Son of the Revenge of the 31 Days of Cheese - Day 15: The Mask of Fu Manchu

We’re going on a bit of 30’s side bar – no real reason just feel like it.

And before we start a stupid joke I heard many many years ago.

“Many Men Smoke, But Fu Manchu.”

Fu Manchu, the Ultimate super criminal indeed setting the template for those who came after, the living embodiment of the yellow peril, Brilliant, evil with his own code of honor and the guy what the mustache is named after.

This 1932 film is utterly and determinedly insanely over the top in just about every moment on the screen. This was an MGM a production so the sets are lavish, the lighting is great, the extras are numerous and true to the nature of the source material the actors chew great chunks of the scenery.

There is, to modern ears, a very very racist tinge to this , which Fu again being the yellow peril incarnate (Asians will come and take your jobs and sleep with your women) can’t really escape it here. Still Karloff said many years later in an interview about this film –“anyone who takes it seriously is an idiot”

Still the yellow peril has, to me, a rather interesting little tweak that the standard foreigns or what sort Irish, Black Italian, Hispanic, Muslim, are going to destroy our way of life paranoia – that the Asians are thought of  being too clever a nod I suppose to American’s continuing streak of anti-intellectualism “eggheads” for example and currently Teachers and Scientists.

Anyway the delirium begins with Nayland Smith (the determined and for some reason  successful nemesis of Fu Manchu) sending a professor and his fellow scientists and explorers to deepest Asia to find the mask and sword of Genghis Khan before Fu does otherwise bad things happen to white people. The poor professor is promptly kidnapped by fu’s associates and then, after refusing fu’s offer of money or his daughter is put under a big bell to be driven mad by the constant ringing 27-7..

Fu is played with almost over the top perfection by a heavily made Boris Karloff who has his fist speaking role – and relishes it delivering lines like “son of a white dog, you trick Fu Manchu?”

There are tombs evacuated, acrobatic killings by Fu’s Henchmen, Whippings (where Myrna Lo playing the daughter of Fu says “the whip! Faster! Faster!” in almost orgasmic excitement,  while one of the explorers , the male lead to be precise is whipped, a severed hand delivered to send a message, huge Black guys in loincloths for some reason, and a massive operation scene where FU extracts the venom from a man overacting dying of a snakebite along with other ingredients to make a mind control serum.

Also a man is strapped to a chair while the slim sliver fingers – a brace of knives in two moving platforms slowly move towards him, an attempted sacrifice of the blonde lady lead and a pit of alligators. Of course there is a pit of alligators why not?

Near the end, with the sword of Genghis Kahn,  wearing the mask of Genghis Kahn, and what looks like a hat he stole from Carmen Marinda tells his assembled minions/worshipers/army “Conquer and Breed! Kill the White man and take his women!” Which I swear are what a good percentage of the GOP hear whenever Obama makes a speech.

In the end all is put to right, Fu is dead, his army killed, and the  sword sent to the bottom of the sea and the only Asian about is a waiter.  

Enjoy with Chop Suey.