The Mask Of Fu Manchu (1932)

An archaeologist (Lawrence Grant) is kidnapped and tortured by the evil, power mad Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) in an attempt to find the whereabouts of the tomb of Genghis Khan. But the archaeologist's daughter (Karen Morley) takes her father's place on the expedition and guides the search party to the tomb. This silly piece of kitschy nonsense, based on Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels, is crude film making at best but its ludicrous racism (Karloff's Fu Manchu whips his followers into a frenzy with "Kill the white man and take his women!") and pre-code sexuality (Myrna Loy as Fu Manchu's sadistic daughter gets turned on by seeing a partially naked man whipped) make it a fascinating curio. Karloff seems to relish his role and Loy in her "Oriental" phase is sexy which renders them luckier than the rest of the cast who can't seem to shake off their stiffness. Asian groups, understandably, protested the film's attitude. Directed by Charles Brabin. With Jean Hersholt and Charles Starrett as the hunky but clunky romantic interest for Morley.