IslandGuru Who payed the critics

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

hwg1957-102-265704 Directed by Anthony Bushell who was more noted as an actor 'The Terror of the Tongs'is a lively story set in Hong Kong about a sea captain who goes against The Red Dragon Tong after his daughter is killed by the tong searching for an incriminating document. There is torture, murder, scantily clad girls and British actors trying unsuccessfully to be Chinese. What's not to like? The colourful sets and good photography add to the charm of it all.Christopher Lee plays Chung King (not Pe King?) and is actually much better than when he plays Dr. Fu Manchu. His demise is rather poignant. Geoffrey Toone is colourless as the hero Captain Sale. Support is given by always good to see actors like Marne Maitland (Beggar), Ewen Solon (Tang How), Roger Delgado (Tang Hao) and Richard Leech (Inspector Bob Dean.) The unmistakable Milton Reid plays a sadistic torturer. There are some suitable ethnic actors like the great Burt Kwouk and E(R)ic Young, the latter whom unimaginatively is called Confucious. Yvonne Monlaur (apparently born Yvonne Thérèse Marie Camille Bedat de Monlaur!) pretends to be Chinese by using the walking around in gorgeous silk dresses split up the side method. A little distracting.Not a waste of time by any means though it is a throwback to pulp fiction and Sax Rohmer, which is fine if you like that kind of thing.

Leofwine_draca Watching THE TERROR OF THE TONGS, I'm reminded why I love Hammer films in the first place: there really is no better place to go if you're looking for escapism. This is a colourful, fast-paced little pulp adventure packed with two-fisted action, horror, and intrigue. It boasts fine production values, an interesting plot (in essence a retelling of the earlier, lower-budgeted STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY), a good grasp of character and some fine dramatic touches. Yes, it may seem a little twee and dated to see the British actors dressed and made up as Chinese in this day and age, but to be honest that's all part of the appeal.Fans of Hammer Horror sometimes forget that the studio didn't just make horror flicks – they started out by making drama and crime movies before hitting on horror, but during their reign they also made science fiction films, thrillers, prehistoric epics, and adventures. During the early 1960s, they often opted for the latter; Sony have just released a nice little package on DVD made up of two pirate adventures and two tales of Eastern terror. I can't wait to watch the other three.THE TERROR OF THE TONGS is packed with incident and drama, so there's plenty going on in the short running time; indeed the incident in the last few minutes would usually take up twenty minutes of another film. That's the reason it's so much fun to watch. Hammer can't resist with the horrific touches, so although this is on the face of it a period drama, there are scenes of torture and bloodshed that wouldn't be amiss in a Dracula yarn. Another link to the horror is Christopher Lee, here playing the role of Chung King, the terrible leader of the Tong. Lee's role is an obvious prototype for his later, long-running turn as Fu Manchu in a film series throughout the '60s, and it's an interesting one.Although Lee's performance takes place in a single set and he's sitting down for the most part, I was impressed by how he really puts across his character. He doesn't adopt an accent here, so it's a little odd hearing this Chinese guy speaking English without an accent, but Lee successfully humanises his character to a degree whereby you can't really hate him. I loved the way he remained calm throughout, even in the face of danger and death; his final scenes have an unexpected poignancy that you rarely find when it comes to chief villains in films.The cast seems made up of British character actors of the period. Geoffrey Toone, a matinée idol, is the rugged hero, and although I disliked him at first, his character grows so much that I found him one of the finest things in the film by the end. Yvonne Monlaur is the love interest and seems to struggle a bit with her acting, but any male viewer will be so entranced by her beauty that he will no doubt overlook this deficit. Marne Maitland excels as the beggar hiding a secret, and Hammer regular Charles Lloyd Pack appears in one of his most memorable turns as a sinister Chinese doctor. Burt Kwouk's here, three years before he found fame with the Pink Panther and James Bond; also popping up is future Doctor Who Master Roger Delgado. Milton Reid steals all his scenes as a burly henchman.The film's also interesting, not to mention controversial, for its political subtext, namely the depiction of the Chinese as either evil or defenceless, requiring the services of the British to come and help them out of trouble. I think Hammer realised this and deliberately had one of the British guys playing a traitor to muddy the waters a little. Today, the subtext would probably make some viewers think this is a racist film, but I find it a telling mark of the times. This is probably the closest a film has got to the spirit of the early pulps like those written by Sax Rohmer or Robert E. Howard, and for that reason I love it to bits.

mark.waltz A distasteful, violent muck of a thriller, this returns to the days of the "Dr. Fu Manchu" movies with its one dimensional vision of "Orientals" as evil murderous torturers. You can forgive the memories of the Warner Oland and Boris Karloff portrayals of Fu Manchu because they come from an era where society was unaware of the offense made by Caucasians playing other races in stereotypical fashion and with mean-spirited evil or idiotic, buffoon like characterizations. While Asians did not get slammed as much as blacks and Hispanics, when their portrayals did show up with white actors in outlandish make-up playing them, it seemed even more over the top with their characterizations turning the Asian characters into monsters, not human beings. When Peter Sellers played his various made-up characters, audiences for the most part laughed because he played it for comedy. However, in the characterization of "The Red Dragon", here played by Christopher Lee, Asians had every right to take offense, as there is nothing redeemable about his character.Garish color photography gives the disturbing portrayal of Lee's Chung King an almost devilish presence that is difficult to stomach. The attacks on Tong victims with a hatchet are garishly bloody, and even an innocent young girl is brutally murdered because of the Tong's search for secret documents that were hidden for her father (Geoffrey Toone) to find. Ironically, the messenger who also gets a horrific death scene is Burt Kwouck, best known as Peter Seller's valet in the "Pink Panther" series. I half expected him to scream in his Japanese accent, "Inspector Clouseau", but he played the role very serious even though he didn't look any different. The film is truly distasteful on almost every level, and if it is indeed classified as a "horror film", that is mainly because the true horror comes from its upsetting premise. While the Hammer horror films were usually pretty chilling, this one just ends up being a head scratcher because it utilizes themes which I had hoped disappeared with the end of the certain discriminations and the onslaught of common sense and political sensitivity to other races. As it is, I could barely make it through this without becoming completely disgusted.

The_Void Terror of the Tongs is a largely unknown Hammer film and, as such, isn't one the great studio's best films. It is, however, a more than decent entry in Hammer's oeuvre, and is well worth seeking out for Hammer fans. The film takes place in Hong Kong, and director Anthony Bushell does a fairly good job of capitalising on the mystery of the eastern culture. The most prominent thing about this film is no doubt the fact that it stars the great Christopher Lee - as the Chinese head of 'The Tongs'! It's a hilarious performance, and while Lee doesn't exactly convince the audience that he's Chinese, it brilliantly shows off his charisma and ability to hold the audience's attention. The plot focuses on a secret Hong Kong society known as 'The Red Dragon Tong'. They kidnap the captain of a ship in Hong Kong harbour while he's trying to restrain the people who kidnapped his daughter. We then follow the attempt to free him from the Tong; but this isn't a group of amateurs, as the society is big and powerful and freeing the captain isn't easy.The film actually isn't a lot like what I've come to expect from Hammer, as it's all played out rather seriously and there's not a hint of anything even resembling supernatural activity. The film doesn't reflect particularly well on the Chinese people - as despite being set in Hong Kong, there's hardly any natives on the cast list and the Chinese characters don't get to much that has any bearing on the plot. The atmosphere is nothing to write home about, although director Anthony Bushell manages to create just about enough tension to keep things ticking over. The acting is generally below average, with only Christopher Lee coming out of the film with any credibility - which is amazing considering the nature of his role. The film doesn't have a great deal of bite - in spite of a torture sequence and numerous scenes of drug use - although it mostly isn't boring. Overall, I can't say that The Terror of the Tongs is even near to being Hammer's finest hour, but it's a decent little rarity and worth tracking down for Hammer fans.