What’s interesting here, and what goes against everything currently being pushed in our society, is the fact that Fu Manchu, and later Mr. Chan, were played by Mr. Oland, who was Swedish but with possibly a bit of Mongolian blood in his background. The character was later played by Boris Karloff and a host of others, including Christopher Lee in a five-film Fu Manchu series 1965-69.
What’s even more interesting is after Mr. Oland’s death, the Chan character was played by Sidney Toler (basically Scottish) and Roland Winters (also non-Oriental).
I’m not certain what perpetuated the studio mentality to avoid actors of proper genetic origin, except that Richard Barthelmess was unavailable.
The two Fu Manchu examples offered herein are early Paramount films via Universal to Kino, and date from 1929 and 1930 – the early sound on film era, with a proper aspect ratio of 1.20:1, and except for a bit of wear they look fine – actually better than might be expected.
All’s well here.
Image – 3.75
Audio – 4
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from DVD – Yes
Works up-rezzed to 4k – Okay
Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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