The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) User Reviews

A very good thriller that's perfect for a dark and stormy night

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 2 February 2008]

First of the sound Fu Manchu films stars Warner Oland as the "evil" doctor. Here the plot begins in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. Fu is a good and loving doctor respected by all sides of the conflict. When the Boxers are routed by a western army several take refuge in Fu's garden. The soldiers pursue and in the resulting fighting the wife and child of the doctor are slain. He of course vows revenge and sets out to kill the men he feels are responsible. The film jumps ahead to the present (1929) where Fu, aided unwittingly by his Caucasian ward,a young Jean Arthur, stalks London on his path of revenge.

Opulent and spectacular early sound film that mostly doesn't seem like most sound films of the period, its not static and frozen, there is movement around the sets. If there is any hint of its origin in the early days of sound its the lack of music cues. Otherwise this is a rip roaring thriller. It has more in common with the murder mysteries of the period rather then the much better known later versions of Sax Rohmer tales with Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee. Here we have shadowy streets in Chinatown and an English manner house perched high on a cliff. Its moody fun stuff.

The cast is mostly excellent, with Warner Oland playing Fu as a darker version of his most famous role, Charlie Chan. The real hero here is not so much Nayland Smith, rather it Dr Petrie, son of of one of Fu's Targets. Petrie is played by Neil Hamilton, best known now as Commissioner Gordon on Batman, however this was back at the start of his career when he was an action leading man. It clear why he was a popular actor back in the day. The only weakness is Jean Arthur as Fu's ward. She seems ill at ease and actually quite awkward. One would be hard pressed to realize that she had been on screen in almost 50 movies by the time this film was made. I would like to think its because of the transition to sound, certainly she shows little sign of the wonderful performances she would give in films like You can't Take it With You or Mr Smith Goes to Washington.

Over all this is a perfect film for a dark and stormy night.

Early talkie has atmosphere, doesn't hold interest.

[Steve-171 · 6/10 · 26 May 1999]

Very early talkie featuring pre-Charlie Chan Oland as mad Doctor, primitive with slow stretches, but watchable. They couldn't stray far from the microphone, so some scenes are VERY static with nobody moving. Comic relief just plain stupid. Interesting trivia: William Austin (Sylvester) later played Batman's butler, Alfred, in serials, while Neil Hamilton (Jack Petrie) MUCH later played Commissioner Gordon in the 60s TV Series. O. P. Heggie, a very wooden Nayland Smith, gained immortality as the blind hermit who befriends the monster in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Any movie with Jean Arthur is a good movie!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 8 March 2018]

A Rowland V. Lee production for Paramount Famous Lasky. Presented by Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky. U.S. release: 10 August 1929. New York opening at the Rialto: 27 July 1929. Length: 7,663 feet. 85 minutes.

NOTES: First of the "Fu Manchu" features, this was appropriately adapted from the premier novel in the series in which the hitherto friendly Fu vows revenge on the white devils who accidentally kill his wife in the Boxer Rebellion. It was followed by two Paramount sequels, The Return of Dr Fu Manchu (1930) and Daughter of the Dragon (1931). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer then took the series over with The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) in which Warner Oland was replaced by Boris Karloff, and at this point the studio lost interest. Republic revived the character in 1940 with Henry Brandon playing the role in the serial Drums of Fu Manchu. In 1965, Christopher Lee took on The Face of Fu Manchu, followed by The Bride of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, Kiss and Kill, and finally in 1967 The Castle of Fu Manchu.

COMMENT: Aside from its distractingly noisy soundtrack, this Fu Manchu is not the creaky curiosity that some critics claim. True, some scenes are statically presented much in the manner of a photographed stage play, but these are counterbalanced by more cinematic sequences of action and spectacle. True, also that "comedian" William Austin (one of the drawbacks of Clarence Badger's 1927 It) is even more painful when he augments his eye-rolling with his prissy voice, but fortunately he is not in the movie all that much. Warner Oland majestically holds center stage, whilst O.P. Heggie and Neil Hamilton provide worthy opponents. Although often unattractively photographed, made up and costumed, Jean Arthur makes an appealing heroine.

All in all, this Fu Manchu still has enough zing to frighten all but the most blasé movie fans.

Oddly enough, the movie's original advertising poster emphasizes "ALL TALKING" rather than any members of the cast, although four of them illustrated: Neil Hamilton, Claude King, Jean Arthur (a flattering impression-she doesn't look a bit like this in the actual movie), and William Austin. But not Warner Oland!

AVAILABLE on DVD through Sinister Cinema. Quality rating: seven out of ten.

EXCELLENT THRILLER FOR 1929

[falangsabai · 7/10 · 9 January 2023]

Yes this movie is very dated. I've been watching movies for over 65 years, even at 10 years old I was watching the, then, oldies on television. I've experienced the full gamut of movie styles, production techniques, acting dynamics and technology, so I can happily and easily get into a movie from this era. Yes, its very melodramatic, over acted, a bit stilted like a stage play, but the story is intriguing, the acting works for the era, the sets are good, and the movie has a dynamic that works. I understand that not everyone can enjoy these golden oldies for what were, only seeing them through the eyes of the 22nd century. If you can, this is actually quite a classic and very absorbing. I liked it.

The Murderous Dr. Fu Manchu

[profh-1 · 6/10 · 9 September 2022]

Just saw this today for the first time, courtesy of Kino Lorber's brand-new 2K master on Blu-Ray. Not quite what I expected-- LOTS of fun!

Apparently, like a number of much-later films involving classic characters (Conan, The Shadow, The Saint), someone in Hollywood decided to tack on an "origin" story that was never in the books. IN this case, they have Fu begin as a humanitarian before his family is killed by army crossfire. At that point, he becomes a diabolical serial killer bent on revenge "to the 3rd generation". (Imagine if Michael Myers had a brain-- and tended to never shut up, explaining his plans at length, like a Bond villain!)

The image on the new Blu-Ray, while still damaged in spots, is mostly pretty sharp & stunning. Apparently, the film has NEVER looked this good in my lifetime. I wish someone had put in more effort with the sound, which is wildly inconsistent. The 2nd half of the story seems more like a filmed stage play than a movie, but a LOT more fun to watch than, say, the 1931 "DRACULA".

One long sequence takes place at an old mansion perched on top of a very dangerous-looking cliff, while the climax is entirely in a pair of rooms in Fu's hideout in Limehouse. At one moment, Fu points out the similarity to a classic "melodrama", which only emphasizes the sheer ridiculousness of the cat-and-mouse game situation. But I had a big smile on my face the whole time, so, I guess, no real complaints!

It cracked me up to see 2 "Batman" actors in this-- "Alfred" from 1943 and "Gordon" from 1966. Made me think the '66 TV show could have really used an Asian super-villain in its roster!

I've noticed of late that quite a few early Paramount films are only available in TERRIBLE prints, which has led me to believe the studio really doesn't give a damn about their oldies. I've recently seen 4 "Philo Vance" films that were made by Paramount, and all of them were in dreadful shape. As 3 of those I rate as extremely-good early talkie murder mysteries, I find myself wishing someone like Kino Lorber would make the effort to restore THOSE films as well. Silents and early sound films are their own special kind of art form, and I find one really can't appreciate them to their fullest unless you're watching a REALLY CLEAN print. This one isn't perfect, but I suppose for now, it'll do!

"When the moonbeam touches the dragon I shall return"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 5/10 · 13 July 2022]

It's an early talkie with an excess of talk but not much action. The sets are great and Redmoat Manor perched on a cliff looks like a wild gothic house but the plot is routine; escape, capture, escape, capture, lights going out, screams etc. Warner Oland is OK as Dr. Fu Manchu but he makes a better Charlie Chan. The film gives Fu Manchu a back story that explains his motive of revenge so that there is nothing 'mysterious' about him. In the books he is a villain from the start with no explanation which makes him more threatening. The rest of the cast are also OK, Jean Arthur looking fine of course but yet to reach the golden age of her career and Neil Hamilton being sufficiently stalwart as Dr Petrie. Unfortunately William Austin as Sylvester Wadsworth is rather annoying as the supposedly comic relief. The film is vaguely based on the first book by Sax Rohmer about Fu Manchu, very vaguely. They should have stuck to the original more closely which among other things had a killer centipede!

This talkie is very talky.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 5 July 2022]

Without checking, I'll hazard a guess that very few of the Chinese characters in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu are actually from the East. Certainly none of the main oriental characters are, with Warner Oland leading the way in 'yellowface' to play Sax Rohmer's sadistic villain Fu Manchu. I guess no Chinese actor would be happy to play the role given how anti-Asian the story is, the film playing upon the West's fear of the 'yellow peril'.

The film opens in 1900, during the anti-foreign uprising in China known as the Boxer Rebellion. Reverend Mr. Eltham sends his young daughter Lia to the safety of the house of Fu Manchu (Oland); however, when Western gunfire kills Fu Manchu's wife and child, the once affable Chinaman vows to take revenge, and, years later, uses Lia (Jean Arthur) to get even with those responsible.

An early talkie, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is technically crude, with the performers clearly struggling to make the transition from silent to sound. Thus we get quite stagey, over-the-top melodramatics from many of the cast, with Oland being seriously hammy as the antagonist. In a way, I feel that this adds to the charm of the piece, although I can see why some might find the performances a problem. My main issue with the film is that it is OVERLY talky, as though director Rowland V. Lee wanted to make the absolute most of this new advancement in movie-making: as is often the case with cartoonish villains, Fu Manchu doesn't just kill his enemies and be done with it -- he tries to bore them to death first with a long speech about his incredible intellect.

Unsurprisingly, Fu Manchu's superior mind proves no match for Inspector Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard, who outsmarts the villain, rescuing Lia and handsome Dr. Jack Petrie (descendant of a General at the Boxer Rebellion) from a gruesome death in the nick of time.

Focus on Warner Oland's performance and the atmosphere...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 20 September 2009]

...and you'll feel like watching this film was time well spent. Perhaps it was the job Warner Oland did here as Fu Manchu that got him the role of Charlie Chan over at Fox, because he is sensational in the part. He transitions from humanitarian to a one-man killing machine on a quest for vengeance against those he holds responsible for the death of his wife and only child. Their deaths occur in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion when a troop of soldiers fire on Fu Manchu's house. The Europeans are after the boxers, and Fu Manchu's family is just collateral damage to them. At the time of the rebellion, Fu Manchu has a young two year old European female ward (Jean Arthur). He uses the power of hypnotism he holds over her to get her to help in his dirty work without her ever remembering anything that happened.

Twenty years later Fu Manchu has killed off all those he finds responsible except one man and his offspring, and this leads him to England. A detective from Scotland Yard figures out what is going on, and the surviving family members including Fu's ward are holed up in an old dark house trying to get the Chinese mastermind to show himself. The complicating factor is that one of Fu Manchu's targets (Neil Hamilton) and Fu Manchu's ward (Jean Arthur) have fallen in love.

This film is pretty static, but then it is one of the first talking films and the placement of the microphone and camera demanded this. Oland and Hamilton are great in their roles, and everybody else is OK except Jean Arthur. She is really playing this one over the top, like she thinks she is still in a silent picture and expecting the villain to tie her to a railroad track at any instance. She doesn't give a glimpse of the great performances that are to come.

Watch this one for Warner Oland, for the atmosphere, and for the general touch of class you find in all of the early Paramount talkies.

The REAL problem is it's badly-acted

[gengar843 · 5/10 · 5 November 2021]

THE STORY & GENRE -- Brief and slight hypnotic powers is about all the genre which can be mustered in this basic crime story. ASHSFF calls it "Tangential." Rowland V. Lee directs, Warner Oland stars.

THE VERDICT -- As I said, the real problem here is the acting, which drags the entirety down to mediocre. And believe me, I was looking forward to seeing Oland do Fu. There is no "racism", only characterization. If you want to get political about it, China is not a friend of the world or human rights, and Fu Manchu is a personification of that fear and reality.

FREE ONLINE -- Yes. Google also "The Red Dragon" 1929.

VERY hard to sit through

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 28 May 2018]

Film buffs might want to check out what Warner Oland was doing before his Charlie Chan days, and what Jean Arthur was doing before her Frank Capra days, but others might want to steer clear of "The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu": it's stilted, static, uninvolving and overlong. Fu Manchu's deadliest power appears to be his ability to bore his captives to death; he never stops talking and talking and talking and talking. *1/2 out of 4.

An abundance of racism and other prejudices.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 12 August 2014]

There is a definite anti-Asian sentiment in this sometimes unintentionally funny pre-code thriller that not only slams Chinese, but effeminate men as well. A slight attempt to give Warner Oland's character a justifiable motive (at least in his mind) for murder. He blames the Caucasian men who slaughtered his family during the Boxer Rebellion, and sets his American ward Jean Arthur up to destroy the families of his enemies. Of course, she has the gall to fall in love with one of them, a very young Neil Hamilton. Desperate causes require desperate measures, and Fu Manchu sets up a vile torture to keep Arthur in line.

Subtle at first, this turns out to be almost as offensive as the 1932 Boris Karloff cult classic. Oland would go on to play the heroic Charlie Chan in a series of B mysteries but here he is the epitome of pure evil. Melodrama!, he screeches in one particularly odd moment, just before sharing his evil goals with the doomed lovers. An effeminate butler adds on unfunny stereotypes as he claims he doesn't wear glasses because it would make him look effeminate, and later cries about not living to the next day to have marmalade one last time. Arthur, in one of her early talkies, comes off a far cry from her later skilled actress and is almost embarrassing to watch. Creaky to watch, offensive to listen to, and eye-rolling in every other element, yet such a curiosity of bad taste.

Restored Version Available?

[orionview · 9/10 · 1 January 2013]

Restored Version Available? Or better yet a colorized version? The original book is free on Gutenburg. The film that is shown now is practically unwatchable but the story and the actors are engaging in the film and would make it worthwhile watching in an HD or colorized version. Oland, Hamilton, and Arthur were all engaged in the silent film era and this is their plunge into the talkies. So you have skilled actors with a good story, but the display is wanting. This is the first Fu Manchu film of the talkies era and it was good. However 83 years later the film itself is in tatters. Message me if you have a lead on an A+ quality version of the film and I (and many others) will snap it up quickly.