''The Million Eyes of Sumuru'' is a 1967 British

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

produced by

Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 ...

, directed by

Lindsay Shonteff Lindsay Craig Shonteff (5 November 1935 – 11 March 2006) was a Canadian born film director, film producer and screenwriter who achieved fame for low-budget films produced in the United Kingdom. Biography Lindsay Shonteff was born in Toronto, O ...

and filmed at the

Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

studios in Hong Kong. It stars

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

and

George Nader George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, including ''Sins of Jezebel'' (1953), ''Congo Crossing'' (1956), and ''The Female Animal'' ...

, with

Shirley Eaton Shirley Jean Eaton (born 12 January 1937) is an English actress, author and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her iconic appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in ...

as the title character Sumuru (). It was based on a series of novels by

Sax Rohmer Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward (15 February 1883 – 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was an English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu."Rohmer, Sax" by Jack Adrian in Da ...

about a

megalomania Megalomania is an obsession with power and wealth, and a passion for grand schemes. Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to: Psychology * Narcissistic personality disorder * Grandiose delusions * Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage of ...

cal

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

. The film was released in the U.S. by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

on 17 May 1967. In the U.K., it was released through

Warner-Pathé Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

on 3 December, titled simply ''Sumuru''.

Terry Bourke Terry Christopher Bourke (19 April 1940 – 29 June 2002) was an Australian journalist, screenwriter, producer and director. He worked as a show business journalist and production assistant in Hong Kong for a number of years before returning t ...

was production manager.

Plot

Sumuru is a beautiful and evil woman who plans world domination by having her sexy all-female army eliminate male leaders and replace them with her female agents. The Chief of Security for President Boong of Sinonesia is killed. Two Americans in Hong Kong, Nick West and his friend Tommy Carter, are persuaded by the head of British intelligence, Colonel Baisbrook, to investigate. They discover the organisation headed by Sumuru, which claims to be interested in peaceful activities. A dead girl winds up in Nick's bed and he ends up being framed for murder. Nick and Tommy go to Hong Kong to stop an assassination.

Cast

as Agent Tommy Carter *

as Agent Nick West *

as Sumuru *

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ea ...

as Colonel Sir Anthony Baisbrook *

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

as President Boong * Patti Chandler as Louise * Salli Sachse as Mikki * Ursula Rank as Erno *

Krista Nell Krista Nell (1946–1975) was an Austrian film actress. Born Doris Kristanel, Krista Nell debuted in French cinema, then moved to Rome where became a minor starlet in Italian genre films, especially Spaghetti Westerns and commedie sexy all'ita ...

as Zoe *

Maria Rohm Maria Rohm (13 August 1945 – 18 June 2018) was an Austrian actress and producer. Born Helga Grohmann in Vienna, she started her acting career at the very young age, working at the famous Viennese Burgtheatre as a child actor from ages 4 throug ...

as Helga Martin * Paul Chang Chungas as Inspector Koo *

Essie Lin Chia Essie Lin Chia (; born May 9, 1947) is a Chinese actress. Filmography * '' Squadron 77'' (1965) * ''My Dream Boat'' (1967) * ''The Million Eyes of Sumuru'' (1967) * '' The Dragon Creek'' (1967) * '' Three Swinging Girls'' (1968) * ''Spring Blosso ...

as Kitty (as Essie Huang) * Jon Fong as Colonel Medika * Denise Davreux as Sumuru Guard * Mary Cheng as Sumuru Guard * Jill Hamilton as Sumuru Guard * Lisa Gray as Sumuru Guard * Christine Lok as Sumuru Guard * Margaret Cheung as Sumuru Guard * Louise Lee as Sumuru Guard

Legacy

Shirley Eaton reprised her role as Sumuru in

Jess Franco Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica, Jesse, Jessie, etc., and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football player * Jess Cain (1926–2008), American radio host * J ...

's follow-up '' The Girl from Rio'' (1969). Eaton later said "I did enjoy being the wicked lady Sumuru in two rather bad films, which I had not had the chance to be before." However, she retired from acting shortly afterwards. ''The Million Eyes of Sumuru'' inspired

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

musician

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olymp ...

to adopt

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the ...

as a band name. She and her friend Margaret Doherty used the name for a one-off performance where they donned faux fur punk cave girl costumes.

Tobi Vail Tobi Celeste Vail (born July 20, 1969) is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the zi ...

liked the name and appropriated it for the iconic punk group after Maffeo settled on the band name Cradle Robbers. The film is used in Episode 18 of the

KTMA WUCW (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of The CW. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios in the Pence Building on 8th S ...

season of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'' as well as an episode in Season 13. It is also featured as a

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

from its spiritual successor

RiffTrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

.RiffTrax
/ref>

References

External links

* *
Episode guide: K18- The Million Eyes of Sumuru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Million Eyes Of Sumuru 1967 films 1960s spy thriller films British spy thriller films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Lindsay Shonteff Films scored by John Scott (composer) Films shot in Hong Kong 1960s British films