The Terror of the Tongs (1961)

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

1910. A wicked and dangerous gang known as the Red Dragon Tong dabble in opium dealing and white slavery in Hong Kong. Stalwart sea captain Jackson Sale (a solid performance by Geoffrey Toone) puts himself in considerable jeopardy by actively seeking out the Tong after they kill his daughter. Capably directed by Anthony Bushell, with a steady pace that rarely lets up for a minute, an absorbing script by Jimmy Sangster, startling outbursts of bloody'n'brutal violence, truly hateful and nasty villains (the Tong are a genuinely scary and vicious bunch), crisp cinematography by Arthur Grant, a flavorsome period atmosphere, a shivery and spirited score by James Bernard, a serious tone, some rousing rough'n'tumble fisticuffs, and a lively and stirring climax that's capped off by a surprise downbeat ending, this movie sizes up as an immensely entertaining romp. Kudos are also in order for the bang-up acting from the able cast: the always terrific Christopher Lee excels as evil and cunning Tong leader Chung King, the lovely Yvonne Monlaur delivers a charming portrayal of fiery and loyal Oriental slave girl Lee, plus there are nifty turns by Brian Worth as the corrupt Distict Commissioner Harcourt, Ewen Solon as mean brute Tang How, Marne Maitland as a shrewd and grubby beggar who's plotting to overthrow the Tong, Marie Burke as the helpful Maya, Charles Lloyd Pack as deadly assassin Dr. Fu Chao, and Burt Kwouk as ill-fated businessman Mr. Ming. A very enjoyable flick.

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.

To enjoy this movie you must ignore that most of the 'Chinese' are played by obviously English actors. That was how it was done back then. Hammer worked with limited budgets but almost always came up with suspenseful and colourful movies.Christopher Lee plays his role with his usual aplomb, whilst the rest of the cast made up of many familiar faces keeps the movie rolling along.I first saw this movie over thirty years ago and it took me quite a while to track down a copy on VHS but to this day I still enjoy it immensely. Don't regard it as a piece of art. It's an adventure film in the same vein as Big Trouble in Little China, done very well for the small money and time they had to make it.

This film is a solid (decent pacing, some action, okay acting) Hammer entry. Lee plays a slightly toned down version of his Fu Manchu character-being in charge of a tong rather than a world threatening organization. His chief opponent, a rather clueless and lucky ship captain calls to mind many third rate serial heroes who are constantly being bailed out by others. A couple of amusing cast notes-we've got the Jon Pertwee "Master" villain from Doctor Who in here as Lee's right hand man, and the french lead from "Brides of Dracula" gives another lousy performance, here as a doomed half-chinese concubine.Which brings me to the chief value of this movie-it really gives one a good insight into English attitudes towards the Chinese and their colonial possesion, Hong Kong. First is the fact that there are no major chinese characters *played* by chinese actors-not an uncommon occurance in this era, to be sure (John Wayne, for example, as Ghengis Khan!). Second, the chinese rarely take any direct action in this film, and they need a western "man of action" to get the people to topple the tongs. Third, Lee and many other characters are extremely fatalist. I do not believe the film was *meant* to come off as racist as it now feels-but that is a function of the times. This film is basically a rather dull adventure film, with a huge imperialist subtext, if anyone cares to notice.