Truly Dreadful Film

Good concept, poorly executed.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Christopher Lee stars as the leader of The Red Dragon Tong, a secretive cult/business venture in 1910 Hong Kong that specializes in crime and vice. When the tong kills the daughter of a sea captain, he vows revenge, becoming determined to take it down by any and all means possible, but the Tong isn't so easily defeated or intimidated, and begins a retaliatory campaign against him, costing many lives. Future "Doctor Who" star(as the Master) Roger Delgado costars as a ruthless Tong enforcer. Nicely filmed in color, but Christopher Lee is miscast as an Asian(!) A fine performance, but makeup is unconvincing, and film ultimately too routine and predictable to succeed.

I recently saw TERROR OF THE TONGS as well as STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, as they were both on the same DVD. The reason I watched the films was because Christopher Lee was in TERROR but was surprised to see that the other film was vastly superior despite having a cast of unknowns. The bottom line is that despite Lee and pretty color film, TERROR seems like a remake (of sorts) of the earlier film and STRANGLERS was just much better written and directed. Plus, TERROR really had major casting problems--so much that today's audiences would probably laugh at the choices.TERROR OF THE TONGS is about Chinese gangs in Hong Kong that used assassinations (usually with a hatchet) in order to further the power of the Tong (which was similar to the Mafia or Yakuza). Despite being evil and ruthless, the locals don't want to do anything to try to stop them because of fear of reprisals. A ship's captain runs afoul of the Tong and his daughter is killed. He dedicates the rest of the movie to its destruction.While there is plenty of action and excitement, the film has one huge strike against it. Despite being set in Hong Kong, the film looks amazingly non-Chinese--with Caucasian actors in almost all the main roles. Seeing 6 foot 7 inch Christopher Lee with his very aquiline nose playing the leader of the Tong seemed really silly. Despite the studio makeup artists giving him Asian-style eyelids, he looked about as Asian as Brad Pitt! And, to make things worse, the rest of the "Chinese" characters looked even less Chinese!! This didn't so much offend me (especially since I bristle at the notion of political correctness), but just seemed dumb---really, really dumb.The reason, I assume, they picked Lee for such a ridiculous role was because he was available and affordable. Otherwise, it's quite the bizarre choice. However, despite him being so inappropriate for the role, a very, very similar character was reprised by Lee in the Fu Manchu pictures of the mid to late-1960s. The films are exciting but also suffer from too many main Chinese characters being Brits.Overall, the film is exciting and watchable so it's a good film for adventure fans or as a time-passer. Just don't expect a lot of magic or high quality in this production.

Surprisingly, I quite liked this atypical Hammer offering, which is basically a companion piece to THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY (1960) – with the setting changed to 1910s China, and the vicious “thuggees” replaced with the equally murderous Red Dragon Tongs. As a matter of fact, one might say that the script for STRANGLERS served as a virtual template for this one – to which Hammer then assigned Jimmy Sangster, their in-house scribe, in order to apply the necessary alterations (though, in the long run, the former still emerges as the better picture of the two)! With this in mind, THE TERROR OF THE TONGS likewise thrives on violent acts (with the exploitation factor increased a notch in this case thanks to the compulsively sleazy atmosphere of taverns and opium dens) – and the hero, too, is eventually subdued to excruciating torture but saved at the last minute.Interestingly, Christopher Lee’s role as the Tong leader anticipates his later Fu Manchu characterization – which he played in five low-budget outings (of gradually decreasing merits) throughout the second half of the decade. While the gaunt actor is always worth watching, here he seems to be acting through his voice alone – as his character is usually depicted sitting down and ordering his underlings about (even when finally cornered, he keeps a thoroughly calm demeanor)! Geoffrey Toone is an agreeable hero, being unusually brawny: he goes after the Tongs after they callously murder his teenage daughter; later, he saves slave girl Yvonne Monlaur from their clutches – the French actress (who was also in THE BRIDES OF Dracula and CIRCUS OF HORRORS {both 1960}) is a delightful presence in the film, even if her role seldom rises above that of the ‘servile Oriental’ stereotype! Supporting characters include a crippled beggar (played by Marne Maitland, who was also in STRANGLERS) who’s secretly organizing opposition to the Tongs – and has no qualms about exploiting Toone’s personal tragedy to this end!; returning from the earlier film, too, is Roger Delgado – who virtually replicates his part of the chief villain’s closest henchman! Ultimately, THE TERROR OF THE TONGS looks very good in color and is generally pacy at just 76 minutes; by the way, director Bushell had himself been an actor – numbering genre roles such as the bland hero of THE GHOUL (1933) and the ill-fated snobbish Colonel in the QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1958) TV serial among his resume'.

Hammer Studios once again proves that they knew no bounds when it came to film making. Here we see a tale of corruption, torture, murder and revenge and it actually works very well for a studio renowned for it's horror films. Christopher Lee plays the leader of, *The Red Dragon Tong* in Hong Kong at the beginning of the 20th century, this organization used torture and murder to keep the people of the city under it's rule and when they kill an English sea Captain's daughter in an attempt to keep information from being brought before the authorities, the film becomes a story of revenge with scenes of torture and murder. Hammer Studios did a great job with this film and if you're a Hammer fan, this is definitely a film you'll want to see.