The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

1929 CrimeRomance 82 minutes Directed by Rowland V. Lee

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About The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

During the Boxer Rebellion, Dr. Fu Manchu saves the child Lia Eltham. Allied troops then fire on his house and kill his wife and child. He swears to kill an allied officer for each bloodstain on the sacred dragon, and he hypnotizes the grown Lia to do it. She meets Dr. Jack Petrie, grandson of one of the men Fu wants, and falls in love with him. Fu kills Jack’s grandfather, then Jack’s father. A Chinese servant gets Lia and Jack away from him. Inspector Nayland Smith is the policeman on the case. Warner Oland plays Fu. Jean Arthur plays Lia. Neil Hamilton plays Jack. Rowland V. Lee directed.

Cast & crew

More about The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

Lloyd Corrigan wrote it from Sax Rohmer’s novel The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu. A working title was The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. Shooting began on 1 March 1929. Harry Fischbeck photographed it. George Nichols Jr. edited it. Oscar Potoker wrote the music. Paramount released it on 10 August 1929 after a New York opening on 20 July. Wikipedia times it at 82 minutes. The AFI length is 7,663 feet. A silent version was also issued. Only the sound version is known to survive. O. P. Heggie plays Nayland Smith.

Themes

  • A child saved, then a wife and child killed
  • Hypnotized revenge
  • A granddaughter of the enemy who loves the grandson
  • Fu Manchu
  • Lia Eltham
  • Jack Petrie
  • Nayland Smith
  • Boxer Rebellion
  • Warner Oland

Background

The revenge starts in the Boxer Rebellion and is carried out years later against the officers’ sons and grandsons.

Making

Lee shot a sound version and a silent version in the same production. The silent one is the copy that did not survive.

Look

Harry Fischbeck shot Oland’s Fu and the killings of the Petrie men.

Technique

Paramount issued both a talking print and a silent print. The silent print is not known to survive.

Music

Oscar Potoker wrote the music for the sound version.

Preservation

The sound version survives. The silent version issued in the United States is not known to survive.

Notes

  • It is the first Fu Manchu film of the talking-picture period.
  • William Austin plays Sylvester Wadsworth. Claude King plays Sir John Petrie.
  • Lia is a weapon Fu made, and also the person who loves Jack.
  • A Commons file names Lee and the year.

Scenes

  • Troops fire on Fu’s house and kill his wife and child.
  • The grown Lia, under hypnosis, is aimed at the Petrie family.
  • A servant pulls Lia and Jack out of Fu’s hands.

Influenced by

  • Sax Rohmer’s novel The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) by Rowland V. Lee.webm)

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