Sun 14 Jun 2015
A CHRISTOPHER LEE TRIBUTE (Part 1 of 4) by Jonathan Lewis.
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[6] Comments
by Jonathan Lewis
With Christopher Lee’s recent passing, I thought it would be worthwhile to seek out some of the veteran actor’s more obscure, or at least lesser discussed, films. Lee was in many films, over 250 according to IMDb, in fact. Some were great, some were good, and others were downright forgettable. All except for one thing: Lee was in them. And that’s one thing that made Christopher Lee so special. No matter how silly, campy, or mediocre the film, Lee’s singular presence, coupled with his distinct bass voice, shined through.
THE TERROR OF THE TONGS. Hammer Films, UK, 1961; Columbia, US, 1961. Christopher Lee, Yvonne Monlaur, Geoffrey Toone, Marne Maitland, Brian Worth, Ewen Solon, Roger Delgado, Richard Leech. Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster. Director: Anthony Bushell.
Such was the case in The Terror of the Tongs, a considerably dated movie about the Red Dragon Tong, a secret, violent Chinese criminal gang terrorizing the residents of British Hong Kong. Set in 1910, the story is nominally about a British man, Captain Jackson Sale (Geoffrey Toone) who seeks to avenge the death of his sixteen year old daughter at the hands of the Tongs. It’s sort of like Death Wish or Taken before these movies were even thought of by their respective writers.
But who’s kidding whom?
With laughably clumsy dialogue and borderline incompetent direction, the movie really is worth watching for one reason and one reason only.
It’s to see Christopher Lee in his portrayal of Chung King, the leader of the Hong Kong branch of the Red Dragon Tong. Although many contemporary viewers might bristle at the sight of tall Englishman of Italian heritage portraying a Chinese criminal mastermind, it’s worth noting that Lee’s performance in The Terror of the Tongs really transcends ethnicity. He’s just a villain and a captivating one at that. (Thankfully, he doesn’t speak in a faux “Chinese†accent, if you know what I mean.)
So, while it might seem odd to begin a tribute to Lee with this otherwise forgettable film, I did so to prove a point. That there are a lot of films out there, some rarely written about or discussed anymore, where Lee towers over, both figuratively and literally, the whole production. He will be missed.
June 15th, 2015 at 1:32 am
I’m so glad that you’re doing this, as I’m a huge admirer of Lee (even his bad films!)
TERROR OF THE TONGS is rather mind-boggling in that the Tong seems to consist of British actors pretending to be Chinese (the only Oriental actor with a speaking roles seems to be Burt Kwouk, who snuffs it within a few minutes).
I suspect that Lee did his usual thorough job of research. He might not be 100% convinving as Chinese, but this is Christopher Lee we’re talking about, and I’m prepared to ignore this in the way that I can ignore the way that in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN his Brazilian hit-man speaks with a beautiful public school accent…
June 15th, 2015 at 2:27 am
Thanks for the positive feedback. I plan to continue this series throughout the month of June. There are so many films worth discussing and I haven’t yet decided which one I will be reviewing next, although I think I’ve narrowed it down…..Keep an eye out, should have my next entry up within the week
June 15th, 2015 at 3:29 am
This is one of those subversive films where the bad guy (Lee) is infinitely more interesting than the nominal hero (Geoffey Toone.)
June 15th, 2015 at 3:35 pm
I’ve not seen this one, but Lee’s imposture as a Chinese criminal mastermind must have been convincing enough for him to be cast as the lead in several Fu Manchu movies, starting in the mid-60s.
I reviewed one of them, THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU, on this blog a couple of years ago:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=21572
I did not think the movie was very good. Quite the opposite. Not Lee’s fault though, as believe it or not, he had little more than a cameo role.
June 15th, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Also of interest: Roger Delgado, who was in this one, went on to portray The Master, Doctor Who’s nemesis in the BBC series.
June 16th, 2015 at 3:22 pm
I actually like this silly film. It has atmosphere, and it plays like what it is, a late 19th early 20th century Yellow Peril Barn burner. And for the too PC out there many Asian scholars are in the process of reclaiming the Chinese super villain, particularly Fu Manchu, as they have Charlie Chan. It isn’t always easy to keep up with what is and isn’t allowed these days.
The chief quality of this film is pure melodrama, silly, un PC, and yet pretty harmless. As for the Tongs they are very real, much scary than this, and much stranger and more colorful when I worked with them in Hong Kong.
Take this for what it is, and its dumb fun. Start writing things into it that aren’t there and the molehill starts becoming a mountain.
For what it is worth I have black friends who love Tarzan, Asian friends who like Fu Manchu, and Gay friends who like John Wayne movies. You can’t be offended for others.