First Fu

THE FACE OF FU MANCHU-1965-Although evil Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) is beheaded at the onset, his good guy nemesis Nayland Smith (Nigel Green) has a dream that his arch foe is still alive. After Dr. Muller (Walter Rilla) disappears Smith is sure of it and he's right. Somehow Fu got a double to take his place on the guillotine and now holds the doctor hostage to learn the secret of the Black Hill poppy. His slutty daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) wants to whip a female traitor but Fu drowns her instead. Then Fu goes after some papers in a museum. Although Smith does his best and rarely underestimates his foe, Fu usually gets the drop on the situation (they read an address out loud in front of a spy, etc.). When an eccentric professor takes the papers home Fu hypnotizes him then wipes out a coastal town with some toxic gas he hopes to rule the world with. He goes to Tibet to get the secret ingredient poppy but Smith with the help of his usual companion Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford) blows up the castle he and his daughter are in. However his infamous catch phrase “the world shall hear of me again” is also heard. 

This was the first of five film versions with Lee as the infamous doctor each one getting cheaper and more preposterous as they went on. Don Sharp directed most of them and had already worked with Lee on THE DEVIL SHIP PIRATES the year before. Harry Alan Towers was the producer and wrote this one which I don't think was based on any actual story by creator Sax Rohmer. Karin Dor and Joachim Fuschberger also have roles.

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