The organised criminals of the Western world want Chinese criminal mastermind Fu Manchu to be their leader. Fu Manchu agrees and puts into motion a plan to discredit those who oppose him by replacing them with doppelgangers programmed to commit murder.
"The world will hear from me again": so says Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu at the end of this schlocky potboiler; he wasn't lying either, for he would return for two more films directed by Spanish exploitation legend Jess Franco. However, Fu Manchu's days were clearly numbered, even then: Sax Rohmer's creation had long been considered incredibly racist, perpetuating the idea of the 'yellow peril' in which Asians are viewed as a threat to the West. What made Fu Manchu even more controversial is that he is always played by a caucasian, in this case by Mr. Lee in 'yellow face', sporting a droopy moustache, his eyes made up to look Chinese.
Putting political correctness to one side, I still find The Vengeance of Fu Manchu to be an objectionable movie, simply because it is so tedious, when it could have been a load of fun. Even when dealing with outrageous ideas such as using plastic surgery to create exact doubles of people, it still manages to be one deathly dull watch, lacking in excitement and energy. It starts off promisingly, with our despicable villain and his equally vile daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) sentencing three men to death, but as soon as the tiresome plot kicks in, it all gets incredibly wearisome.
The film hits rock bottom with the most boring court-room scene imaginable - totally bereft of tension, since we, the viewer, already know that the man being tried for murder isn't Scotland Yard hero Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer), but one of Fu Manchu's surgically-altered henchmen.
Sexy blonde Maria Rohm adds a little much-needed glamour to proceedings as singer/gangster's moll Ingrid, and Tony Ferrer threatens to inject some excitement as tough Shanghai cop Inspector Ramos, but his scenes are all too brief. Lee is given little to do except look evil.
"The world will hear from me again": so says Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu at the end of this schlocky potboiler; he wasn't lying either, for he would return for two more films directed by Spanish exploitation legend Jess Franco. However, Fu Manchu's days were clearly numbered, even then: Sax Rohmer's creation had long been considered incredibly racist, perpetuating the idea of the 'yellow peril' in which Asians are viewed as a threat to the West. What made Fu Manchu even more controversial is that he is always played by a caucasian, in this case by Mr. Lee in 'yellow face', sporting a droopy moustache, his eyes made up to look Chinese.
Putting political correctness to one side, I still find The Vengeance of Fu Manchu to be an objectionable movie, simply because it is so tedious, when it could have been a load of fun. Even when dealing with outrageous ideas such as using plastic surgery to create exact doubles of people, it still manages to be one deathly dull watch, lacking in excitement and energy. It starts off promisingly, with our despicable villain and his equally vile daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) sentencing three men to death, but as soon as the tiresome plot kicks in, it all gets incredibly wearisome.
The film hits rock bottom with the most boring court-room scene imaginable - totally bereft of tension, since we, the viewer, already know that the man being tried for murder isn't Scotland Yard hero Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer), but one of Fu Manchu's surgically-altered henchmen.
Sexy blonde Maria Rohm adds a little much-needed glamour to proceedings as singer/gangster's moll Ingrid, and Tony Ferrer threatens to inject some excitement as tough Shanghai cop Inspector Ramos, but his scenes are all too brief. Lee is given little to do except look evil.