The Castle of Fu Manchu Movie Review

The final film in a series starring Christopher Lee as the ultra-evil Dr. Fu Manchu, directed by the always prolific sleaze-monger Jess Franco. This time, the Doc's plans for world domination involve a gadget which will put the earth into a deep freeze. To fine tune this contraption, he enlists the help of a gifted scientist by abducting him. However, the helper/hostage has a bad ticker, so Fu must abduct a heart surgeon to save his life. Most critics felt this was the weakest installment in the series, and rightly so; it plods on and on with very little action or even interesting dialogue. Apparently the producers had their own doubts about the film, as it was only released several years after completion. Only rabid Christopher Lee fans or those completing masters theses on unfortunate Asian stereotypes will find this flick interesting. AKA: Assignment: Istanbul; Die Folterkammer des Dr. Fu Manchu.

1968 (PG) 92m/C GE SP IT GB Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, H. Marion Crawford, Tsai Chin, Gunther Stoll, Rosalba (Sara Bay) Neri, Maria Perschy; D: Jess (Jesus) Franco; W: Peter Welbeck; C: Manuel Merino. VHS MRV