The Castle of Fu Manchu Film Review

Damn, Fu Manchu is back again with a devilish plot to take over the world. But even worse, it is again helmed by Jess Franco. This was the final nail in the coffin of the five film Fu Manchu series with Christopher Lee as the mad Chinese megalomaniac. And it goes out with kind of a thud. Maybe that is for the best. Leave people not wanting more. Checking around the Internet, this film is less popular than a case of scabies. But I will put myself up for public mockery by saying it is not as bad as scabies. Sure, it has a few faults - holes large enough for Trump's ass to squeeze through, a pacing that is like having your feet stuck in cement, a lot of borrowed footage and a really silly scheme to make the world bow down to him. Freeze the oceans. On the positive side though you have Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin at her sternest, Rosalba Neri getting soaking wet, Maria Perschy declaring her love in the prisons of Fu Manchu (if we hadn't been kidnapped we would never have known we love each other), the wonder of Istanbul, the exteriors of the Rumelihisari Castle and best Dr. Petrie rowing a boat to save them all at the end - because I guess the Turkish police have no boats. Let's face it, Franco's fourth film The Blood of Fu Manchu was no great shakes. I have seen many worse films in my life. Just give me time to think of them.

From his hideout Fu Manchu warns the world that he has a powerful weapon - and he creates an iceberg that sinks a liner - shot strangely in a blue tint. It all looks vaguely familiar. Let me think. Oh. It is footage from the 1958 film, A Night to Remember. Tinted blue because it was shot in black and white. Very convincing. Who would have known back then. Pretty much any scene in the film that looks like it cost money was borrowed from elsewhere. Back at the hideout, Burt Kwok is warning Fu Manchu that it was too much power and it was going to blow up and he tries to stop it. And gets shot by Fu Manchu. Again, Kwok was killed by Fu in Brides of Fu Manchu in exactly the same way, in the same room. Poor Burt. I hope he got paid again.

Fu needs better crystals that are a by-product of opium so he has to take over a castle and steal their opium. I think. And he gets the help of a Turkish gang of drug dealers. Give him credit, Fu is a tidy man. When he is finished with anyone, he kills them. Unless they look like Rosalba. Let's keep her as a prisoner. Good thinking. He also needs a scientist and kidnaps him but he needs a heart transplant and so he kidnaps a doctor in London along with Perschy and puts them in frozen coffins and brings them to Istanbul.

Eventually our hero Nayland Smith (Richard Greene again) gets involved. Bringing a gun to the rodeo might have helped but his karate is all he needs against the badly trained dacoits who can't even beat up the doctor. Hard finding good men. See, this all sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Action, romance. comedy and the tension of turning on your switch to see if the lights are working. Goodbye Fu Manchu. You will not be returning this time.