Drums Of Fu Manchu
''Drums of Fu Manchu'' (1940) is a 15-chapter Republic Pictures, Republic serial film based on the character created by Sax Rohmer. Though using the title of the ninth novel in the series, it actually is based on numerous elements from throughout the series to that point, cherry-picked by the writers. It starred Henry Brandon (actor), Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard. It was directed by the legendary serial team of William Witney and John English (director), John English and is often considered one of the best serial films ever made. Plot Fu Manchu attempts to conquer the world by acquiring the sceptre of Genghis Khan, which will unite the people of Asia under his rule. Allan Parker allies himself with the traditional United Kingdom, British literary nemeses of Fu Manchu, Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his associate, Dr. Flinders Petrie after his father is kidnapped and killed by Fu Manchu's dacoits. Cast *Henry Brandon (actor), Henry Brandon as Fu Manchu *William Roy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'', ''Daredevils of the Red Circle'', ''Zorro's Fighting Legion'', and ''Drums of Fu Manchu''. Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued working until 1982. Early years Witney was born in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was four years old when his father died, and he lived with his uncle, who was an Army captain at Fort Sam Houston. Colbert Clark, Witney's brother-in-law, introduced him to films by letting him ride in some chase scenes for the serial ''Fighting with Kit Carson'' (1933). Witney stayed around the Mascot Pictures headquarters while preparing for the entrance exam to the U.S. Naval Academy. After he failed that exam, he continued at the studio. In 1936 Mascot was absorbed by Republic, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Negative Cost
Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example ''The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Josh ...'', can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.''IMDb Explanation for differences in reported budget'' https://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?boxofficedifferentRetrieved 2007-02-12 The term comes from the costs up to the production of the final negative. References External links The Guardian: We Call It Martian AccountingIMDb Glossary - N Film production Film and video terminology {{film-term-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Working Title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, video game development, or the creation of a novel or music album. Purpose Working titles are used primarily for two reasons – the first being that an official title has not yet been decided upon, with the working title being used purely for identification purposes, and the second being a ruse to intentionally disguise the real nature of a project. Production title Projects usually have a fixed working title throughout production to prevent confusion, because ideas for release titles can keep on changing. Examples include the film ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'', which was filmed under the title ''Die Hard: New York'', and the James Bond films, which are commonly produced under numerical tit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Motion Picture Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945. Under Hays's leadership, the MPPDA, later the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), adopted the Production Code in 1930 and began rigidly enforcing it in 1934. The Production Code spelled out acceptable and unacceptable content for motion pictures produced for a public audience in the United States. From 1934 to 1954, the code was closely identified with Joseph Breen, the administrator appointed by Hays to enforce the code in Hollywood. The film industry followed the guidelines set by the code well into the late 1950s, but it began to weaken, owing to the combined ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lal Chand Mehra
Lal Chand Mehra was an Indian character actor and academic active in Hollywood from the 1920s through the 1960s. Biography Mehra was born into a prominent Hindu family in Amritsar, India. He attended the University of Punjab as an undergraduate, and got his postgraduate degrees in education and philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley. In Hollywood, he worked as an actor and also as a technical director on films that called for knowledge of Indian culture and customs. He also gave lectures on Indian culture and current events throughout Southern California and on the radio. He told reporters he planned on eventually going back to India and directing films, but it does not appear that he returned to India. He married concert violinist Georgia Williams in 1933. Selected filmography *''Escape to Burma'' (1955) *''Man-Eater of Kumaon'' (1948) *''The Caribbean Mystery'' (1945) *''The White Cliffs of Dover'' (1944) *''Casablanca'' (1942) *''Bombay Clipper'' (1942) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dwight Frye
Dwight Iliff Frye (born Fry; February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American character actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his portrayals of neurotic, murderous villains in several classic Universal horror films, such as Renfield in '' Dracula'' (1931) and Fritz in ''Frankenstein'' (1931). Biography Early life and career Frye was born in Salina, Kansas, and studied for a career in music and first appeared as a concert pianist. In the 1920s, he made his name as a stage actor, often in comedies. In 1924, he played the Son in a production of Luigi Pirandello's ''Six Characters in Search of an Author''. While he had a few minor comedic roles in silent pictures, with the coming of sound Frye soon became known for playing villains. Nicknamed "The Man with the Thousand-Watt Stare" and "The Man of a Thousand Deaths", he specialized in the portrayal of mentally unbalanced characters, including his signature role, the madman Renfield in Tod Browning's 1931 ver ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Merton
John Merton (born Myrtland F. LaVarre; February 18, 1901 – September 19, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1927 and 1959, mostly as a villain. He was the brother of filmmaker André de la Varre and William LaVarre and the grandfather of actress Diane Delano. Biography Born and raised in Seattle with three other brothers, Franklin, Claude, and William LaVarre, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War I. He joined the New York Theatre Guild in 1919 and appeared in a variety of shows. He made his film debut as a police officer in '' Running Wild'' (1927) filmed in Long Island's Astoria Studios. He travelled to Hollywood in 1932 and began a long career of small parts in major films and villain roles in B-movies and film serials. He met Cecil B. DeMille who cast him as a Roman guard in ''Cleopatra'' (1934) that led to him appearing in all of DeMille's films up to and including ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956). It was DeMille who ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fah Lo Suee
Fah Lo Suee is a character who was introduced in the series of novels Dr. Fu Manchu by the English author Sax Rohmer (1883-1959). She is the daughter of Dr. Fu Manchu and an unnamed Russian woman, sometimes shown as an ally, sometimes shown as a rival. The character featured in cinema and comic strips and comic books alongside his father, sometimes using another names, and she has also become an archetype of the Dragon Lady. History The character of Fah lo Suee was created in 1917 by Sax Rohmer as the Lady of the Si-Fan in the novel ''The Hand of Fu-Manchu'' (original UK title: The Si-Fan Mysteries). In the novel ''Daughter of Fu Manchu'' (1931), she is called Fah lo Suee, a nickname meaning "Sweet Perfume". Fah Lo Suee, is a devious mastermind in her own right, frequently plotting to usurp her father's position in the ''Si-Fan'' and aiding his enemies both within and outside the organization. Her real name is unknown; Fah Lo Suee was a childhood term of endearment. She is in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sir Denis Nayland Smith
Denis Nayland Smith is a character who was introduced in the series of novels Dr. Fu Manchu by the English author Sax Rohmer. He is a rival to the villain Dr. Fu Manchu. History The character of Denis Nayland Smith was created in 1912 by Sax Rohmer, in the short story ''The Zayat Kiss'', narrated by his friend Dr. Petrie. The short story was included in the fix-up novel ''The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu''. In the first three books, Smith serves in the Indian Imperial Police as a police commissioner in Burma who has been granted a roving commission, allowing him to exercise authority over any official group who can help him in his mission. When Rohmer revived the series in 1931, Smith, who has been knighted for his efforts to defeat Fu Manchu, is an ex-Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. Nayland Smith had an affair with his rival's daughter, Fah Lo Suee. In other media Comics Nayland Smith was first brought to newspaper comic strips in a black and white daily comic str ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area of , about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , dynasty = Genghisid , regnal name = Genghis Khan () , temple name = Taizu () , posthumous name = Emperor Fatian Qiyun Shengwu () , father = Yesügei , mother = Hoelun , religion = Tengrism , birth_date = , birth_place = Khentii Mountains, Khamag Mongol , death_date = (aged 64–65) , death_place = Xingqing, Western Xia , burial_place = Unknown(presumptively Ikh Khorig, Burkhan Khaldun, Khentii Province) Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |