The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Sax Rohmer (novels)
Harry Alan Towers (story)
(more)

Release Date:

24 September 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Programmed to kill!

Plot:

Fu Manchu inoculates ten women with poison, to kill ten world leaders. |

Plot Keywords:

Poison | Fu Manchu | Death | Blind Man | Assassin

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Fu Manchu
Richard Greene	...	Nayland Smith
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Dr. Petrie (as Howard Marion Crawford)
Götz George	...	Carl Jansen
Maria Rohm	...	Ursula Wagner
Ricardo Palacios	...	Sancho Lopez
Loni von Friedl	...	Celeste
Frances Khan	...	Carmen
Tsai Chin	...	Lin Tang
Isaura de Oliveira	...	Yuma
Shirley Eaton	...	Black Widow
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui	...	The Governor (uncredited)
Olívia Pineschi	...	One of Fu's Girl (uncredited)
Vicente Roca	...	Governor's Secretary (uncredited)
Poulet Tu	...	Lotus (uncredited)

Directed by
Jesus Franco		(as Jess Franco)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jesus Franco		story and screenplay (uncredited)
Manfred R. Köhler		story and screenplay (uncredited)
Sax Rohmer		novels
Harry Alan Towers		story and screenplay (as Peter Welbeck)

Produced by
Harry Alan Towers	....	producer

Original Music by
Daniel White

Cinematography by
Manuel Merino

Film Editing by
Waltraut Lindenau		(German version)
Allan Morrison		(original version)
Stanley Frazen		(uncredited)
Ángel Serrano		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Peter Gasper		(uncredited)

Production Management
Juan Estelrich	....	production manager

Sound Department
Bill Creed	....	dubbing editor
Malcolm Stewart	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Ray Andrew	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist

Production Companies

• Ada Films
• Commonwealth United Entertainment
• Constantin Film Produktion
• Terra-Filmkunst
• Towers of London Productions
• Udastex Films

Distributors

• Constantin Film (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Commonwealth United Entertainment (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1969) (Canada) (theatrical)
• NTA Home Entertainment (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Andrés Salvador Molina (Spain)
• C.E.A. Andrés Salvador Moli (Spain)
• C.E.A. Distribución (Spain)

Also Known As:

Against All Odds (USA) (video title)
Der Todeskuß des Dr. Fu Manchu (West Germany)
Fu Manchu and the Keys of Death
Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death
Fu Manchu's Kiss of Death (International: English title) (literal title)
Fu-Manchú y el beso de la muerte (Spain)
Kiss and Kill (USA)
Kiss of Death (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

92 min | Germany:82 min | USA:94 min (DVD)

Country:

Spain | West Germany | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 (uncut version, re-rating) | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:18 | USA:Unrated (DVD uncut version)

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Ada Films

Trivia:

'Richard Greene' replaced Douglas Wilmer.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Elaborate plot fails to excite

This film was viewed at 1.30 in the morning, and after viewing it was easy to see why it had been screened at that time. The star, Christopher Lee, was cast as an oriental super-villain with a crooked moustache. Lee made no effort to fake an oriental accent, probably due to the fact that he did not want a part in the sequel. The action scenes were the worst I have ever seen in a movie, although budding doctors may wish to watch this as a guide of how not to do a blood transfusion! The films saving grace was its use of un-nececery nudity, which earns it 3/10.