''The Peking Medallion'', also called ''The Corrupt Ones'', is a 1967

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by James Hill, starring

Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; born Elke Baronin von Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Pink Panther (1963 film), The Pink Panther'' sequel ''A S ...

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC telev ...

Nancy Kwan Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939) is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in ...

and

Werner Peters Werner Peters (7 July 1918 – 30 March 1971) was a German film actor. He appeared in 102 films between 1947 and 1971. Biography Peters was born in Werlitzsch, Kreis Delitzsch, Prussian Saxony, and died of a heart attack on a promotion tou ...

. The film was a co-production between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

although it was shot in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The films German-language title is ''Die Hölle von Macao'' . It was made at the

Spandau Studios The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Hans Jürgen Kiebach Hans Jürgen Kiebach (28 August 1930 – 19 May 1995) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Cabaret''. Selected filmography * ''Three Da ...

and

Ernst Schomer Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

. Stack called it "a derring-do, hidden treasure stinker" which he did for the money and because he admired Hill's ''Born Free''. "He was obviously more at home with lions," said Stack.

Synopsis

freelance photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

discovers an ancient treasure, the Peking Medallion - which also attracts the attention of a number of criminal gangs.

Cast

as Lilly Mancini *

as Cliff Wilder *

as Tina *

as Pinto *

Christian Marquand Christian Marquand (15 March 1927 – 22 November 2000) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director. Born in Marseille, he was born to a Spanish father and an Arab mother, and his sister was film director Nadine Trintignant. He was often cas ...

as Jay Brandon *

Maurizio Arena Maurizio Arena (26 December 1933 – 21 November 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1952 and 1978. Life and career Born in Rome as Maurizio Di Lorenzo, Arena made his film debut at nineteen years old, ...

as Mancini * Richard Haller as Kua-Song * Hans Heyde as Hugo *

Marisa Merlini Marisa Merlini (6 August 1923 – 27 July 2008) was an Italian character actress active in Italy's post-World War II cinema. Merlini appeared in over fifty films during her career, which spanned from World War II to 2005. In Luigi Comencini's 1953 ...

as Madame Vulcano

Reception

In 1967 Tony Mastroianni's review

Cleveland Press The ''Cleveland Press'' was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis B. Seltzer. Known for many years as one of the country's most in ...

stated the film was "handsomely photographed" and merited recognition for its pace but he also criticized "unnecessarily sadistic torture sequences".

Music

The title song, also entitled "The Corrupt Ones", was performed by

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

. It appeared as the B-side of her US Top 40 single " I'll Try Anything" in early 1967.

References

External links

* * * 1967 films 1960s action adventure films 1960s action thriller films 1960s crime thriller films French crime action films French action adventure films French action thriller films French crime thriller films German action adventure films German crime thriller films Italian action adventure films Italian crime thriller films West German films Films set in China Films set in Macau Films shot at Spandau Studios Films directed by James Hill (British director) English-language French films English-language German films English-language Italian films Constantin Film films 1960s English-language films 1960s German films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films {{crime-thriller-film-stub