Set in the 1920s?


It seems the only attempt at this movie to set it in the 1920s was a car from the era. Everything else, setwise looks NOTHING like the roaring 20s. Look for a modern(er, 1960s) Goodyear sign in the background, and about 20 other things.


On a different note, I love the horrifically bad & inconsistent lighting. The professor guy on the bed: some shots are ultra-dark where his skin looks red, other shots have it ultra-bright. Good stuff.

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Well, the entire series was pretty bad about period detail. The cars make it look like the 20's, and some of the technology; but, the clothes and hairstyles were always from the 1960's (even in the better, earlier films). It does lend a kind of timeless quality to the films, kind of like the Tim Burton Batman, with it's 1940's-meets the 80's look. I guess the budget didn't stretch to much more than Christopher Lee's make-up and the cars.

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Firstly, about the lighting, that's something that has to do with the U.S. print of the movie. If you see the Blue Underground DVD which is mastered from the original European prints, the film;'s lighting is completely competent and is really a surprise coming from seeing the U.S. prints.

Now, as to the setting being in the 1920s? Absolutely not. In the third film "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu", during his meeting with Interpol, Nayland Smith talks about it being the early 30s, maybe 1933 ("The Face of..." and "The Brides of..." having taken place in the 1920s), and this being the fifth movie would have to take place after that. So possibly the late 30s? Mentioning the fezes means nothing really... it's just a mistake pure and simple and the filmmakers used fezes merely to identify the actors as Turkish and not really caring about the historical accuracy.

OR... and I have a theory about this movie, so stick with me. Maybe the film takes place in the late 60s. That Goodyear sign was the first thing that grabbed my attention, as well as several other factors. Look at Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu. Physically, in the other movies, Lee had jet black hair. However, in this one, the edges of his hair has grey streaks in it. Also, Fu is portrayed as almost weak, confused and in a somewhat going-through-the-motions manner. When Professor Heracles recovers and Fu demands to know the formula to make his gadget work, Heracles whines, "No... no.... !" Fu sort of shrugs his shoulders and mutters "Very well..." The Fu Manchu of "The Face of Fu Manchu" would never have just given up like that. However, perhaps an older Fu Manchu in the 1960s would have? It also goes a long way to explain why Tsai Chin is so haggard-looking in this one, having been still beautiful in "The Blood of Fu Manchu" made just months before.

But I am probably just thinking way too much about it. However, it is impossible that this film takes place in the 20s because of "The Vengeance of..." setting it in the 30s. That's why Douglas Wilmer had greying hair in that one.

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"It seems the only attempt at this movie to set it in the 1920s was a car from the era. Everything else, set-wise looks NOTHING like the roaring 20s. Look for a modern(er, 1960s) Goodyear sign in the background, and about 20 other things."--british1500


Strange, I hadn't caught that. I just assumed the movie took place in the sixties and any dated cars where just sixties era characters with old cars. In any event, this movie has dated very, very well. As a child I'd watch this on television (with commercial breaks) and would just doze off. There is actually genius in this movie, definitely Jess Franco's best effort!

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I thought the same as you about the time period and the car. I just took the car to be an eccentric misplacement in the 1960s.

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