Like last year, we'll take a small break between the slashers and the directors to focus on one notable actor/character. This time out we'll take a look at Boris Karloff.
Often dubbed the king of horror, Karloff had worked for quite a few years in Hollywood before he got his big break in 1931's Frankenstein. After Whale cast him as the titular monster the English born actor (often billed as just 'Karloff') found himself cast as a variety of characters, usually sinister.
The fourth film in the Fu Manchu series, we open with Sir Dennis Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone) rushing to the archeology dig of Sir Barton (Lawrence Grant). Barton is looking for the tomb of Genghis Khan, but, Smith intones, so is Fu Manchu (Karloff).
Fu Manchu's interest is deeper than mere history. No, he intends to take the late warlord's sword and death mask and declare himself Khan reborn. From there he'll unite the East against the West. Smith is right to be worried, as Barton is kidnapped despite his best efforts and taken to the fiendish doctor.
Despite offering him wealth, power, and even his own daughter Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy), Fu Manchu can't get the old man to budge. Thus he subjects him to the Bell; a fiendish torture where the victim is held immobile under a giant bell.
The dig goes underway regardless. Barton's daughter Sheila (Karen Morley) takes her father's place. With assistants Terry Granville (Charles Starrett); who's also her fiancé, Von Berg (Jean Hersholt), and McLeod (David Torrence), Sheila succeeds in finding the tomb.
They've barely dusted the sword off when Fu Manchu's men attack. McLeod manages to kill one before dying. A messenger agrees to make a trade. Terry has problems with the whole thing, but he agrees to bring the sword to the mad doctor.
There's just one issue. Smith switched the sword with a fake one. Terry would have appreciated knowing that, I'm sure. Fu Manchu still honors his word though, and has the elder Barton returned. Dead though, as he never said what the old man's condition would be. Terry is whipped and brainwashed into serving Fah Lo See.
Smith mounts a rescue and is immediately captured. The rest of the team is captured shortly thereafter. Can Terry free himself in time? Will Smith actually do something?
The Pre-Code Hollywood films are an interesting lot. Here we have torture and sex in nearly equal measure. The racism is also very present, and boy, that makes this a hard one to sit through. The fact that every Asian character is clearly English or American was a bone headed move in the 30's and it ages even worse today.
No comments:
Post a Comment