Main Cast: Henry Brandon, William Royle, Robert Kellard, Gloria Franklin, Olaf Hytten
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 150 minutes
Plot
Every time that sinister Oriental megalomaniac Dr. Fu Manchu is ready to kill, sounds of strange drums can be heard coming from -- well, nowhere really. In 1939, Republic Pictures purchased the rights to the first six of British pulp fiction writer Sax Rohmer's popular "Fu Manchu" stories. The result became the studio's second longest action serial and one of its most enduringly popular. The head of a sinister conglomeration known as the Si-Fan, Dr. Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon) goes in search of the Sacred Scepter of Genghis Khan, with which he hopes to rule all the tribes of the Orient and evict the foreign infidels. Helping the good doctor is Fah-Lo-Suee (Gloria Franklin), his Eurasian daughter, and a seemingly unlimited supply of Dacoits, henchmen turned into slaves by having undergone frontal lobotomies. Dr. Fu Manchu is, as always, opposed by Sir Neyland Smith (William Royle) of the British Foreign Office. This time, however, Sir Neyland is not only aided by his very own "Dr. Watson," Dr. Petrie (Olaf Hytten), but also by a young American, Allan Parker (Robert Kellard), whose father (George Cleveland) had become yet another of Fu Manchu's many victims. Complicating the search is the attractive presence of Mary Randolph (Luana Walters) who, like most of her ilk, has a tendency to get herself into serious trouble at the most inopportune moments. Although the Oriental fiend appears all-powerful at times, Sir Neyland and his friends once again save the free world from enslavement -- although it takes them 15 chapters to do so. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
It is easy to see why a later generation of film directors -- Steven Spielberg, to name but one -- became so influenced by the best of Republic's serials. And Drums of Fu Manchu is one of the studio's very best, brimming with strange tombs, mysterious poison darts, sliding panels, toxic vapors, mad scientists who craft amazingly realistic life masks of handsome heroes, car and plane crashes in remote locations, and plenty of rococo dialogue. With all this going on, it is hardly fair to comment on the fact that careless writers misspell Genghis Khan as "Ghengis Khan" and that Henry Brandon's evil doctor forgets the name of heroine Mary Randolph (Luana Walters), whom he insists on calling "Miss Parker." In fact, these blunders make the serial even more endearing. With makeup rivaling the best of Universal, young actor Henry Brandon makes a compelling and strangely ageless fiend and William Royle visibly enjoys a rare departure from villainy as Sir Neyland Smith. Robert Kellard, meanwhile, is competent as the action hero and the Dacoits emerge as some of the most sinister-looking henchmen in serial history. The direction by the ace chapterplay team of William Witney and John English is swift and to the point and almost makes you forget that Mongolia suddenly bears a striking resemblance to the Iverson Movie ranch in Chatsworth, California. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
