle of Fu Manchu
The Castle of Fu Manchu
The Castle of Fu Manchu also known by its German title Die Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Man Chu, is the fifth and final Fu Manchu film with Christopher Lee portraying the title character. The spy/crime film was filmed on location in Spain and Istanbul and originally released in West Germany in 1969...
(1969).
An unrelated character of a crime-solving magician called Fu Manchu, portrayed by actor David T. Bramberg appeared as the main character on 3 Mexican films of the Golden Age, El Museo del Crimen, Asesinato en los Estudios and La Mujer sin Cabeza
La mujer sin cabeza
The Headless Woman is a 2008 Argentine feature film directed by Lucrecia Martel.-Plot:After hitting something with her car–either a boy or a dog, middled-aged dentist Verónica experiences an enigmatic breakdown consisting of memory loss and emotional detachment.-Cast:* María Onetto as Verónica*...
, all detectivesque plots around murders.
The character's last authorized film appearance was in the 1980 Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1980 comedy film, notable as the final film of Peter Sellers, David Tomlinson and John Le Mesurier. Pre-production began with Richard Quine as director. By the time the film entered production, Piers Haggard had replaced him. Peter Sellers handled the...
with Sellers featured in a double role as both Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith. The film bore little resemblance to any prior film or the original books. In the film, Fu Manchu claims he was known as "Fred" at public school, a reference to the character of "Fred Fu Manchu" from The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
which had co-starred Sellers.
Jess Franco, who had directed The Blood of Fu Manchu
The Blood of Fu Manchu
The Blood of Fu Manchu, also known as Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death, Kiss and Kill and Against All Odds, is a 1968 British adventure crime film based on the fictional Asian villain Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer. It was the fourth film in a series, and was preceded by The Vengeance of Fu...
and The Castle of Fu Manchu
The Castle of Fu Manchu
The Castle of Fu Manchu also known by its German title Die Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Man Chu, is the fifth and final Fu Manchu film with Christopher Lee portraying the title character. The spy/crime film was filmed on location in Spain and Istanbul and originally released in West Germany in 1969...
, also directed The Girl From Rio
The Girl from Rio
The Girl from Rio is a 1969 Science Fiction film produced by Harry Alan Towers, directed by Jesus Franco and starring Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler and George Sanders. Led by their queen, a tribe of Amazonian woman attack wealthy men, as part of a long-term plan to take over the world...
the second of three Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
films based on Rohmer's female Fu Manchu character, Sumuru
Sumuru (literary character)
Sumuru is a female supervillain created by Sax Rohmer, author of the Fu Manchu series of novels. She leads a secret organisation known as the Order of Our Lady.-Radio:...
. He later directed an unauthorized 1986 Spanish film featuring Fu Manchu's daughter, Esclavas del Crimen.
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
made a camp cameo appearance as Fu Manchu in Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
's faux
Fake
Fake means not real.Fake may also refer to:In music:* Fake , a Swedish synthpop band active in the 1980s*Fake?, a Japanese rock band* Fake , 2010 song by Ai featuring Namie Amuro...
trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
Werewolf Women of the SS, which is part of the 2007 film Grindhouse.
There have been several unsuccessful plans to revive the character for the big screen since the early 1970s. The most recent project was announced by Distant Horizons at Cannes in 2007.
Television
Fu Manchu was first brought to television in an unsold pilot for NBC in 1952, The Zayat Kiss starred John CarradineJohn Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
and Cedric Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
.
In 1956, the television arm of Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
produced a 13-episode syndicated series, The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu starring Glen Gordon as Dr. Fu Manchu, Lester Matthews
Lester Matthews
Lester Matthews was an English actor born in Nottingham, England, UK. In his career, he made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was on occasion erroneously credited as Lester Mathews and especially in later years was sometimes known as Les Matthews. He died on the 6 June 1975...
as Sir Denis Nayland Smith, and Clark Howat as Dr. John Petrie. The title sequence depicted Smith and Fu Manchu in a game of chess as the announcer stated that "the Devil is said to play for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, Evil Incarnate." At the conclusion of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Petrie had foiled Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, he would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled. It was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon
Franklin Adreon
Franklin "Pete" Adreon was an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.-Early life and career:...
as well as William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
. Unlike the Holmes/Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement officer and Petrie as a staff member for the Surgeon General
Surgeon-General (United Kingdom)
The Surgeon-General is the senior medical officer of the British Armed Forces; the post is held by the senior of the three individual service medical directors....
.
In 1990, TeleMundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
broadcast an affectionate spoof, The Daughter of Fu Manchu featuring Paul Naschy
Paul Naschy
Paul Naschy was a Spanish movie actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures—the wolfman, the hunchback, Count Dracula, the mummy—have earned him recognition as the Spanish Lon Chaney...
as the Devil Doctor and starring the Hispanic comedy troupe, The Yellow Squad.
Music
- Guy LombardoGuy LombardoGaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
had a 1935 song entitled "Fu Manchu, Why Don't You Behave" - The Rockin' Ramrods had a 1965 song titled "Don't Fool With Fu Manchu"
- The stoner rock band Fu ManchuFu Manchu (band)Fu Manchu is a Southern Californian stoner rock band, who released their debut single "Kept Between Trees" in 1990. They have been featured on compilations put together by Tony Hawk and ESPN's X Games, and invited to perform on the US television program Monster Garage...
was named after him. - Jamaican reggae pioneer Desmond DekkerDesmond DekkerDesmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
recorded a song titled "Fu Man Chu" in 1968 with the chorus, "This is the face of Fu Manchu." - Frank BlackFrank BlackBlack Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
(of the Pixies) recorded a song called "Fu Manchu" in 1993. - In the song, "We Want Freedom", by Dead PrezDead PrezDead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...
, Fu Manchu is referred to in the 2nd verse as a man who "dominated the land and accumulated wealth". - Fu Manchu was the name of a bull, mentioned in Tim McGrawTim McGrawSamuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
's song "Live Like You Were DyingLive Like You Were Dying (song)"Live Like You Were Dying" is a song written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman and performed by American country music artist Tim McGraw. The song appears on his Live Like You Were Dying album. It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard country music charts, and held that position for a total of seven...
". - Fu Manchu was also mentioned in Travis Tritt's song "It's a Great Day to Be Alive".
- Northern Irish band AshAsh (band)Ash are an alternative rock band that formed in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland in 1992. The band has sold 8 million albums worldwide.-Band beginning, Trailer and 1977 :...
include Fu Manchu in the lyrics to their songs "Kung FuKung Fu (song)"Kung Fu" is a song by Ash, released as the first single from their album 1977 on 20 March 1995 - as a CD single, limited edition 7”, and standard 7” vinyl....
" and "Day of the Triffids". - British band The WildheartsThe WildheartsThe Wildhearts are a British rock group originally formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as The Beatles and 1980s-era Metallica...
include Fu Manchu on their list of admired villains in the song "Rooting For The Bad Guy". - "The Village Green Preservation Society" on the similarly titled albumThe Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation SocietyThe Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is the sixth studio album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in November 1968. It was the last album by the original quartet, as bassist Pete Quaife left the group in early 1969...
by The KinksThe KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
mentions Fu Manchu, alongside other fictional villains, MoriartyProfessor MoriartyProfessor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
and DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
, in its list of things to preserve, "Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula". 30 years later, front man Ray DaviesRay DaviesRay Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
again name-checked the character in his 1998 solo song, "London Song." - Hip Hop group The FugeesThe FugeesFugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel...
briefly mention Fu Manchu in the song "Vocab", from the album Blunted on RealityBlunted on RealityBlunted on Reality is the debut album released by hip hop group The Fugees. The album was written and recorded by the group in 1992, however, following a long dispute with their record company, the album was not released until February 1, 1994. Most versions of the album contain seventeen tracks,...
. - Montréal French speaking rock singer Robert Charlebois composed a song entitled "Fu Man Chu (Chus d'dans)" in 1972, in which he refers to the Fu Man Chu and Gene Autry black and white movies of the 1950-1960s. Through the story of Bill, the hero, the song highlights the main events of the second half of the 20th Century, starting with Bill initially dreaming about being attached to a railway track when the train is coming, then his posting abroad to war (presumably Vietnam) and finally ends with Lady Trenton losing her virginity to Bill, whom she saved from the villains after his trip to the milky way.
- Drum and bass duo Drumsound & Bassline SmithDrumsound & Bassline SmithDrumsound & Bassline Smith are a British electronic production group from Derby, consisting of Andrew Wright, Benjamin Wiggett and Simon 'Bassline' Smith. Their record label is , which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009...
recently released a song called "Fu Manchu", with a dubstep edit.
Radio
Fu Manchu's earliest radio appearances were on the Collier Hour 1927-31 on the Blue NetworkBlue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
. This was a radio programme designed to promote Collier's
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
magazine and presented weekly dramatizations of the current issues stories and serials. Fu was voiced by Arthur Hughes. A self titled show on CBS followed in 1932-33. John C. Daly, and later Harold Huber
Harold Huber
Harold Huber was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television.-Early life:Huber was born Harold Joseph Huberman in the Bronx to Joseph Huberman and "Mammie" Glassberg, Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in the United States as infants. His father was the...
, played Fu.
Additionally, there were "pirate" broadcast from the Continent into Britain, from Radio Luxembourg and Radio Lyons in 1936 through 1937. Frank Cochrane voiced Fu Manchu. The BBC produced a competing series, The Peculiar Case of the Poppy Club starting in 1939. That same year The Shadow of Fu Manchu
The Shadow of Fu Manchu
The Shadow of Fu Manchu was an adventure radio drama adapted from the first nine Fu Manchu novels by Sax Rohmer. The syndicated series aired from 1939 to 1940 in 15-minute installments.-Characters and story:...
aired in the United States as a thrice weekly serial dramatizing the first nine novels.
Comic strips
Fu was first brought to newspaper comic strips in a black and white daily strip drawn by Leo O'Mealia and ran from 1931 to 1933. The strips were adaptations of the first two Fu Manchu novels and part of the third. They were copyrighted by "Sax Rohmer and The Bell Syndicate, Inc".Graphic novels
- Fu Manchu made his first comic book appearance in Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
# 17, and continued, as one feature among many in the anthology series, until #28. These were reprints of the earlier Leo O'Mealia strips. Original Fu stories in comics had to wait for Avon's one-shot The Mask of Dr. Fu Manchu in 1951. A similar British one-shot The Island of Fu Manchu was published in 1956.
- In the 1970s, Fu Manchu appeared as the father of the character Shang-ChiShang-ChiShang-Chi is a Marvel Comics character, often called the "Master of Kung Fu". He was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin....
in the series Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. However Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
cancelled the book in 1982, and issues over licensing the character and concepts from the novels (such as his daughter) have hampered Marvel's ability to both collect the series in trade paperback format and reference Fu Manchu as Shang-Chi's father. As such, the character is either never mentioned by name, or by alias ("Mr. Han"). Though Fu Manchu himself was killed off in #100 of his son's comic, he has since been (partially) resurrected by an evil terror group known as the Shadow Council.
- Fu Manchu appeared as a villain in the first volumeThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume One is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. It is the first story in the larger League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series...
of Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series The League of Extraordinary GentlemenThe League of Extraordinary GentlemenThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
where he attempts to steal a piece of Cavorite to make an airforce and attack England, but was referred to only as "the Doctor" or "the Devil Doctor".
- In the first edition of Docteur Mystery, Fu Manchu is a leader of a cult that tries to resurrect a giant dragon to take over Europe.
- Martin Gilfryd/Memnan Saa of the BPRDBPRDBPRD may mean:* Bureau of Police Research and Development, the premier Indian police modernising agency of India.* Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola....
comics by Mike MignolaMike MignolaMichael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
, John ArcudiJohn ArcudiJohn Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D., and his series Major Bummer.-Career:Arcudi worked for Malibu Comics upon its founding in 1986, working on its Eternity line...
and Guy DavisGuy DavisGuy Davis is an American comic book artist primarily known for his work on Sandman Mystery Theatre and various Hellboy-related comics...
is modelled after Dr. Fu Manchu. Before the mysterious character's identity was revealed Mignola referred to the villain as "that Fu Manchu-looking guy."
External links
- "The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu" (1956 TV Series)
- The Page of Fu Manchu
- The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
- The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
- Hermes Reviews reviews of all the Fu Manchu books as well as those featuring Sax Rohmer's other criminal mastermind, Sumuru
- A database and cover gallery of Fu Manchu comic book appearances
- Theater of the Ears: The Shadow of Fu Manchu Radio Dramas
- The Chronology of Fu Manchu http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Fumanchu.htm
- Fu Manchu and the Yellow Peril http://dspace.wul.waseda.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2065/10005/1/40050_3_2.pdf
- Fu Manchu in Edinburgh (BBC Radio 4 programme)