The Castle of Fu Manchu

Dastardly Chinese super-villain Fu Manchu (Sir Christopher Lee) is at it once more. Again focused on the worlds' destruction, his plan this time is to freeze its oceans solid using some sort of "crystal". However, he needs the expertise of a professor named Heracles (Gustavo Re), whom he's holding prisoner. But the good professor is dying, and Fu also abducts a doctor (Gunther Stoll) who can pull off a heart transplant. The intrepid Home Office inspector Nayland Smith (Richard Greene), Fu's persistent nemesis, must save the day once again.

A lack of action and a not particularly interesting plot hamper this final entry in the series, which tanked both commercially and critically. Cult favourite director Jess Franco directs without much zeal; you feel that most people involved are just going through the motions by this point. That said, the movie is not without *some* pleasures, such as the gorgeous female cast members Tsai Chin (as Lin Tang, Fu's nefarious daughter), Rosalba Neri (as Lisa), and Maria Perschy (as Ingrid, the doctors' young companion). The location shooting in Spain and Istanbul definitely adds some flavour and atmosphere. Charles Camilleri composed the score for the English language version, and it's suitably rousing.

Sir Christopher (one of those performers who could entertain this viewer just by reading from the phone book) is a delight, as always. He does seem to be having some fun, which definitely helps matters.

Considered by cinephiles to be the worst in the series, it's actually not all that bad. It's just not that good. But it does deliver some amusing, schlocky entertainment in the B movie tradition.

Copious footage is cribbed from both "A Night to Remember" (the ocean liner sinking) and "Campbell's Kingdom" (the dam cracking).

Five out of 10.

I really feel very out of step with regards to this one because scanning through the other IMDb reviews it became quite obvious that everybody else hated it! I don't really understand the universal dislike though, as this one really didn't seem to warrant this level of abuse. Don't get me wrong, it has problems. The script being a pretty obvious one. The story was very difficult to comprehend. It involved the master criminal Fu Manchu devising a method of turning the oceans into ice by using opium or something. And by way of this he would take over the world. Okay, whatever you say! Yeah, so admittedly, the narrative is a bit senseless.

But the thing is, I've seen a lot of Jess Franco movies and I thought this was quite coherent by his standards! In fact, it was from a period in Franco's career where he had more production value at his disposal, so again when people say this is ultra-cheap, I'm thinking it's quite big budget for Jess. I mean, he has even managed to hire Christopher Lee for the title role – I thought he was pretty imposing and well suited to the character to be fair. We also have Rosalba Neri as a gangster chick and she is always worth watching, so again, this is a good thing. Even the blatant lifts from other movies were entertaining enough, such as the whole opening scene that utilises scenes taken wholesale from A Night to Remember. Maybe the pacing could have been better perhaps but this is a constant Franco fault and in here it's no worse than usual. But overall, the film, while being often senseless, did have enough action and Euro cult value to keep me watching. Ultimately, I am probably the idiot for liking this but I guess I'll just have to live with that.

The fifth and final of Christopher Lee's Fu-Manchu outings – a planned sixth film was cancelled due to its overwhelmingly poor critical and commercial reception - and the second to be directed by schlockmeister Jess Franco. Played as a parody, 'Castle' might actually have been quite fun. Fu-Manchu is essentially reduced to a poor knock-off of a Blofeld (though I'm not sure he was ever much else). Lee actually brings his A-game here, having phoned it in previously in the series, lifting the ludicrous dialogue to the point where it's almost palatable, but everything else about the film seems to be mocking itself without knowing it. The production design is so camp it makes The Ipcress File look like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. The action and violence is again tepid and clumsy (lest we forgot this is a Jess Franco film) and the plot manages to be confusing in spite of being threadbare. There are some babes thrown in, but this is a PG movie so, again, Franco fans expecting anything resembling titillation will be thoroughly disappointed. Unlike its predecessor, which is by far the more insipid and dreary of the two, 'Castle' has a handful of things going for it. One is Jess Franco in a supporting role, wearing a fez and dubbed to sound like… I don't really know. The score is totally derivative but actually rather nice. The wacky production design and multi-coloured fluorescent lighting add a lot of hammy fun. The attempt at seamless in-scene cutting between the various, disparate filming locations is endlessly amusing. Some of the dialogue is hilariously quotable, and played to the hilt by everyone involved. Frankly, though, the two high points of the show are the sizeable inserts from A Night To Remember and Campbell's Kingdom. While definitely a cut above its predecessor in some ways, I'm still struggling to give this any kind of recommendation.

Final outing in Fu Manchu-Christopher Lee series set in Turkey and based on Sax Rohmer's characters . Christopher Lee returns in this fifth chapter as the evil genius Fu Manchu who doesn't give up easily, and is out to destroy world or bent on conquering it . This time has designed a fantastic gadget to fleece water on oceans and he threatens world leaders by forcing a ransom . The baddies are Jose Luis Martin a Spanish actor usually playing the villain-role in Spaghetti Western and Christopher Lee, as always acting as a magnificent evil-doer . Nayland Smith-Richard Greene his perennial adversary and arch-nemesis takes the center of attention when is assigned the dangerous mission . Howard Marion Crawford of Britain's Home Office is the assistant of Nayland Smith , a Watson-alike . And of course, the Fu Manchu's daughter , habitually played by T Sai Chin, acting perfectly as a nasty murderous.

At the film there are action, adventures, thrills, sadism and exotic outdoors filmed in Estudios Cinematográficos Balcázar (Spanish producers are Alfonso and Jaime Jesus Balcazar), Esplugues De Llobregat, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain (studio), Istanbul, Turkey and Parque Güell, Parque De Ciutdadella , Barcelona , Cataluña , Spain.

Fifth in Christopher Lee's Manchu series several pegs below his predecessors ; it is a bizarre blending of adventures, thriller and action with low budget . This exciting picture is full of Chinese killers , British adventurers, and nasty drug dealers . Weak performance by Richard Greene working below capabilities as Nyland Smith who in former episodes was best interpreted by Nigel Green , and Douglas Wilmer . The villain T Sai Chin stand out as Fu Manchu's daughter named Li Tang and the smuggler Jose Luis Martin overacting as an ominous bandit , furthermore turns up Burt Kwouk, Pink Panther-Sellers series's usual , in a brief appearance . The beautiful girls are two Eurotrash Goddeses as Maria Perschy and Rosalba Neri . This is the second collaboration between Jesus Franco and the producer Harry Alan Towers ( producer of the Fu Manchu's five movies ) and to be continued in several films . Well photographed by Manuel Merino , being recently fine remastering , though previous versions were awfully photographed.

Most critics felt this outing was one of the weakest entries along with ¨The blood of Fu Manchu¨ also directed by Jess Frank with similar casting , plenty of stock-shots , zooms and a Z-series style . The best installments were ¨Face of Fu Manchu(1965, Don Sharp)¨, and ¨Brides of Fu Manch( 1966, Don Sharp)¨ and the inferior ¨Vengeance of Fu Manchu(1967) . Only for completist , the outcome is one of the worst Fu Manchu movie ever made . Rating : Bottom of barrel , below average .

Despite bad reviews and a low box-office success, this film must be considered a classic among movies. With a very low budget, it achieves what a lot of big-budget flicks never did: being interesting and funny to watch. With the acclaimed performance of Christopher Lee, his master counterpart, and some good directing, this film is a must-see.