The Mask of Fu Manchu

Released Nov 5, 1932

1h 12m

Horror

List

88%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

The sinister Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) and his equally devious daughter, Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy), clash with a British expedition that has set out in search of Genghis Khan's tomb. Working under the guidance of Sir Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone), the English team finds ancient relics -- a mask and a sword. While the group seeks the artifacts for their archeological value, Fu Manchu and Fah Lo See regard them as mystical items that they can use to gain unstoppable power.

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Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

Boris Karloff portrays the evil warlord with the right mix of menace and playfulness.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 17, 2016

Full Review

Steve Biodrowski

Cinefantastique

This is a creaky but entertaining relic from the early sound era. Basically an adventure story...it edges into the horror category thanks to the fiendish torture devices used by the Oriental criminal mastermind - and his sadistic daughter.

May 12, 2009

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

An entertaining but politically incorrect hokum escapist adventure story.

Rated: B

Jun 4, 2008

Full Review

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

...the film is filled with high camp, Karloff in droopy mustache and long, curled fingernails and Loy in slinky gown and dangly headdress.

Rated: 4/10

Oct 5, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 4, 2005

Full Review

Mark R. Leeper

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Rated: 3/5

Aug 3, 2004

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Audience Member

Oh boy, what a poor adaptation. The storyline is confusing, most actors are not that good, and it has maybe one of the worst fighting scene of all time. The scenarios are stunning and the attention to detail is impressive, though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The funniest Boris Karloff movie ever, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Myrna Loy is delightfully ambitious in her wild role as Fu Manchu's daughter and she steals the entire movie. This was the last time she would appear as a person of "Far Eastern, Hindu, Hindu/Japanese, half-breed or Chinese yellow-peril" heritage. Times were vastly different in 1932, yet Myrna Loy acts her part with diabolical precision. Quite an impressive performance before going on to star in "Manhattan Melodrama" and the "Thin Man" movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best movie character ever portrayed: Boris Karloff as Dr. Fu Manchu!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A time capsule from Hollywood history when being brazenly racist (in this case, against the Chinese) seems to have been A-OK. But the film is so outlandish - and the Chinese baddies so unrealistic, that really they may as well have been alien invaders from outer space (perhaps I am thinking of Ming the Merciless?). Still, it is disheartening to think that American audiences would have thrilled to a battle between the "White Race" and the "Yellow Peril". But let's set that aside if we can and just see the baddies in the film as evil archetypes (who over the course of a century or two might switch their race/culture/subgroup in the popular American imagination but yet still retain their archetypal ways). Boris Karloff plays Fu Manchu, the evil leader lusting for the power represented by Genghis Khan and his long lost mask and scimitar, and Myrna Loy (!!!) plays his sultry but sadistic daughter - both in bad Asian make-up (Karloff is nearly unrecognisable again). The plot sees British archaeologists working for the British Museum racing to locate and excavate Genghis Khan's tomb before Fu Manchu can get there and use Khan's treasure to whip his followers up into a frenzy to begin a new empire. The Brits do get there first but then Fu Manchu uses all of his diabolical tricks to abscond with the treasure and subject the heroes to terrible tortures (tying them under giant ringing bells, suspending them over hungry alligators, and subjecting them to slowly closing walls with huge spikes). I'm sure the audience gasped! And although the required happy ending is soon served up, one ends with the feeling that the heroes have been a little too bland and faceless and the almost campy over-indulgence of the evil side was the real drawcard of the film (hence the title).

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great fun. Racist as hell, but beautifully shot and well acted for the most part. Delightfully sinister Fu Manchu as portrayed by Boris Karloff. Fantastic sets, albeit low budget. Splendid musical score. Very entertaining!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Charles Brabin

Director

Charles Vidor

Director

Boris Karloff

Dr. Fu Manchu

Lewis Stone

Nayland Smith

Karen Morley

Sheila

Myrna Loy

Fah Lo See

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Synopsis

The sinister Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) and his equally devious daughter, Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy), clash with a British expedition that has set out in search of Genghis Khan's tomb. Working under the guidance of Sir Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone), the English team finds ancient relics -- a mask and a sword. While the group seeks the artifacts for their archeological value, Fu Manchu and Fah Lo See regard them as mystical items that they can use to gain unstoppable power.

Director: Charles Brabin, Charles Vidor
Screenwriter: Sax Rohmer, Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf, John Willard
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Cosmopolitan Productions
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 5, 1932, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 12m
Sound Mix: Mono

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