6/10
Nice acting by the great Christopher Lee, as always acting as a magnificent evil-doer .
2 July 2020
At the beginning of the century , in 1910, Hong Kong , there a secret society of the Red Dragon crushes millions of helpless people in its greedy powerful claws and no one is safe from its drug-crazed hatchmen , not even you ¡ . As some members of a secret Tong crime syndicate protect their identities by killing the daughter of a British sea captain called Jackson Sale (Geoffrey Toone) who vows vendetta . As he goes through the streets of opium dreams where terror stalks . Along the way the captain meets a sensuous pleasure-girl (Yvonne Monlaur) owned by the Tongs . Because the secret society led by a nasty murderous Chung King (Christopher Lee) is very powerful it is not easy to free him from their hands. Deadliest, Diabolical Brotherhood of Terror!Drug-crazed assassins carrying out their hate-filled ritual! Now you can see spine-tingling Tong terror ¡ The bone-bleeding needle torture by the Tongs ¡ They were the Oldest Secret Cult in the World... And the Most Fendish!The Silken Rustle of a Hong Kong Peasant Girl...The Menacing Shadows...The Muffled Screams...

A thrilling and mysterious film with plenty of action , fights , chills and violence . Dealing with a simple and plain plot about a secret society of Hong-Kong called "The Red Dragon Tong" kidnaps the officer of a ship in the harbour of Hong-Kong , subsequently a Capt. attempts to detain the killers of his daughter . Here the main baddie role named Chung King played by Christopher Lee bears remarkable resemblance to Fu Manchu-Christopher Lee series and based on Sax Rohmer's novels . In fact Christopher Lee played five episodes as the evil genius Fu Manchu who doesn't give up easily , and is usually out to destroy world or bent on conquering it . This was the first Hammer film for which Christopher Lee received top billing . Previously , he performed the monster in the Hammer film Curse of Frankenstein (1957) proved to be a blessing in disguise, since the was successful, leading to him being signed on for future roles in Hammer Film Productions. Lee's association with Hammer Film Productions brought him into contact with Peter Cushing, and they became good friends. Lee and Cushing often than not played contrasting roles in Hammer films , where Cushing was the protagonist and Lee the villain, whether it be Van Helsing and Dracula respectively in Dracula (1958), or John Banning and Kharis the Mummy respectively in The Mummy (1959). Lee continued his role as "Dracula" in a number of Hammer sequels throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s. During this time, he co-starred in Hound of Baskervilles (1959), and made numerous appearances as Fu Manchu, most notably in the first of the series The return of Fu-Manchú (1965), and also appeared in a number of films in Europe. By the mid-1970s, Lee was tiring of his horror image and tried to widen his appeal by participating in several mainstream films. Co-stars Geoffrey Toone who is passable as Capt. Jackson , a man marked for violent murder by the Tongs. While Christoher Lee is his perennial adversary and arch-nemesis taking the center of attention. And of course, the gorgeous Yvonne Monlaur as the damsel in distress.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Anthony Bushell and shot in the months of April and May 1960. Anthony worked in Hollywood from 1929, he had key roles in Journey's End (1930), Five Star final (1931) and Vanity Fair (1932), before returning to England. A cultured performer with a penchant for playing military men, he had several more noteworthy roles, including that of King Arthur in Black Knight (1954), and as captain of the Carpathia in an early version of the Titanic called A night to remember (1958). He directed some films as The Long Dark Hall 1950 , The Angel with the Trumpet and number of television episodes in notorious series as The Saint , Sir Francis Drake , The Third man , Winston Curchill , The Scales of Justice until his retirement in 1964. Rating 6/10 , passable and acceptable .
2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed