The Mask of Fu Manchu
Short description
The Mask of Fu Manchu follows a British archaeological expedition that sets out to locate the tomb of Genghis Khan and recover its treasures, above all the conqueror's sword and golden mask. A criminal mastermind, Dr. Fu Manchu, wants those relics for himself, believing they will let him rally the peoples of the East against the West. A British agent, Nayland Smith, races to keep the tomb's contents out of Fu Manchu's hands, while the scientist's daughter and her fiancé become drawn into the struggle after members of the expedition fall into the villain's power.
Charles Brabin directed the film, which was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Cosmopolitan Productions in November 1932 and runs just over an hour. Boris Karloff, then established as a leading horror star, plays Fu Manchu, with Lewis Stone as Nayland Smith, Karen Morley as Sheila Barton, Charles Starrett as Terence Granville, Myrna Loy as Fah Lo See and Jean Hersholt as Von Berg. It belongs to Brabin's run of films from the early 1930s, and the screenplay came from Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf and John Willard, with Charles Vidor producing.
Audience response has been moderate: on IMDb it holds a rating of 6.2 from around 4,100 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.4 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.4 from nine reviews is slightly higher than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Director Charles Vidor was fired by the studio three days after filming began and replaced by Charles Brabbin.
- As a costume, Boris Karloff (1887-1969) actually wore a traditional Chinese women’s wedding dress.
- Applying makeup to Boris Karloff took Cecil Holland (1887-1973) 2.5 hours before the start of each shooting day.
- During the filming of the scene in which Fu Manchu administers a special drug to the hero played by Charles Starrett (1903-1986), Boris Karloff would jab a needle into a boiled potato lying on the table right next to the actor's head, but in such a way as not to be visible in the camera frame. However, with each take, when the plunger was pressed, the potato would simply be torn to pieces. After a few takes, Starrett simply burst out laughing, and director Charles Brabin (1883-1957) ordered filming to be stopped for the day.
- Boris Karloff appears taller than all other actors in the film because he wears shoes with high heels, which is noticeable in long shots.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
