Main Cast: Peter Sellers, Helen Mirren, David Tomlinson, Sid Caesar, Simon Williams
Release Year: 1980
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Peter Sellers gets to play both hero and bad guy at the same time in this comedy variation on Sax Rohmer's infamous stories of Asian super-villian Fu Manchu. The 168-year-old Fu Manchu (Sellers) is starting to run out of the youth-preserving formula that has kept him alive and kicking for the past eight or so decades, and he decides it's high time he made up some more. However, the list of ingredients includes a few items you can't usually get at your corner drug store, and Fu and his minions become a crime wave of their own as they attempt to steal an ancient Egyptian mummy and the Crown Jewels of England. (In the meantime, Fu keeps his heart beating by administering himself the occasional electric shock.) When word gets out that the evil Fu Manchu is back, his long-time nemesis, Scotland Yard's Nayland Smith (also played by Sellers), is put on the case, but like Fu, Smith isn't quite the man he used to be after all these years. Peter Sellers also contributed to the screenplay of The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu without credit, and is said to have briefly taken over as director, though the results lack the snap of his best work; sadly, it would prove to be the great comic's last film. Sid Caesar, Hellen Mirren, and David Tomlinson also appear in the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Steve Franken - Pete Williams; Stratford Johns - Ismail; John Le Mesurier - Perkins; Clive Dunn - Keeper of the Keys; Jacqueline Fogt - Woman Dignitary; Clement Harari - Dr. Wretch; Iska Khan - Fu's Sergeant; Burt Kwouk - Fu's Servant; Peter Sellers - Nayland Smith; John Sharp - Sir Nules Thudd; Philip Tan; Marc Wilkinson - Conductor; David Powers - Bedser; George Hilsdon - Newsvendor; Johns Rajohnson
Credit
Barry Collins - Choreography, John Bloomfield - Costume Designer, Paul Feyder - First Assistant Director, Piers Haggard - Director, Claudine Bouché - Editor, Russell Lloyd - Editor, Hugh Hefner - Executive Producer, Marc Wilkinson - Composer (Music Score), Alexandre Trauner - Production Designer, Jean Tournier - Cinematographer, Zev Braun - Producer, Leland Nolan - Producer, Daniel Brisseau - Sound/Sound Designer, Jim Moloney - Screenwriter, Rudy Dochtermann - Screenwriter
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1980 comedy film, notable as the final film to star Peter Sellers and David Tomlinson. The pre-production began with Richard Quine as the director. By the time production began Piers Haggard was the director, but directing was later taken over by Sellers himself. Based on characters created by Sax Rohmer, the film stars Sellers in the dual roles of Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith (he also appears in an uncredited cameo as a Mexican bandito). Released less than a month after his death, the film was neither a commercial nor a critical success.
Plot
The story concerns the 168-year old Fu Manchu, who must find the ingredients to the elixir vitae, which gives him extended life. Standing in his way is his archnemesis, Nayland Smith, now retired.
Cast
In addition to Sellers, the film features Sid Caesar as FBI agent Joe Capone, David Tomlinson as Scotland Yard inspector Sir Roger Avery and Helen Mirren as Policewoman Helen Rage (Her performance is however notable for her singing "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me A Bow Wow").
Burt Kwouk, Sellers' longtime co-star in The Pink Panther films, makes a cameo appearance as a Fu Manchu minion, prompting the inside joke that Fu thinks he looks familiar. John Le Mesurier, by then famous for his role in the UKsitcomDad's Army, had a small part in the film.
