View allAll Photos Tagged HighStrung
125,312 items / 892,643 views
some of the
best years
of my life
were spent
in this hotel
i worked
as a sales person
at Burlingtons
of Bombay
for a short spell
a colonial world
of white men
to dwell
under two
stalwarts
fateh singh
ratan singh
i learnt to sell
benjamin caleb
my manager
so many stories
to tell
lorraine rhubottom
anglo indian
bombshell
ship time
munni gupta
highstrung as hell
jeannie nowrojee
fashion shows
on the ship
a thought
rings a bell
callaghan of bombay
walking the ramp
with a rose
in his lapel
jenifer kendall
gaby kapoor
styling clothes
giving us
experience
in a nutshell
so many
memories
the mind
cannot quell
dickensian
characters
of a novel
thoughts that
propel
in life
without
this stint
i would have
not excelled
My daughter, Meg's, Weimaraner. She came from Weimaraner Rescue in Michigan three years ago, and is a lovely girl
The Weimaraner
My daughter, Meg's, Weimaraner. She came from Weimaraner Rescue in Michigan three years ago, and is a lovely girl
The Weimaraner
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimaraner
From the sets entitled 'Sophie' and 'Cordova Lake August 2008'
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157603870220172/
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157606673752926/
Exif Info:
Camera: Canon XTi
Manual Exposure
Shutter Speed: 1/800
Aperture Value: 4
ISO: 100
WB: Cloudy
Focal Length: 70mm
Compression: RAW, then JPEG
Post Processing Info:
Canon ZoomBrowser Ex: crop, sharpening
PhotoShop Elements 5: light balancing.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Serial Lobby Card 1940Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Chapter 6 "Death Dials A Number" Serial Lobby Card 1940Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Chapter 2 "The Monster" Serial Poster 1940
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Chapter 1 "Fu Manchu Strikes"
Serial Poster 1940
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Chapter 1-- "Fu Manchu Strikes."
Author Sax Rohmer created one of the most evil and diabolical villains to ever grace the screen with Dr. Fu Manchu; a Chinese genius who plots to rid China of Western imperialists through torture and assassination. Opposing Fu Manchu was the British policeman Nayland Smith and his assistant, Dr. Petrie. The characters were very similar in concept to those created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Fu Manchu similar to Professor Moriarty, Smith similar to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Petrie similar to Dr. Watson. Regardless of the comparisons, the characters stood on their own merits and were featured in a series of successful novels and films. This was the only serial to feature the evil genius and is widely considered to be one of Republic's most exciting.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Chapter 15 "Revolt"
Serial Poster 1940
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker. Chapter Titles: 1) Fu Manchu Strikes, 2) The Monster, 3) Ransom in the Sky, 4) The Pendulum of Doom, 5) The House of Terror, 6) Death Dials a Number, 7) Vengeance of the Si Fan, 8) Danger Trail, 9) The Crystal of Death, 10) Drums of Doom, 11) The Tomb of Genghis Khan, 12) Fire of Vengeance, 13) The Devil's Tattoo, 14) Satan's Surgeon, 15) Revolt
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Chapter 4 -- "The Pendulum of Doom." Serial.
Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, and Philip Ahn. Directed by John English and William Witney.
The nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu searches for the keys to the tomb of Genghis Khan, in order to fulfill a prophecy that will enable him to conquer the world. His nemesis, Dr. Nayland Smith, and his associates fight to keep the evil doctor from getting his hands on the keys.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
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About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
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Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Photos (8" X 10")
In 1943, Republic edited their 1940, fifteen chapter serial of the same name, into a feature film. These stills are from the feature release. Starring Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Dwight Frye, Olaf Hytten, Tom Chatterton, Luana Walters, Lal Chand Mehra, Philip Ahn. Directed by John English, William Witney.
Dr. Fu Manchu is trying to take over the world by using the scepter of Genghis Khan, who was hidden in his tomb. With this scepter Fu Manchu gets all the Asian peoples in his power, and with their help he is able to conquer the world. But Fu Manchu is counteracted by his old nemesis Sir Dennis Nayland Smith and his partner Allan Parker.
(Nov 20, 2004)
It seems like I think every serial I watch is one of the best I've ever seen, but that's probably because I've been looking for serials that were highly recommended... so they really ARE good. It's not like I'm sitting through a marathon of BRUCE GENTRY, PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO or HOP HARRIGAN without breaks. Anyway, I had read and enjoyed all of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories over the course of a year or two (as well as his Sumuru books), and was really looking forward to watching this chapterplay.
It certainly doesn't disappoint. DRUMS OF FU MANCHU is remarkably faithful to the tone and mood of Rohmer's books. Chapter Five, where the Devil Doctor and his Dacoits assault an isolated mansion in a thunderstorm, while inside Nayland Smith vainly tries to warn an intended victim of the danger, is just like a chapter from the early books brought to the screen. We have an evil, ageless Chinese super-villain invading Western society with his army of vicious assassins, his beautiful heartless daughter and his trademark of bizarre torture methods. He even is accompanied by the Council of Seven of the dreaded Si-Fan, meeting in ceremonial robes around a dragon-emblazoned table.
Fu Manchu is opposed by staunch British Foreign Office agent Nayland Smith and his friend Dr Petrie, as well as a burly younger man delegated to handle the rougher fistfights... in this case, Allan Parker. The Devil Doctor is after some artifacts, a scroll hidden in a Dalai plaque and a shard from an ancient temple, which will give him the sacred scepter he needs to claim authority from Genghis Khan himself and thus launch an all-out holy war in Asia. (Sounds a lot like the book and film versions of MASK OF FU MANCHU, both great in themselves.) So the sides are drawn up, the hot potato is thrown from hand to hand and the fun starts.
One thing I loved about this serial is its visuals. DRUMS looks like a 'B' horror film, very atmospheric and shadowy; since the first half is set in California rather than the foggy streets of London, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms set the proper mood. The Dacoits are all as sinister as you might hope, skulking around in the shadows with their bolos and poison dart blowpipes, flinging an inordinate number of daggers into peoples' backs.
These assassins have all had brain surgery performed on them by Fu Manchu himself to remove their free will and make them absolutely obedient. As a result, they have shaved heads with a large V-shaped lobotomy scar on the brow. Some of them also have vampire fangs for some unexplained reason. (And just to show not all Asians are incarnate devils, Philip Ahn appears as the cultured Dr Chang to provide an important piece to the puzzle and to courageously stand up to Fu Manchu's threats. It's a small touch but well meant.)
Henry Brandon is just fine as Fu Manchu himself. At first, the completely bald head and 45-degree uptilted eyebrows seem odd, but Brandon gives an all-out highstrung performance that won me over. (I still like the demonic interpretation seen in MASK OF FU MANCHU better, but hey, Boris Karloff is a tough act to follow for any actor.) Gloria Franklin is not as glamorous or enticing as Myrna Loy (again, admittedly a tough act to follow) but she is malevolent and cunning as Fah Lo Suee; one thing missing from Rohmer's formula is that she doesn't harbor lustful thoughts about the Western infidels, but then serials were aimed at juvenile audiences.
As for the good guys, ah well. William Royle doesn't seem much like the gaunt, hyperactive Smith of the books (and he seems to have imsplaced his first name Denis, called "Sir Nayland Smith" throughout) but Royle is a staunch, determined pipe-smoking hero is is believable as someone capable of tackling Fu Manchu. For someone getting on in years and packing a few extra pounds, he still doesn't hesitate to trade punches with a Dacoit or to enter a certain trap. Olaff Hytten is bland but okay as Dr Petrie (and considering how badly Dr Watson was being portrayed at the time, we should be glad Petrie kept some dignity).
The surrogate hero who can be counted on for wrassling Dacoits, climbing down rope ladders from planes and leaping off crashing trains is Allan Parker (played by Robert Kellard). For someone who is supposed to be just the son of an archaologist, Allan plays pretty rough. He throws a punch like he means it, and handles a revolver with a confidence that suggests he and his father had been in tight spots on digs many times. Also tangled up in the antics are Tom Chatterton as Professor Randolph and Luana Walters as his daughter Mary, along to aid the damsel factor.
The action scenes are not quite the highly polished choreography that Republic would showcase in a year or so, but they are accordingly more believable. The punches and grappling seem more like real fights than the amazing acrobatics we would soon see in SPY SMASHER or PERILS OF NYOKA. The essence of a serial is in its cliffhanger endings, and the ones here are more imaginative than in later years. Our heres find themselves strapped beneath a swinging razor-sharp pendulum, dropped into a tank with a belligerent octopus, tied down and about to be lobobomized into an obedient slave --- all very cool chapter endings.
DRUMS OF FU MANCHU does drag a bit in the second half, once the action transfers to what is either supposed to be india (or maybe Central Asia, maybe Afghanistan?) It's a tribute to Fu Manchu that he explicitly survives to the end credits. Arm in a sling and somrewhat worse for the wear and of the fifteen chapters, the Devil Doctor humbly appears at the tomb of Genghis Khan and apologizes for his failure. But, he says, there will another day when he succeeds in conquering Asia. "This I pledge", he promises as he bows. Unfortunately, WW II made a Chinese archvillain as unworkable as a Japanese hero like Mr Moto, and so both characters were shelved for the duration.
I made a point to space out the watching of this serial instead of just viewing three or four chapters at a time, and it enhances the experience enormously. I still am neither patient nor organized enough to wait a week between chapters, but I can get a glimpse of the delicious anxiety fans must have felt waiting for the next Saturday back in 1940.
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt
Mingle Media TV and Red Carpet Report host Kristyn Burtt were invited to cover the Red Carpet Premiere for High Strung, a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD) at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
“High Strung" opens in theaters on April 8th
For video interviews and other Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit www.redcarpetreporttv.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About High Strung
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
HIGH STRUNG is a new dance film by Michael and Janeen Best Damian with Choreography by Dave Scott (SYTYCD). #HighStrungMovie In Theaters April 8th! Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian Eastwood , Comfort Fedoke with Jane Seymour and The Worlds Greatest Dancers! Dave Scott (SYTYCD) Choreographer
www.facebook.com/HighStrungMovie/
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host Kristyn on Twitter at twitter.com/KristynBurtt