Brides of Fu Manchu (1966) US 1 Sheet Poster
The second of five Fu Manchu movies produced by Harry Alan Towers, all starring Christopher Lee. Brides is the only one of the series shot entirely in Britain (at Bray Studios), directed by Don Sharp, who had made The Face of Fu Manchu the previous year. Tasmanian born Sharp was an all-rounder, with his foot firmly in the horror genre, Kiss of the Vampire (1963) to Psychomania (1973), thrillers with Our Man in Marrakesh (1966), to his uncredited saving of Puppet on a Chain (1971) – the famous speedboat chase was his, Callan (1974) and Bear Island (1979), and period pieces with Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), Jules Verne’s Rocket to the Moon (1967) and a lively version of The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) with Robert Powell.
Although Fu Manchu was blown up at the conclusion of the first film, he returns to kidnap the daughters of leading scientists, to force them to build a death ray to complete his plans of world domination. He hypnotises the women into submission and dispatches any recalcitrant scientists in typically grisly Fu Manchu fashion. While Lee remains suitably inscrutable, Tsai Chin is perfectly evil as his daughter. Douglas Wilmer is no Nigel Green, but plays Nayland Smith in a square-jawed heroic way and the film is replete with fisticuffs and brides sporting decidedly un-period underwear.
Artist: Unknown
Condition: VERY GOOD / FINE
Cast: Heize Drache, Marie Versini, Howard Marion-Crawford, Rupert Davies, Carole Gray, Burt Kwouk