Director: John Farrow
Year:  1937
Rating: 7.0

---

It takes place in China during the unruly chaotic Warlord years leading up to WW II. A group of gweilos are captured and held prisoner in a missionary by Warlord Fang. Fang is played in marvelous style by Boris Karloff. Karloff by all accounts was an affable British gentleman but he portrayed numerous ethnic roles in his career and often Asians as in his series Mr. Wong. In those days I don't think most people gave it a second thought. Except Asians I expect who could not have been pleased. But Karloff is a pleasure to watch as an immoral and yet principled; sadistic and yet sentimental; ambitious and yet fatalistic General who does what he wants because as he enjoyably intones "I am Fang". Even when he nonchalantly tells one of the women that he expects to have sex with her he is both sinister and charming. Good little film that doesn't go where you expect it to.  I stumbled across this excellent B film that was directed by John Farrow right at the beginning of his career. He had just married Maureen O' Sullivan the previous year so he was on a winning streak. Mia wasn't to enter the picture until 1945.

---