| The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure |
| Directed by | Franklin Adreon William Witney |
| Starring | Glen Gordon Lester Matthews Clark Howat |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Hollywood Television Service |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC (syndicated) |
| Picture format | Black and white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 3, 1956 – November 26, 1956 |
The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu is a syndicated American television series that aired in 1956. The show was produced by Hollywood Television Service, a subsidiary of Republic Pictures.[1]
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Republic Pictures had paid US$4 Million to Sax Rohmer and announced they would film 78 episodes, but only 13 were made following a protracted court battle over the rights between Rohmer and the producers.[2]
Each episode would start off with Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith playing a game of chess with the narrator telling us that "It is said the Devil plays for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, evil incarnate." At the end of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie had foiled Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, Fu Manchu would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled.
The series was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon as well as William Witney. Unlike the Holmes/Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement official and Petrie as a staff member of the Surgeon General.
The series was similar in some ways to a serial but each episode ended in a resolution rather than a cliffhanger. Republic sent out a film crew to Hong Kong to shoot background footage and supplied stock footage from its library of films.
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