THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932). Sepiatone.

THE MASK OF FU MANCHU is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Charles Brabin. Written by Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf and John Willard, it was based on the 1932 novel of the same name by Sax Rohmer. The film, featuring Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu and Myrna Loy as his daughter, revolves around Fu Manchu's quest for the golden sword and mask of Genghis Khan. Lewis Stone played his nemesis.

The film was made following Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's box office failure of Freaks (1932). Karloff, who was fresh off his role in Frankenstein (1931) for Universal, found the film did not have a completed script and was given his lines during and after his daily preparation in the makeup chair. Following a difficult production, it was a financial success for the studio despite generally negative reviews. On the film's theatrical re-release in 1972, the Japanese American Citizens League requested that the film be removed from circulation due to its negative portrayal of Asians.

Plot
Sir Denis Nayland Smith of the British Secret Service warns Egyptologist Sir Lionel Barton that he must beat Fu Manchu in the race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan. Fu Manchu intends to use Khan's sword and mask to proclaim himself the reincarnation of the legendary conqueror and inflame the peoples of Asia and the Middle East into a war to wipe out the "white race". Barton is kidnapped soon afterward and taken to Fu Manchu, who tries bribing his captive for the tomb's location, even offering his own daughter, Fah Lo See. When that fails, Barton suffers the "torture of the bell" (lying underneath a gigantic, constantly ringing bell) in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to reveal the location of the tomb.

Barton's daughter Sheila insists on taking her father's place on the expedition, as she knows where the tomb is. She finds the tomb and its treasures with the help of her fiancé Terrence "Terry" Granville and his associates, Dr. Von Berg and McLeod. Smith joins them soon afterward.

McLeod is killed by one of Fu Manchu's men during a robbery attempt, after McLeod kills one of Fu Manchu's men. An emissary offers to trade Barton for the priceless artifacts. Despite Terry's misgivings, Sheila persuades him to take the relics to Fu Manchu without Smith's knowledge. However, when Fu Manchu tests the sword he determines that it is a fake (Smith had switched them). Terry is whipped under the supervision of Fah Lo See, who is attracted to him. Meanwhile, Fu Manchu has Barton's severed hand delivered to Sheila. When Smith tries to rescue Terry, he is taken captive as well.

Terry is injected with a serum that makes him temporarily obedient to Fu Manchu and released. He tells Sheila and Von Berg that Smith wants them to bring the sword and mask to him. Sheila senses something is wrong, but Von Berg digs up the real relics and they follow Terry into a trap. Captured by Fu Manchu, the party is sentenced to death or enslavement, but not before Sheila manages to bring Terry back to his senses. Sheila is to become a human sacrifice, Smith is to be lowered into a crocodile pit, and Von Berg placed between two sets of metal spikes inching toward each other. Terry is prepared for another dose of the serum, which will make him a permanent slave of Fu Manchu's daughter. However, Smith manages to free himself, Terry and Von Berg. Using one of Fu Manchu's own weapons—a death ray that shoots an electric current—the men incapacitate the archvillain as he raises the sword to execute Sheila. When Fu Manchu drops the sword, Terry picks it up and hacks him to death. While Terry frees Sheila and carries her away, Smith and Von Berg incinerate Fu Manchu's followers using the same weapon. Safely aboard a ship bound for England, Smith tosses the sword over the side so that the world will be safe from any future Fu Manchu.

Cast
Boris Karloff as Dr. Fu Manchu
Lewis Stone as Sir Denis Nayland Smith
Karen Morley as Sheila Barton
Charles Starrett as Terrence Granville
Myrna Loy as Fah Lo See
Jean Hersholt as Dr. Von Berg
Lawrence Grant as Sir Lionel Barton
David Torrence as McLeod