The first of several collaborations between cult director Jesus Franco and British producer Harry Alan Towers, this horror-tinged adventure is full of jungle action, creative murders, and violent sexual sadism. Christopher Lee portrays the mysterious Asian madman Fu Manchu, plotting world domination from his secret headquarters underneath the Amazon rainforest. Fu has discovered a rare poison which affects only men, and uses it as lipstick for ten beautiful women, who are to deliver a kiss of death to each of 10 public officials. Carl Jansen (Gotz George) and Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Richard Greene), a pair of Scotland Yard detectives, track Fu Manchu to his underground hideout and -- with the aid of Dr. Ronald Petrie (Howard Marion Crawford) -- search for the antidote to the deadly poison. Lee's wooden performance is alleviated by an amusing turn by Ricardo Palacios as a revolutionary, and a beautiful female cast. Vicente Roca and Marcelo Arroita Jauregui also appear in this entertaining, if extremely sexist, fourth entry in the Fu Manchu series. Nude torture scenes and snake attacks are featured in some of the numerous prints, running 91, 88, 82, and 61 minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Tsai Chin - Lin Tang; Howard Marion-Crawford - Dr. Petrie; Shirley Eaton - Black Widow; Götz George - Carl Janson; Richard Greene - Denis Nayland-Smith; Maria Rohm - Ursula; Loni von Friedl
Credit
Jesús Franco - Director, Daniel White - Composer (Music Score), Gert Wilden - Composer (Music Score), Manuel Merino - Cinematographer, Harry Alan Towers - Producer, Manfred Koehler - Screenwriter, Harry Alan Towers - Screenwriter
In his remote jungle hideout, the evil Fu Manchu has discovered a deadly poison in a "lost city" in the Amazonian jungle that affects only men. Women can become carriers of the "kiss of death" by being bitten by venomous snakes. The poison causes blindness, followed 6 weeks later by death. Using mind control, he aims the women at Nayland Smith and others to prevent them from interferring with his plan to prepare millions of "doses" and spread them around the world's major cities in a plot to control the world.
