The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
Original film poster
Directed byPiers Haggard
Written byRudy Dochtermann
Jim Moloney
Peter Sellers
Produced byZev Braun
Leland Nolan
StarringPeter Sellers
Helen Mirren
David Tomlinson
Sid Caesar
John Le Mesurier
CinematographyJean Tournier
Edited byClaudine Bouché
Russell Lloyd
Music byMarc Wilkinson
Production
companies
Orion Pictures
Braun Entertainment Group
Playboy Productions
Distributed byWarner Bros. (through Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors in the UK)
Release date
  • 8 August 1980 (1980-08-08)
Running time
101 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$10.7 million

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1980 comedy film, most notable as the final film of Peter Sellers and co-star David Tomlinson. Based on characters created by Sax Rohmer, the movie stars Sellers in the dual role of Fu Manchu, a megalomaniacal Chinese evil genius, and his nemesis, English gentleman detective Nayland Smith.

Pre-production began with Richard Quine as director. By the time production commenced, Piers Haggard had replaced him. Sellers handled the re-shoots himself. Released two weeks after Sellers' death, the film was a commercial and critical failure. It was also the final screen appearance for Tomlinson, who retired from acting shortly before its release.