tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post5216857780325003694..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: The Mask of Fu ManchuEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-78692355185992080992009-11-30T10:31:47.080-05:002009-11-30T10:31:47.080-05:00Thanks for the interesting comments, Brian, especi...Thanks for the interesting comments, Brian, especially the remarks about Brabin, about whom I knew nothing prior to seeing this film. Based on your comments and the somewhat stiff aesthetic on display here, it sounds like he was one of those directors better suited to silent style than the style of the early talkie era.<br /><br />And yes, this is one of those films where one can't help but Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-75267365005745191932009-11-30T03:38:30.175-05:002009-11-30T03:38:30.175-05:00Terrific review. I've been fascinated by this ...Terrific review. I've been fascinated by this film since seeing it for the first time 3 and a half years ago, and not so long ago I couldn't resist watching it again while in the midst of a Tod Browning immersion that involved borrowing the <b><i>Mark of the Vampire</i></b> DVD (to which <b><i>Mask of Fu Manchu</i></b> is co-feature) from the library. <br /><br />The stereotypes are Brian Darrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693169310367670898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-23269196717514259832009-11-29T13:45:29.767-05:002009-11-29T13:45:29.767-05:00Thanks, Sam. Karloff does about as well as he can ...Thanks, Sam. Karloff does about as well as he can in this movie; it doesn't call for a great performance, but he delivers a suitably creepy and haughty one. He was at his best, obviously, in the films he made with Val Lewton as well as his great turn in Edgar Ulmer's <i>The Black Cat</i>.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-19390042616211212072009-11-28T16:18:34.285-05:002009-11-28T16:18:34.285-05:00When we speak of pure camp, this is one that hits ...When we speak of pure camp, this is one that hits the bulls-eye. Myrana Loy's masochistic nymphomaniac is a hoot, Cedric Gibbons's set design is one of the most imaginative in this genre, and there's quite a delicious array of torture devices.<br /><br />It would be interesting to know if the film would have taken a tamer route under the more sedate Vidor (who was by any barometer ofSam Julianonoreply@blogger.com