The Face Of Fu Manchu (1965)

The Chinese criminal mastermind Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) kidnaps an esteemed scientist (Walter Rilla) who is doing research on a rare Tibetan flower, the Blackhill poppy. The poppy has the potential to be a deadly weapon whose poison can decimate thousands of lives at a time. Based on the charachter created by Sax Rohmer and directed by Don Sharp (KISS OF THE VAMPIRE). This was the first of five Fu Manchu movies (1965-1969) produced by Harry Alan Towers and starring Christopher Lee. This might be the best of the series as it downplays the racist "yellow peril" inherent in the Fu Manchu movies and instead focuses on the adventurous aspects of it. The film is set in 1912 which makes the silly exoticism of the whole thing slightly (very slightly) more plausible. If this sort of nonsense tickles your fancy then you should enjoy it (I did in spite of myself) but the more politically correct might find it irritating. Handsomely shot in Ireland in Techniscope by Ernest Steward (CARRY ON SERGEANT). With Nigel Green, Karin Dor, Tsai Chin, James Robertson Justice and Joachim Fuchsberger.