| Drums of Fu Manchu | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Hiram S. Brown Jr |
| Written by | Franklin Adreon Morgan B. Cox Ronald Davidson Norman S. Hall Barney A Sarecky Sol Shor Sax Rohmer (novel) |
| Starring | Henry Brandon William Royle Robert Kellard Gloria Franklin Olaf Hytten Tom Chatterton Luana Walters |
| Cinematography | William Nobles |
| Editing by | William Thompson Edward Todd |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 15 March 1940 (serial)[1] 27 November 1943 (feature)[1] |
| Running time | 15 chapters / 269 minutes (serial)[1] 69 minutes (feature)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $164,052 (negative cost: $166,312)[1] |
Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial very loosely based on the novel by Sax Rohmer, starring Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard. It was directed by the legendary serial team of William Witney and John English and is often considered one of the best movie serials ever made.
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In this serial, Fu Manchu attempts to conquer the world by acquiring the Sceptre of Genghis Khan, which will unite the people of Asia under his rule. The action heroics of the serial are provided by an original (for the serial) character, Allan Parker, a young American, who has allied himself with the traditional British literary nemeses of Fu Manchu, Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his associate, Dr. Flinders Petrie after his father is kidnapped and killed by Fu Manchu's dacoits.
Drums of Fu Manchu was budgeted at $164,052 although the final negative cost was $166,312 (a $2,260, or 1.4%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1940, although this year was the first in which Republic's overall spending on serial production was less than in the previous year.[1] Republic spent $597,528 producing serials in 1940 compared to $648,064 in 1939 (1939's total would not be beaten until the $782,204 of 1944). The studio produced four serials in each year, with the same mix of two 12-chapter serials and two 15-chapter serials.
The serial was filmed between 22 December 1939 and 7 February 1940, the longest filming period of any Republic serial.[1] The serial's production number was 995.[1]
Directors Witney and English, working with photographer William Nobles, stressed the elements of mystery in the plot over the usual action. Strong use of shadows was made with "the eeriest lighting possible falling upon Fu Manchu."[2]
Drums of Fu Manchu's official release date is 15 March 1940, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
A 69-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on 27 November 1943. The feature version had the working titles Fu Manchu and Fu Manchu Strikes. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.[1] This version changed the ending of the film. Fu Manchu's escape at the end is edited out and he dies in the final car crash instead. A similar change was made in the feature version of the Victory Pictures serial Shadow of Chinatown .[2]
Harmon and Glut regard Drums of Fu Manchu as one of Republic's best film serials.[2]
Brandon as Fu Manchu is, in Cline's opinion, "a performance that stands alone."[3]
Hans J. Wollstein, writing at Allmovie, concurs that Drums of Du Fu Manchu is "one of [Republic's] very best" serials. He does, however, note mistakes such as the misspelling of "Ghengis Khan" and Fu Manchu referring to Mary Randolph as "Miss Parker" but considers them part of the charm of the serial. In terms of acting, Brandon is a "compelling and strangely ageless fiend" while Kellard is "competent as the action hero." Witney and English are afforded the usual praise for their work.[4]
This was one of Republic's two 15-chapter serials in 1940. The other was Mysterious Doctor Satan. Following their standard practice of 1938-1944, Republic also released two 12-chapter serials in this year, Adventures of Red Ryder and King of the Royal Mounted.
| Preceded by Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) |
Republic Serial Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) |
Succeeded by Adventures of Red Ryder (1940) |
| Preceded by Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) |
Witney-English Serial Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) |
Succeeded by Adventures of Red Ryder (1940) |
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