Myrna Loy....and Boris Karloff? Really? Yes, indeed.
Beloved actor Myrna Loy is best remembered for her films with William Powell in the Thin Man series at MGM. Like every actor, the red haired green-eyed girl from Montana, had to begin her career somewhere. She was given parts in a number of silent films, cast as a vamp or femme fatale, frequently portraying characters of Asian or Eurasian background, which she later recalled "kind of solidified my exotic non-American image."
Noting that Universal studios was raking in profits from Dracula and Frankenstein, MGM decided to jump on the bandwagon with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Freaks, and a film that does not get much attention in discussions of classic horror films, The Mask of Fu Manchu.
Boris Karloff, not far removed from his role as Morgan in The Old Dark House, is cast as Dr. Fu Manchu, based on the novels by Sax Rohmer. Myrna Loy is cast as his depraved, sadistic, opium smoking, nymphomaniac daughter, Fa Lo See.
The Mask of Fu Manchu is a 68 minute, wildly over the top, crazed, outrageous, sadistic, sexist, racist, completely campy, pre-code horror/adventure, and B-movie pulp to ever hit the silver screen.
This film is worth a watch mostly to see Karloff's amusingly bizarro turn as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his opium-smoking nymphomaniac daughter.
The tomb of Genghis Khan is discovered, and a few British explorers must find it before the evil Fu Manchu does.
What's not to love about a movie that casts Boris Karloff in his first on-screen speaking role, as a fiendish Asian scholar (with a strange lisp) with a penchant for elaborate and sadistic torture devices, hell-bent on attaining the mask and sword from the tomb of Genghis Khan so he can rule the world and wipe the white devil from the face of it.....with an evil daughter to match?
Choice dialog:
Karloff exclaiming: Kill the white man and steal his women!"
Myrna Loy shouting "Faster! Faster!" as the half-naked white hero is whipped by her black slaves, and being aroused by it.
Fear not, the hate and racism are equally divided here, as 'the good British saviors' led by Lewis Stone (best known as Mickey Rooney's dad, in the Andy Hardy film series) remind us of 'the yellow devils' and their plans for a race war against the white man.
Manchu's operating lab is stocked with giant boa constrictors, spiders, and nearly naked muscled black men who's job it seems is only to stand on pedestals with their arms crossed. Numerous torture devices: a huge bell, an alligator pit, and a spiked wall that closes upon its victim.
Fun fact:
Fu Manchu gets his hands on what he believes is the actual scimitar of Genghis Khan. To test its authenticity, he holds the sword and runs electrical current through it!
Kenneth Strickfaden, the wizard behind the electrical machines in the Frankenstein films and many others, including this film, was on hand to help choreograph this sequence. The studio, fearful of a misstep that might endanger their star player, insisted that Strickfaden double Karloff for the scene. Strickfaden complied, and on the first take, was literally 'shocked' with such force, he was thrown on his back! Unhurt, and undaunted, he performed the act perfectly on the second take. Viewers can easily see the difference between the 2 men. It is obvious, as the scene switches from close ups of Karloff and the mid-to- long shots of Strickfaden.
The Mask of Fu Manchu is a wild ride! A new blue ray release, fully restored with racist dialog intact, is due out on April 8, 2024.
Noting that Universal studios was raking in profits from Dracula and Frankenstein, MGM decided to jump on the bandwagon with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Freaks, and a film that does not get much attention in discussions of classic horror films, The Mask of Fu Manchu.
Boris Karloff, not far removed from his role as Morgan in The Old Dark House, is cast as Dr. Fu Manchu, based on the novels by Sax Rohmer. Myrna Loy is cast as his depraved, sadistic, opium smoking, nymphomaniac daughter, Fa Lo See.
The Mask of Fu Manchu is a 68 minute, wildly over the top, crazed, outrageous, sadistic, sexist, racist, completely campy, pre-code horror/adventure, and B-movie pulp to ever hit the silver screen.
This film is worth a watch mostly to see Karloff's amusingly bizarro turn as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his opium-smoking nymphomaniac daughter.
The tomb of Genghis Khan is discovered, and a few British explorers must find it before the evil Fu Manchu does.
What's not to love about a movie that casts Boris Karloff in his first on-screen speaking role, as a fiendish Asian scholar (with a strange lisp) with a penchant for elaborate and sadistic torture devices, hell-bent on attaining the mask and sword from the tomb of Genghis Khan so he can rule the world and wipe the white devil from the face of it.....with an evil daughter to match?
Choice dialog:
Karloff exclaiming: Kill the white man and steal his women!"
Myrna Loy shouting "Faster! Faster!" as the half-naked white hero is whipped by her black slaves, and being aroused by it.
Fear not, the hate and racism are equally divided here, as 'the good British saviors' led by Lewis Stone (best known as Mickey Rooney's dad, in the Andy Hardy film series) remind us of 'the yellow devils' and their plans for a race war against the white man.
Manchu's operating lab is stocked with giant boa constrictors, spiders, and nearly naked muscled black men who's job it seems is only to stand on pedestals with their arms crossed. Numerous torture devices: a huge bell, an alligator pit, and a spiked wall that closes upon its victim.
Fun fact:
Fu Manchu gets his hands on what he believes is the actual scimitar of Genghis Khan. To test its authenticity, he holds the sword and runs electrical current through it!
Kenneth Strickfaden, the wizard behind the electrical machines in the Frankenstein films and many others, including this film, was on hand to help choreograph this sequence. The studio, fearful of a misstep that might endanger their star player, insisted that Strickfaden double Karloff for the scene. Strickfaden complied, and on the first take, was literally 'shocked' with such force, he was thrown on his back! Unhurt, and undaunted, he performed the act perfectly on the second take. Viewers can easily see the difference between the 2 men. It is obvious, as the scene switches from close ups of Karloff and the mid-to- long shots of Strickfaden.
The Mask of Fu Manchu is a wild ride! A new blue ray release, fully restored with racist dialog intact, is due out on April 8, 2024.
