The Castle of Fu Manchu
Encyclopedia
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. It was directed by Jesús Franco
and also stars Richard Greene
as Nayland Smith and Howard Marion-Crawford
as Dr. Petrie. Its other titles are Assignment Istanbul and The Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu.
In the film, set in the 1920s as all of the series, Fu Manchu plots to freeze the world's oceans with a diabolical new device. With his evil daughter, Lin Tang, his army of dacoits, and the help of the local crime organization led by Omar Pashu (whom Fu Manchu doublecrosses), Fu Manchu takes over the governor's castle in Istanbul which has a massive Opium
reserve, to control the largest opium port in Anatolia
, a fuel for his machine. He needs the help of an intelligent scientist with an ailing heart whom he has imprisoned so kidnaps a doctor and his wife to give him a heart transplant from one of his obedient servants. Opposing him from Britain's Interpol
, is his arch-nemesis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie.
's third season. The episode is well known for the movie being so bad that the bots are not able to make it through well during the movie, to the point they always break down in tears in every host segment while the Mads laugh evilly at their pain. Eventually, the crew on the SOL makes the Mads attempt to riff the movie, to which they accept, but also discover how bad the movie is to the point they can barely make any good jokes, marking victory for the SOL.
Fu Manchu
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...
film with 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...
portraying the title character. The spy
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
/crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
was filmed on location in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and originally released in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in 1969. It was directed by Jesús Franco
Jesús Franco
Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
and also stars Richard Greene
Richard Greene
Richard 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...
as Nayland Smith and Howard Marion-Crawford
Howard Marion-Crawford
Howard Marion-Crawford , the grandson of writer F. Marion Crawford, was an English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes...
as Dr. Petrie. Its other titles are Assignment Istanbul and The Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu.
In the film, set in the 1920s as all of the series, Fu Manchu plots to freeze the world's oceans with a diabolical new device. With his evil daughter, Lin Tang, his army of dacoits, and the help of the local crime organization led by Omar Pashu (whom Fu Manchu doublecrosses), Fu Manchu takes over the governor's castle in Istanbul which has a massive Opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
reserve, to control the largest opium port in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, a fuel for his machine. He needs the help of an intelligent scientist with an ailing heart whom he has imprisoned so kidnaps a doctor and his wife to give him a heart transplant from one of his obedient servants. Opposing him from Britain's Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
, is his arch-nemesis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The film was later shown in 1992 during Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
's third season. The episode is well known for the movie being so bad that the bots are not able to make it through well during the movie, to the point they always break down in tears in every host segment while the Mads laugh evilly at their pain. Eventually, the crew on the SOL makes the Mads attempt to riff the movie, to which they accept, but also discover how bad the movie is to the point they can barely make any good jokes, marking victory for the SOL.
Cast
- Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir 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...
as Fu Manchu - 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...
as Nayland Smith - Howard Marion Crawford as Doctor Petrie
- Gunther StollGünther StollGünther Stoll was a German television actor.-Selected filmography:Detective Schröder in:*Derrick - Season 2, Episode 02: "Tod am Bahngleis"...
as Curt - Rosalba NeriRosalba NeriRosalba Neri , sometimes credited as Sara Bey or Sara Bay, is a retired Italian actress.-Biography:When she was very young, she won a beauty pageant and attended il Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia...
as Lisa - Maria PerschyMaria PerschyMaria Perschy was an Austrian actress.Perschy was born in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria and moved to Vienna at the age of 17 to study acting. After completing her education, she moved to Germany for more training, leading to a movie career. Her first major success came with Nasser Asphalt where...
as Marie - Jose Manuel Martin as Omar Pasha
- Werner Aprelat as Melnik
- Tsai ChinTsai 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...
as Lin Tang