The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu is a weird, creaky relic that's actually kind of fun

If you have an hour to spare and you actually like movies that sound like they were recorded inside a rusty tin can, you should give this a look. It is perfect for people who enjoy those old Sunday morning matinees where the villain has a secret lair and everyone talks like they are in a high school play.

If you hate slow pacing or the weird 'yellow peril' tropes of the 1930s, you are going to absolutely despise this. It’s a relic, for sure, but a strangely charming one if you’re in the right mood.

Warner Oland is back as the Doctor, and honestly, his voice is the best part of the whole thing. He has this very calm, almost sleepy way of talking while he’s threatening to do horrible things to people.

The plot is pretty basic: Fu Manchu isn't actually dead (shocker!) and he wants to kill the Petrie family because of what happened in the first movie. It feels like a comic book from a hundred years ago, mostly because that’s basically what it is.

I noticed right away that the sets look like someone’s wealthy grandmother’s attic. There are so many curtains and weird vases everywhere that I kept waiting for someone to trip over a rug.

Jean Arthur is in this, which was a bit of a surprise for me. I usually think of her in much bigger, faster movies like Forbidden, so seeing her here feels a bit out of place.

She spends a lot of time looking worried, but her hair stays completely perfect even when she’s in danger. I wish my hair behaved that well when I was just walking to the kitchen.

There is a scene near the start where a character is reading a letter, and the camera just stays on them for what feels like five minutes. You can almost hear the director holding his breath behind the camera. 🎥

The sound quality is pretty rough, to be honest. I had to turn my volume way up to hear what the hero, Ronald Petrie, was saying, but then the music would kick in and it was way too loud.

One thing that really stuck out to me was the 'secret' entrance to the lair. It’s not very secret if it makes a loud grinding noise every time it opens, right?

The traps are the best part of these old movies. They are always so complicated when a simple gun would have worked much faster, but then we wouldn't have a movie.

There is a specific moment with a poison gas thing that made me laugh because the gas looks like someone is just blowing cigarette smoke into the frame from the side. It’s great. 💨

I think the movie gets better once Fu Manchu actually starts his revenge plan. The first twenty minutes are a lot of people in suits standing in rooms talking about things that happened in the previous film.

It reminded me a bit of the slow-burn feeling in Beyond the Rockies, even though that’s a western. There’s just that specific 'early talkie' rhythm where nobody is quite sure how fast they should be talking yet.

Oland’s mustache is really something else in this one. It looks like it might crawl off his face and start its own career if he isn't careful.

I found myself wondering who was supposed to be cleaning all those giant statues in his house. Being a henchman for a master criminal must involve a lot of dusting in between the kidnapping and the guarding.

The ending is a bit rushed, which is funny because the beginning is so slow. It just kind of stops once the main conflict is over, like the film roll just ran out and they decided to go home.

Why it works (mostly)

• Warner Oland’s weirdly soothing villain voice.
• The sets are actually pretty cool if you like that gothic, dusty look.
• It’s short, so even the boring parts don’t last that long.
• Jean Arthur is always a plus, even if she doesn't have much to do here.

I watched this right after seeing Time to Love, and the jump in style is pretty wild. This movie feels much older than it actually is because of how stiff the actors are.

There is a cat in one of the scenes that looks genuinely confused by what is happening. It just stares at the camera for a second like it's asking for a snack.

The dialogue is very dramatic. People don't just say 'hello,' they say things like 'I have been expecting you, my dear friend, for many moons.'

I think I liked the middle part of the movie the most. That’s when the 'mystery' is happening and you get to see all the weird gadgets Fu Manchu has built.

It’s definitely not a masterpiece, but it’s a fun kind of bad in some places. You can tell they were trying really hard to make it spooky with the lighting.

Sometimes the shadows on the wall are bigger than the actual actors, which I think was on purpose to make it feel more like a nightmare. It works, in a goofy sort of way.

If you’re looking for a deep story about the human condition, you should probably watch something else. Maybe try The Wife He Bought for something with a bit more drama.

But if you want to see a guy in a silk robe plot to take over the world from a room full of incense, this is your movie. It’s a bit of a mess, but it’s an interesting mess.

I probably won't watch it again for a long time, but I'm glad I saw it once. It makes you appreciate how much easier it is to hear what actors are saying in modern films.

The 'Return' part of the title is funny because you know he’s just going to 'die' again and come back in another one. It’s like the 1930s version of a slasher movie villain who never stays down. 🗡️

Overall, it’s a decent enough watch if you’re a fan of movie history. Just don't expect it to make a whole lot of sense if you think about it for more than two minutes.