Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee: Fu Manchu The Movies

"The Yellow Peril Dr. Fu Manchu" was a representation of how the 'White" world looked upon "Oriental's".



In October 1912 the first part of Sax Rohmer's serialized "The Mystery of Fu Manchu" was published. The novel version would be first published in 1913 just after the serialization was completed.

The character of Fu Manchu was a Chinese master criminal and scientist who wanted to rule the world. He appears to have unlimited funds at his beckoning and is a high ranking member of the "Si-Fan" a secret society actually ruling China.

When Sax Rohmer, real name Arthur Henry Ward, published that first episode of "The Mystery of Fu Manchu" known in the United States as "The Insidious Dr, Fu Manchu". The fear of "The Yellow Peril" was still prevalent especially in England whose colonial history was a major factor in their life.

Chinese historian Wing Fai Leung wrote in his article ""Perceptions of an East-West Yellow Peril: An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear" published in "The Irish Times" on August 16, 2014:

"The phrase Yellow Peril (sometimes Yellow Terror or Yellow Spectre) — coined by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, in the 1890s, after a dream in which he saw the Buddha riding a dragon, and threatening to invade Europe — blends Western anxieties about sex, racist fears of the alien Other. and the Spenglerian belief that the West will become outnumbered and enslaved by the East”.


Fighting Fun Manchu's every move is Dennis Nayland Smith and to a very large degree Rohmer's "Sherlock Holmes". In the first three novels of the series Smith is a Colonial Police Commissioner operating out of Burma and perfectly reflecting the British Colonial system. By today's standards Smith is extremely racist in those first three novels "The Mystery of Fu Manchu", "The Return of Fu Manchu" and "The Hand of Fu Manchu". All published between 1913 and 1917.

When Sax Rohmer restarted the series in 1931 with his fourth novel. He introduced his reading audience to "The Daughter of Fu Manchu". Nayland Smith was now a Knighted Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. Rohmer passed away in 1959 at the time of the publication of the 13th book directly written by him "Emperor Fu Manchu". By this time Sir Dennis Nayland Smith was working for British Intelligence and at times with the American FBI in consultation.

Every Holmes must have his Watson. In the case of Smith there is Dr. Petrie who in many ways is Dr. John H. Watson's double. However, he is a chemist and in the novels we never know his first name. That would change with the motion pictures were he had several.

Over the 47 years between the first magazine appearance of Fu Manchu until the publication of "Emperor Fu Manchu". The popular character still represented the White Man's fear of the "Yellow" Oriental and their desire to be the dominant race. This fear was also seen reflected in the United States. In 1928  Philip Francis Nowlan wrote the novel "Armageddon 2419" which was followed by "The Airlords of Han" in 1929. In these two futuristic stories the "Han" are the Chinese who have conquered and enslaved the world, because of their advance science and technology. A group of "White" freedom fighters in North America are joined by a man from the 20th Century who has somehow been in a state of suspended animation. He is Anthony "Tony" Rodgers. Whose nickname would change from "Tony" when Nowlan started a newspaper comic strip to "Buck". My article on "Buck" Rodgers can be found at:

http://kinescopedreams.blogspot.com/2015/01/buck-rodgers-armageddon-2419-ad-from.html

January 7, 1934 would see the premier of another new comic strip "Flash Gordon" by Alex Raymond. It was very obvious to Raymond's readers that "Ming the Merciless " of Mongo was a take off on Fu Manchu. Even to his mustache and obvious Chinese style appearance and dress.

However, there were also counters to these stereo types in three Oriental Detectives. The first of them Chinese/American "Charlie Chan" was based in Honolulu, Hawaii and created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Author John P. Marquand would create a Japanese/American detective "Mr. Moto" in 1935. Perhaps the major opposite of Fu Manchu was Yale Graduate and United States Treasury Agent James Lee Wong. This Chinese/American detective lived in San Francisco and is also wealthy. "Mr. Wong" as he was known was created in 1934 by Hugh Wiley.

All of the above characters would come to the motion picture screen played by Caucasian actors.

Ming by Charles Middleton.

Charlie Chan most notably by Warner Oland and Sidney Tolar.

Mr. Moto by Peter Lorre.

James Lee Wong by Boris Karloff.

So it's not a surprise that the head of "The Yellow Peril" Fu Manchu was also played by Caucasian actors. The first screen version was a 1923 15 episode silent serial made in the U.K. under the title of "The Mystery of Fu Manchu".

Playing the evil genius was actor Harry Agor Lyons.



Who looks more like his previous role as "Sherlock Holmes" than an oriental villain. The following year Lyons was back in the 23 part serial "The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fun Manchu".

In these two films not only does Dr. Fu Manchu not really look Chinese, but his famous mustache does not appear. On August 10,1929 the first motion picture with a shorter version of the mustache appeared in the United States. The film was a hybrid as originally it was being shot as a silent film, but then scenes were reworked with sound. The movie was "The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu".

Playing Fu Manchu was Swedish Actor Warner Oland. Oland would be known to fans of Werewolf movies as "Oriental" Dr. Yogami who bites Henry Hull in Universal Studio's 1935 "The Werewolf of London" and later  to detective fans, as I have mentioned, playing "Charlie Chan".



The story has Fu Manchu's wife and child killed by British colonials during the Boxer Rebellion and he seeks revenge years later on those responsible. In the film one of those on Fu Manchu's list is Claude King as Sir John Petrie the father of Dr. Jack Petrie played by Neil Hamilton. Dr. Petrie is a friend of Nayland Smith played by O.G. Heggie. This is the first movie to give Dr. Petrie a first name and that name, as I also mentioned above, will change in other features. Neil Hamilton is known to fan of the camp 1960's television series "Batman" for playing "Commissioner Gordon". Actress Jean Arthur played the damsel in distress Lia Eltham. Arthur would star in two of Frank Capra's classic motion pictures "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington" with Gary Cooper and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" with James Stewart. She also would play Van Hefin's wife in "Shane" starring Alan Ladd.

Above, Jean Arthur and Neil Hamilton

Warner Oland, O.P. Heggie, Neil Hamilton and Jean Arthur were all back on May 2, 1930 for "The Return of Fu Manchu". Thought dead at the end of "The Mysterious Fu Manchu" the Chinese mastermind is back still seeking revenge on those who killed his wife and child.

Only Warner Oland returned from the original cast for "Daughter of the Dragon" released on September 5, 1931. Once more he was the insidious doctor and once more still after those who killed his wife and daughter.

As the above poster indicates the top star was Anna May Wong as Lin Moy. Her motion picture career ranged from 1919 to 1961 and she is considered the first true Chinese/American actress. By biography of the actress can be found at:

http://www.bewaretheblog.com/2021/08/anna-may-wong-first-chinese-american.html

Third billing went to Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa who had become a silent screen matinee idol. Most of my readers know the actor as the cruel camp commander in 1957's "The Bridge On the River Kwai".

"Daughter of the Dragon" was loosely based upon Sax Rohmer's "The Daughter of Fu Manchu". The motion picture has the odd distinction of having two leading Oriental actors with star billing playing opposite a Caucasian actor made up to be Oriental. Had Wong and Hayakawa not be recognized by the public for their silent film performances their roles would have gone to non-Asian actors at the time the film was made.

To put this in perspective for producer Samuel Bronston's epic about the Boxer Rebellion "55 Days at Peking" released 32 years later in 1963. The part of Chinese Empress Tzu-His was played by British actress Flora Robson and Chinese General Jung-Lu by British actor Leo Glenn, because the idea of giving a leading role to an Oriental actor was still not concidered at the time. For those of my readers interested in Samuel Bronson who made such epics as "El Cid" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire". Along with John Wayne's "Circus World". Here is a link to my bio on him:

http://kinescopedreams.blogspot.com/2016/04/samuel-bronston-from-king-of-1960s-road.html

The same practice held for Native American roles and for a comparative look this link will take you to my article on the portrayal's of Indians in the motion picture industry.

http://kinescopedreams.blogspot.com/2015/08/native-americans-hollywood-style-i.html

Returning to "Daughter of the Dragon". In the story a Chinese Princes becomes entangled with the evil Fu Manchu, and a secret agent.

There are some changes to the main characters in this picture. For one Dr. Jack Petrie is now just Ronald Petrie played by Bramwell Fletcher and Nayland Smith is nowhere to be found. The story has the beautiful Lin Moy, Anna May Wong, unknowingly living next door to Dr. Fu Manchu, Warner Oland. Also unknown to the girl is that she is the daughter of Fu Manchu and her lover, Ah Kee, Sessue Hayakawa, is a secret agent after him.

Ronald Petrie is in love with Joan Marshall played by Francis Dade. So although the film was promoted as the third in a trilogy the character of Lia Eltham has also been dropped. Fu Manchu wants to kill both Ronald and his father and will use Joan as a means of getting to them.

This was the final motion picture with Warner Oland, but the next feature film in 1932 had some great casting if not major stereo types.



Boris Karloff dawned the Mandarin make-up as Dr. Fu Manchu. Lewis Stone, who starred in the 1925 Willis O'Brien classic "The Lost World" and would play Mickey Rooney's father in the "Andy Hardy" series, played Nayland Smith. Dr. Petrie is nowhere to be seen, but playing Karen Morley's love interest is Charles Starrett. In three more years he would become a major "B" Western star in a series as "The Durango Kid". However, it is the actress playing Fu Manchu's daughter Fah Lo See (the correct spelling should be Fah Lo Suee) which is of interest here. She is portrayed by Myrna Loy two years before Loy would play Nora Charles in the MGM series "The Thin Man" and also co-star with Clark Gable and her "Thin Man" co-star William Powell in "Manhattan Melodrama". A boring movie that will always be remembered as the one John Dillinger went to see with "The Lady in Red" and was killed by the FBI as he left  Chicago's "Biograph Theater".

Boris Karloff as Dr. Fu Manchu

Myrna Loy as Fah Lo See

Lewis Stone as Nayland Smith

The basic story has Nayland Smith attempting to stop Fu Manchu from locating the tomb of Genghis Khan and obtaining the Khan's mask and sword. Fu's plan is to proclaim himself the reincarnation of Genghis Khan and lead the people's of Asia against "the white man". Which brings me to the two reasons the film caused major controversy.

The Chinese Government through their Washington, D.C. Embassy protested the story line of the motion picture. In their formal protest the Chinese Government mentioned a line used by Boris Karloff  to inflame his followers:

Kill the white man and take his women!

Myrna Loy had a sequence, in this pre-code motion picture, were as Fah Lo See she orders a man tortured and whipped. It is obvious her character is having a sexual organism over what she witnesses.

When the movie was re-released in 1972 "The Japanese American Citizens League" protested those scenes and other elements as anti-Asian and degrading. Twenty-years later in 1992 the first VHS release of "The Mask of Fu Manchu" had these scenes and some others cut. However, the latest DVD releases have these scenes restored.

It would be eight years until 1940 before Sax Rohmer's character Fu Manchu would next be seen on the motion picture screen. "Drums of Fu Manchu" is considered one of the finest serials ever made and the 15 chapter adventure was filmed by Republic Studios.

Portraying Fu Manchu was German/American actor Henry Brandon. Sir Dennis Nayland Smith of the Secret Service was played by William Royle. Olaf Hyteen now played Dr. Flinders Petrie aand Gloria Franklin played Fah Lo Suee.

In the serial Fu Manchu wants to conqueror the world, what else, by finding "The Sceptre of Genghis Khan".

One interesting aspect of the serial is that Fu Manchu gets away at the end. Republic Pictures had to get permission from "The Hayes Office" which was in charge of administering the rules of "The Motion Picture Production Code" to end the serial that way. Under the code the villain is evil and must be destroyed. Permission was granted, but only because in the series of novels Fu Manchu always gets away. Although a second serial was never made. It is believed that Republic Pictures also told the Hayes Office that was their plan.

The next appearances by Fu Manchu were made in Mexico starting with "El espectro de la novia (The Spectre of the Bride)" released in 1943. This series of motion pictures starred British Magician David T. Bamberg who also co-wrote all the screenplays. The other films in the series were "El as negro (The Black Ace)" and "La mujer sin cabeza (The Headless Women)" both released in 1944, "El museo del crimen (The Museum of Crime) 1945, "Asesinato en los studios (Assassination studies) in 1946 and "La casa embrujada (The Bewitched House)" released in 1949.

It was after a performance of his magic in Argentina that David T. Bamberg was offered a World Tour. He agreed. but over time the audiences fell off and Bamberg drifted into the Mexican Motion Picture Industry. Although his character looked the part in at least the first movie. David T. Bamberg's Fu Manchu was a heroic character and a detective. Perhaps influenced by Charlie Chan, or James  Lee Wong. His on screen credit was interesting as his name was written as "Fu Man Chu".




On September 3, 1956 a television program "The Adventures of Fu Manchu" premiered. Originally the plan was to have Sir Cedric Hardwicke play the criminal genius, but the deal fell through with the sponsors. Actor Glenn Gordon would eventually be given the role.

What was supposed to be a total payment for the rights to Fu Manchu had been made, but Sax Rohmer wanted more and a court battle followed. The series was planned to be 78 episodes, but only 13 were filmed as a result of the lawsuit.

Each episode started out with Fu Manchu and Dennis Nayland Smith playing chess with Fu's being Black and Smith's White as a voice said:

"Black and white. Life and death. Good and evil. Two sides of a chess game. Two forces of the universe, one magnificent, the other sinister. It is said the Devil plays for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, Satan himself, evil incarnate."

While each episode ended with Fu Manchu breaking a black chess piece after his latest plan has been defeated by Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie.

Horror King Boris Karloff portrayed Sax Rohmer's master criminal once, but another King of Horror Christopher Lee played him five times. The first film was very good, but as Lee wrote the other four were not and got progressively worse.

The British motion picture company Halliam Productions joined with West German studio Constanin Film  to make the first movie "The Face of Fu Manchu"  in Dublin, Ireland released August 6, 1965. Playing Sir Nayland Smith was Nigel Green. Howard Marian-Crawford portrayed Dr. Petrie as he would for the entire series.





The picture opens with the execution of Fu Manchu as witnessed by Nayland Smith. However, back in London events take place that rise the suspension that he is still alive.

Playing Fu Manchu's daughter Lin Tang opposite Christopher Lee for the entire series was Chinese actress, director,teacher and author Tsai Chin. She was also a "Bond Girl" in 1967's "You Only Live Twice" as an MI-6 undercover agent and she played gambler "Madame Wu" in the 2006 "Casino Royale".

Fu Manchu's base of operations is under the River Thames and it is up to Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie to stop him. The film ends with what appears to be his death, but his "Face" appears at the ending telling the audience he would be back.

On September 2, 1966 in "The Brides of Fu Manchu". Nigel Green was replaced by Douglas Wilmer as Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, The plot has been used before, but maybe not on such a scale. Fu Manchu and his daughter are kidnapping the daughters of scientists that he needs to construct his weapon to take over the world.



Wilmer would return for the 3rd film "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" released May 25, 1967. At this point Hallaum Productions dropped out of producing the series and the German Constantin Film was joined by the Chinese film company of "The Shaw Brothers". Although the executive producer for the complete series was Sax Rohmer fan Harry Allan Towers.

There were two dubbed versions of "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu". One was in German and the other English.This was hold for the reminder of the series. As happened with several Foreign Language pictures starring the multi-language speaking Lee. His voice was dubbed back into English by another actor. See my article on Christopher Lee's other Foreign language motion pictures at:

https://kinescopedreams.blogspot.com/2016/08/christopher-lee-foreign-language-motion.html

The simplistic plot has Fu Manchu and his daughter in a remote hideaway in China plotting the death of Nayland Smith.

The fourth film in the series "The Blood of Fu Manchu" released August 23, 1968.The title of the film changed several times to "Fu Manchu and the Kiss of Death", "Kiss of Death", "Kiss and Kill" and "Against All Offs" depending on where it was released.

This time Richard Greene played Nayland Smith and would also repeat the role in the fifth and final film in the series.



There is an interesting bid of movie trivia connected with Shirley Eaton. The actress best remembered as the "Bond Girl" being painted gold at the start of "Goldfinger". The trivia is that she appeared in the picture in one scene without ever filming it, or for many years not knowing that she had appeared in a Fu Manchu picture.

The director Jesse Franco, who directed Christopher Lee in 1970's "Count Dracula", inserted a clip of Shirley Eaton from his motion picture "The Girl From  Rio". Note her name actually appears under Richard Greene's on the poster below. Also note that the poster has Greene's last name spelled "Green". One other bit of trivia is the Richard Greene and Christopher Lee both played the same role Sir Henry Baskerville in two productions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" separated by 20 years. Greene in 1939 with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson and Lee in 1959 with Peter Cushing and Andre Morell in the roles.




The plot had Fu Manchu at a secret base in the Amazon Jungle where he had developed a poison that kills only men. Using a form of mind control he has women deliver "The Kiss of Death" and targets Nayland Smith.

The final entry in this series was "The Castle of Fu Manchu" aka: "Assignment Istanbul" and "The Torture Chamber of Fu Manchu" released May 30, 1969.

In this picture Fu Manchu and his daughter plot to freeze the World's Oceans. Fu takes over the Castle of the Governor of Istanbul Turkey and uses it as his base of operations.





It wouldn't be until August 8, 1980 that Fu Manchu returned to the motion picture screen. The title of this entry was "The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu". The film was a comedy starring Peter Sellers in both the roles of Nayland Smith and a 168 year old Fu Manchu. Who is in search of the ingredients to keep him alive in a special elixir. The characters of Dr. Petrie and Fu Manchu's daughter are not in this motion picture.

There were three major problems with the film. For one the attitudes toward stereo typical roles especially played by Caucasian actors of other races had changed greatly in the post Vietnam Era.
The second was Peter Sellers health in this his last film appearance. Critics noted he was very subdued in what should have been two of his typical over the top roles. The third problem was between Sellers and his directors. The film started pre-production under Richard Quine. He was replaced by Piers Haggard for the actual shoot, but there were arguments between him and Sellers Haggard left and Peter Sellers handled the re-shoots and oversaw the film's editing.






The character of Fu Manchu would make a cameo appearance on April 6, 2007 in "Grindhouse". The role was portrayed by non-screen credited Nicolas Cage.




I can not end this look at Fu Manchu without an old style joke that goes back well before I was born.

"CONFUCIUS SAY: ALL MEN EAT, BUT FEW MANCHU!"

My Neighbors Actors Barbara Luddy and Kenneth Tobey

"WHAT'S A BABY?" was a question the cocker spaniel "Lady" asked in Walt Disney's animated classic "Lady and the Tramp".

The kids on our block asked Barbara Luddy LeFevre to say those words over and over again, but wait I am ahead of my memory.

I was seven years old in 1954 when my parents moved me from the City of Los Angeles to our first home in the San Fernando Valley. For those familiar with those areas today. Such a move doesn't seem earthshattering. However, in 1954 there were only five ways into the San Fernando Valley on winding two lane roads through narrow passes. By name they are Benedict Canyon, the Cahuenga Pass, Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon and Sepulveda Boulevard. All are there should you want to drive them rather than the Freeway System.

In Los Angeles, before that move. We lived in the bottom half of a duplex owned by my mother's parents. The two story building was on Mansfield Street which touched Wilshire Boulevard at the North End and curved into La Brea Boulevard on the South End. A trip today from that location to my 1954 home one block North of the corner of Burbank and Sepulveda Boulevards should take about 30 minutes, or less. In 1954 you were looking at an hour and half to a full two hours depending on the traffic. Not to mention the added time stopping for me to throw up on the side of the road from those winding turns one on top of another in quick succession.

Our first real house was located in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys at 15144 Martha Street. It is strange how 62 years later I can still remember the address. I can also remember the phone number we had STate-6-9075. This was pre-area codes, all numerical phone numbers and a very less populated Los Angeles County.

On our block of Martha Street I had two neighbors. Their names were the aforementioned Barbara Luddy LeFevre and Kenneth Tobey. This is a short memory of those two neighbors.

I was seven years old when we arrived on Martha Street and one of my first new friend's was Barbara Luddy's son Chris. Like the other kids we attended Kester Avenue Elementary School. My memory may be a little faulty, but this picture of Barbara is the closest to the way I remember her at the time.



Look for information on line for my neighbor Barbara and you will only find out that she was born May 25, 1908 in Great Falls, Montana to Will and Molly Luddy. There is mention about her marriage to Ned LeFavre on September 18, 1942. There is no mention of their son Chris, or that he had a younger sister. I'm sorry, but I forget her name.

Writing this I looked at Barbara's background and discovered she started in silent motion pictures in a 1925 film entitled "An Enemy of Man" playing Janet. What this picture was about I couldn't find a mention. Between 1925 and 1933 Barbara appeared in nine short subjects and seven other feature films.
Below is a still from the Bob Steele, singing cowboy, 1930 "B" Western "Headin' North".




Above, Perry Murdock as "Snicker Kimball", Bob Steele as "Jim Curtis", and Barbara Luddy as "Mary Jackson".  


 All of them forgotten today. It would be twenty-two years later before Barbara Luddy would return to the motion picture industry. Her career was in radio as a major star and voice.

Two radio programs occupied Barbara Luddy's talents more than any others. From 1936 through 1953 Barbara was heard by radio audiences on the program "The First Nighter". The show was performed before a live audience and she wore a formal gown and her co-star, "Mr. First Nighter", wore a formal tuxedo. 

Above, Barbara Luddy with her "First Nighter" co-star, Les Tremayne, known to fans of 1950's science fiction movies for 1953's, "War of the Worlds", and 1959's, "Angry Red Planet".

The second radio program originated in Chicago and Barbara would be associated with it from its start in 1940 until it's end in 1954. The title was "Chicago Theater of the Air" and the program presented Operettas. Apparently my neighbor was an accomplished singer and her voice would be heard later on in an episode of Walt Disney's "Wonderful World of Color" singing "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" in the 1964 "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair".

I remember Barbara Luddy as having almost a Grandmotherly personality to the kids on the block. I wonder how Chris and his sister felt about sharing her with all of us? As I started out this memory I was surprised, as where many of my fellow Cub Scouts in our small troop, that Barbara was the voice of "Lady" in Walt Disney's "Lady and the Tramp". She immediately became a celebrity to a group of eight year olds. Finding herself repeating over and over again the line "What's a Baby" "Lady" asks when she hears her owners are expecting a new member to the family.

The picture was the first animated film in CinemaScope and Walt Disney was faced with the problem that not all theaters in June of 1955 could show it that way. So he released two versions. One in the widescreen process and another in the normal aspect ratio at the time.

Before Barbara's next screen voice in 1959 I was no longer her neighbor. The problem that unfortunately effects many families occurred. My parents separated and would divorce. The house on Martha Street was put up for sale and my mother and I moved into her parents new home also in Van Nuys. I would never see her again, but I did get the surprise of not only hearing her voice, but looking at an animated character that was her spitting image as the saying goes.

As with the first animated motion picture in CinemaScope. Walt Disney pushed the limits of animation and released a feature in Super 70mm and 6 channel stereo. The picture was "Sleeping Beauty" and Walt four years after "Lady and the Tramp" still had to release two versions of the picture. Indicative of a problem facing all studios converting to widescreen film making.

In "Sleeping Beauty" Barbara Luddy voiced the Blue Fairy Merryweather.

After some forgotten appearances on television Barbara created several more voices for Walt Disney that my readers can still enjoy. She was the voice of "Rover" in the original "101 Dalmatians", the voice of Kanga in "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" and would repeat the role in three more Winnie the Pooh features as well as several episodes of the original cartoon series. Also her voice is heard in both the roles of the Mother Church Mouse and Mother Rabbit in Walt Disney's animated "Robin Hood".

My neighbor Barbara Luddy LeFavre passed away on April 1, 1979. I will always hold fond memories of her.





Just before Barbara's house was another with a movie actor living there. From time to time I would see him, but I really never had the interaction as I had with Chris' mother. Actually none of the kids on the block did. At this time the actor was married to his first wife Violet M. Coglan. His name was Kenneth Tobey.

I first recognized him when I saw the third episode of the original Davy Crockett mini-series on the television show "Disneyland". Kenneth Tobey was playing Jim Bowie at the Alamo. After that I tried to see him, but I remember Tobey as somewhat reclusive to his neighbors, but he was openly friendly with Barbara Luddy. This may have just been the impression of a young boy at the time.

I next saw my neighbor once more on Disneyland in the two part mini-series based upon Davy Crockett and Mike Fink. Tobey was playing Jocko one of the crew of Mike Fink's keelboat. That's Kenneth Toby immediately to the right of Jeff York in the picture below.



Prior to leaving Martha Street again saw Kenneth Tobey in a Walt Disney production. This time a feature length movie starring Fess Parker who had played Davy Crockett. The picture was based upon the story of the first winners of "The Congressional Medal of Honor" in 1956's "The Great Locomotive Chase". Tobey played a Confederate engineer that helped Jeffrey Hunter chase the Union spy's lead by Parker. Other than these Walt Disney appearances I had no idea of his other work.

Briefly Kenneth Tobey was born on March 23, 1917 in Oakland, California. He would attend college at UC Berkeley for law, but the acting bug, as they say, bite him. He studied acting at the New York Playhouse with fellow Berkeley alumni Gregory Peck and Eli Wallach. During the 1940's Kenneth Tobey appeared mainly in stock company productions and on the Broadway stage. It is his start in motion pictures that is kind of weird according to the on line sources.

One website shows Tobey having an non-screen credit role in Todd Browning's 1935 picture "Mark of the Vampire" made on the MGM lot. The problem here is MGM was located in Culver City a suburb of Los Angeles, but Kenneth Tobey would have been 18 at the time and entering college in Oakland in Northern California. It's possible, but I doubt it actually happened. Another on line bio of Tobey states his first feature was a Hopalong Cassidy movie. That would be "Dangerous Adventure" where he played the character of "Red" in 1947.

However, IMDb shows a 1945 made for television movie version of Ben Hecht's "The Front Page" as Kenneth Tobey's first film appearance. This seems possible, because he was working on the New York stage that year. Also early television was being broadcast in New York City since before at least 1940. We could be playing with semantics here, if you consider a movie studio picture over what is classified as a television feature length movie. Then "Dangerous Adventure" was Kenneth Tobey's first movie, but "The Front Page" is his first non-stage on screen appearance.

"The Front Page" and "Dangerous Adventure" were followed by 16 performances in movies and early television in parts so small the actor received no screen credit. On July 4, 1950 Kenneth Tobey received his second, or should that be third screen credit in the movie "My Friend Irma Goes West". The picture was part of a series of popular films that would become am early 1950 television series right after it's release. Tobey's part was described simply as "Pilot". HIs next screen appearance was in "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" starring James Cagney. Tobey was billed 13th as "Detective Fowler".

The actor stayed in 13th billing in the June Allison, Dick Powell film "Right Cross" playing "Ken the third reporter" and billed appropriately as "Ken" Tobey. Four more uncredited roles and 12th billing in the Glenn Ford picture "The Flying Missile" would bring Kenneth Tobey to the first of three motion pictures that would turn the actor into a 1950's Science Fiction Icon of sorts.

At one time there was a movie theater on Van Nuys Boulevard at the present location of the Civic Center called "The Ritz". "The Ritz" wasn't one of those second run, or third run movie houses. It was at the minimal a 200th run theater showing pictures years old. What was great for a young movie buff like myself was that "The Ritz" ran one double feature program from Sunday through Tuesday and a second double feature program Wednesday through Saturday. So I could see four movies on a weekend.

It was at "The Ritz" that I saw 1951's "The Thing from Another World" in 1958.



Notice the above original poster does not mention one member of the cast. Although clearly on the poster are the faces of the major leads. Released April 27, 1951 the low budgeted Science Fiction film has influenced audiences for the last 65 years and inspired two sequels. Although the first really isn't a true sequel.

The picture is a combination of a very solid script with finely drawn characters and solid acting. The direction is credited to Howard Hawks' cameraman Christian Nyby, but the story has always remained that Hawks', himself, really directed the film. As there are scenes so obvious in his style and an example is the poker game at the beginning. The characters talk over each other's lines giving the impression of an actual conversation taking place. A trademark of Hawks. Although some argue that Nyby having worked for the director for so long just copied his style.

The screenplay was based upon the first 31 pages of John W. Campbell, Jr's novella "Who Goes There". I highly recommend reading the original story available as an E-book. The sequel I consider a non-sequel to the original picture was released in 1982. This was director John Carpenter's "The Thing". The reason this sequel is not a true sequel is that Carpenter filmed the last 38 pages of Campbell's novella. So these two motion pictures together with slight cinematic changes complete the original written work.

Kenneth Tobey played the no nonsense Army pilot who takes his crew and a reporter to the North Pole. The flight is ordered because of the nature of the reports coming from a scientific station located there. They seem to imply a strange aircraft has crashed. Is it Russian?

After the introduction of the reporter to the scientists at the station. We meet the lead scientist Dr. Arthur Carrington played by Robert Cornthwaite. His secretary Nikki Nicholson is portrayed by Howard Hawks' discovery Margaret Sheridan. Sheridan was offered the lead in Hawks' "Red River" starring John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff, but turned it down because she was pregnant at the time. This was her first motion picture and she had the number one spot in billing.

Above Kenneth Tobey and Margaret Sheridan

Above Robert Cornthwaite, Kenneth Tobey, and George Fenneman portraying the uncredited Dr. Redding.

Speaking of "The Thing from Another World", below is James Arness in all his "Intelligent Carrot" glory.

There are some wonderful comic sequences within all the suspense and thrills between Kenneth Tobey's Captain Patrick Hendry and Sheridan's Nikki. Before we ever see her Hendry's crew was teasing the Captain to the reporter about Hawaii and Nikki.

Carrington becomes the model of the Atomic Age scientist who is blinded to the potential dangers of the scientific discovery he sees before him. In this case a humanoid vegetable played by unknown James Arness. This becomes even stronger when "The Thing" turns out to be alive and escapes confinement.

Dr. Carrington only sees what science can learn from the alien without really seeing "The Thing" as the means of an invasion of the Earth, because it can multiply with seedlings being a plant and not a animal. In fact Carrington conducts an experiment starting to help the invader reproduce. All in the name of scientific progress.



It is Kenneth Tobey's straight thinking Captain Hendry that puts a stop to Dr. Carrington's experiment and organizes the defense and final destruction of "The Thing from  Another World". That complete title was dropped to just "The Thing" until John Carpenter released his motion picture.

The movie ends with the now classic words from the reporter:

"TELL THE WORLD. TELL THIS TO EVERYBODY. WHEREVER THEY ARE. WATCH THE SKIES EVERYWHERE. KEEP LOOKING. KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES."

American's at the time knew "WHO" and "WHAT" those words were really referring too. "The Thing from Another World" was perfect Cold War propaganda disguised as Science Fiction.

At the time of the movie's release Kenneth Tobey probably had no idea he would become the model Military Hero of 1950's Science Fiction. However, two years after "The Thing from Another World" the second part of what would become the Kenneth Tobey Science Fiction Trilogy was released June 13, 1953.

The image below was not a poster for the motion picture, but a publicity promotion for local television and radio stations and newspapers. It makes interesting reading on the right side. Also note the expected release date was June 18th, but Warner Brothers released the picture five days earlier.




Below is one of the films original posters.



A point about the original release prints had them tinted red. I saw the film that way and again at "The Ritz" in 1958, or 1959. The picture is recognized not for Kenneth Tobey, but as the first stop motion picture completely animated by Ray Harryhausen.

Once more my ex-neighbor was playing a Military Man. His fourth billed role was as Army Colonel Jack Evans who had been in charge of "Operation Experiment". Which was a test of an Atomic Bomb just north of the Artic Circle.

The star of the picture was Paul Christian as Professor Tom Nesbitt. It just be noted that the actor's name was created for American audiences. In actuality Paul Christian was Swiss Actor Paul Hubschmid. In the following picture Christian (Hubschmid) is shown with second billed Paula Raymond as Paleontologist Lee Hunter Portraying Dr. Thurgood Elson was third billed Cecil Kellaway.Perhaps the real star was Ray Harryhausen's "Rhedosaurus".

Professor Nesbitt after being rescued from an avalanche and loosing his scientist associate claims to have seen a monster. Kenneth Tobey's Colonel Jack Evans tells him he ordered a search of the area, but no monster was found. Nesbitt is sent to a hospital to recover from exhaustion. It is there that he reads an article about a fishing boat in the Grand Banks seeing a Sea Serpent.

Against Doctor's orders he leaves his hospital room and goes to see Dr. Elson and meets Lee Hunter. Dr. Elson tells him it is impossible for such a creature to exist today. Returning to his hospital room he is eventually released and reads of other attacks.

Nesbitt asks Evans to see if he can locate anymore such sightings and reluctantly Tobey's Evan's contacts his friend Navy Captain Phil Jackson played by Donald Woods. Lee Hunter shows up with drawings of "Known" dinosaurs at Nesbitt's apartment. He identifies the "Rhedosaurus" and with Lee's help convince Dr. Elson that there is a creature at loose heading for New York City.

Elson is killed in a diving bell after confirming the creature is lurking in New York harbor. Then it strikes and the reminder of the motion picture deals with that and Kenneth Tobey's Colonel Jack Evan's attempts to capture the beast. A beast that has brought a million year old disease to the residents of New York City.

The climax of the film comes at Coney Island where an isotope is shot into the bleeding wound on the "Rhedosaurus'" head.

The movie has the distinction of being the first motion picture about a monster being awaken by Atomic Bomb tests. The Toho classic "Gojira" aka: "Godzilla" did not come out until November 3, 1954 the following year. The classic about mutated Giant Ants "THEM!" was released June 19th also in 1954.

Two more years later Kenneth Tobey was seen in his third Science Fiction feature with effects once again provided by Ray Harryhausen. Released on July 1, 1955 was "It Came from Beneath the Sea". I would see the picture not at "The Ritz", but another long forgotten San Fernando Valley movie theater "The Sherman" on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. It was a Saturday Kid's matinee and around 1956 or 1957.

This time Tobey was not in the Army, but the Navy and the captain of a new nuclear submarine. It played Commander Pete Mathews and after a shack down cruise. The sub is seemingly attacked by something from the sea and a portion of the sea creature is found trapped in the submarine's rudder.

To save money producer Charles H. Schneer had the script written in a documentary style narrated by William Woodson. This actually added a realistic tone to the story of a giant octopus that eventually attacks San Francisco.

Kenneth Tobey, middle below, was first billing and playing his love interest and Professor Lesley Joyce was Faith Domergue, right below. One month earlier to the day June 1, 1955 she co-starred in another Science Fiction classic "This Island Earth".




The third billed actor was Donald Curtis, left above. Curtis played Dr. John Carter a fellow scientist that Joyce admires and for awhile Commander Mathews thinks is competition over her. Curtis would be seen the following year in Ray Harryhausen's "Earth vs the Flying Saucers".

The octopus attacks San Francisco as the three figure out a way to stop the creature. A means similar to the one used to kill the "Rhedosaurs" is discovered and in a mini-sub Kenneth Tobey and Donald Woods go after the octopus.

Although my one time neighbor would be seen in other productions such as director John Sturges' "Gunfight at the OK Corral" playing Bat Masterson, or on television in the 111 episode series he starred in "Whirlybirds". It was the above three feature films that have become Kenneth Tobey's legacy.

After a career of 219 motion picture and television appearance and many legitimate stage appearances to add to that. Kenneth Tobey passed away at the age of 85 on December 22, 2002.

Childhood memories are wonderful to have especially when I can watch Barbara and Ken's films over and over again to relive them.