The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)** 1/2 (out of 4)The first in a five film series starts off with the evil Dr. Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) being executed by having his head chopped off. Scotland Yard Inspector Nayland Smith (Nigel Green) believes that the evil has come to an end but before long he realizes that Fu Manchu is actually alive and with the help of his daughter Lin Lang (Tsai Chin) he plans to kill millions with toxic gas.To date, 1932's THE MASK OF FU MANCHU remains the best film to have the historic character but I think a strong argument could be made that this here is the second best. With that said, while there are plenty of good things on display here, there's no question that this is still a film with plenty of flaws, which is really too bad because with a little editing this here could have been much, much better than it is.There's no doubt that the highlight of the picture (and the series) is the performance of Lee who really does a nice job with the role. This is certainly the type of role that many actors would have just taken the check and sleepwalked through but Lee manages to be very effective here simply because of his body movements. I say that because there's really not too much dialogue for him to work with and instead of screaming his way through the part, Lee must use his eyes and gestures to tell the viewer everything they need to know. I really love how still Lee is and this here just adds an evil quality to the role. The supporting players are also good in their parts with Smith making for the perfect hero to go up against Fu Manchu and there's no doubt that Chin brings a nice sexuality to her role.The film has a pretty good story and I thought the cat and mouse games between the Inspector and Fu Manchu were good. The film also benefits from a pretty good look and there's no doubt that director Don Sharp handles the material well. With that said, the biggest flaw is that the film simply runs a bit too long and I think some editing would have made for a nicer pace. I'd also say that hang more Fu Manchu would have been a major plus since Lee and the character are certainly the highlights. THE FACE OF FU MANCHU kicked off a five film series and it certainly went downhill after this film but this one remains entertaining in a Saturday-matinée type of way.

Actually, This One Plays Better Today than it did in 1965. James Bond was Firmly in the Film-Goer's Mind and Hammer Horror had been Around for a Decade. So Although this was in Color, Starred Christopher Lee, and Featured an Iconic Pulp Character, the Movie Seemed Drab by Comparison. Despite Numerous Fight Scenes, Location Changes, and an Attempted Period Setting for Flavor, it Just Didn't' Deliver the Thrills and Chills Expected. Competent, and Professionally Done with a Decent Budget and Good Lead Actors, Viewed Today with Less Expectation, and a Throwback Attitude it Can be Enjoyed in Saturday Matinée Template from a Bygone Era.But Without a Matinée or Drive-In Flashback Attitude it Comes Across as Stiff and Plodding. Considered the Best of the Five Mid-Sixties Fu's Featuring Chris Lee, Although the Follow Up The Brides of Fu Man Chu (1966) is a Contender.

The legendary Boris Karloff played the fiendish Dr. Fu Manchu back in 1932. Who else than Christopher Lee would be able to bring this notorious screen-villain back to life? Karloff and Lee both have an amazing charisma and disguised in many evil characters before…The Yellow Peril Dr. Fu Manchu surely is one that speaks most to the imagination. In this first film of the new series, Dr. Fu Manchu hypnotized a look-alike of his and this person was decapitated. While everybody initially believes Fu Manchu is dead, vicious events start to happen again. The clever archenemy of Fu Manchu, Scotland Yard's Nayland Smith, once again opens the hunt for this diabolical doctor.The Face of Dr. Fu Manchu isn't a very suspenseful film and the script (written by the legendary producer Harry Alan Towers) hasn't got any compelling aspects to offer. Yet, it's enormous fun to see Lee act at his fiendish best and horror fans will enjoy watching all his terrific torturing-tricks! Director Don Sharp (also known for his brilliantly insane film `Psychomania') makes great use of the ominous locations and the scenery and all the rest is up to Lee and a surprisingly good performance by Nigel Green! The Face of Fu Manchu meant the start of a new series of film, all starring Lee as the abominable Dr. Four sequels followed, of which the last two were directed by Jess `Godfather of Sleaze' Franco. Every single film is worth watching only because they're so much fun! Don't ever expect a masterpiece, though! If you do desire to stumble upon a masterpiece, track down `The Mask of Fu Manchu' starring Boris Karloff.

In the light of its considerable reputation, this is a big disappointment. It's the old tale of Fu Manchu, the Yellow Peril, trying to take over the world. The racism of this is so self-evident it's probably not worth mentioning, although the blazing red whenever the Chinese are around, and the worker-like garb of Manchu's henchmen, suggest some sort of allegory of Communism - or is this story of a megalomaniacal, world-domination-lusting, Chinaman a parody of such portentousness?I really wanted to like this film, but there's so much wrong with it. It's been called a spoof, but if so, the joke's on me. The 1920s setting is somewhat rudimentary - a few contemporary cars and hats in what looks like a very 1960s London (although the reviewer below suggests it is in fact Dublin). Far from camp, the plot is played so straight as to be unenjoyable. Every absurdity and implausibility, rather than hurtling us into the giddy realms of fantasy, rather lumbers us in a plot of cliched hackery.The acting is abysmal - I've never gotten the point of Christopher Lee (he never had Peter Cushing's middle-aged anguish), although his plummy English tones in the supposed role of a fiendish Chinaman, offers some amusement, as does his daft moustache; worst of all is Nigel Green as the oaklike hero, Nayland Smith - a man so unexpressive and graceless should be funny, but here is dull, slowing down the film at every turn. Only FU Manchu's very sexy daughter, Tsai Chin, enthralls, her subservience to her father suggesting perverse depths of sado-masochism.This is all the more frustrating in that the film has merit in abundance. The colour schemes, costumes, set-designs and compositions are frequently gorgeous, if sometimes let down by leaden direction; the afoementioned incestuous undertones in the relationship between Fu and daughter; a splendid ironising, despite the racism, of the noble West - Nayland Smith is quite clearly insane, and with his Chinese ladyservant, and death mask ornaments, seems more of a mirror image than a foil for Fu Manchu (there is also something wrong with chemists that research into a concoction that can wipe out whole peoples - there is a RIVER KWAI-like frisson in the plight of the Professor who ironically, and enthusiastically, aids his captor); there is a splendidly directed and designed car chase, reminiscent, as Tom Milne notes, of silent serials.Best of all is the setting of this grotesque potboiler in placid England. This discrepancy gives the film an AVENGERS-like chill on occasion, especially the amazing scene where Fu Manchu first exercises his power, and wipes out an entire village - spinetingling, chilling, and much more frightening than a similar scene in GOLDFINGER.