DR. FU MANCHU

[RADIO-SERIAL]

This serial for Radio Luxembourg is considered the most faithful version of the Fu Manchu stories

ever done on the air—which is not surprising considering that Sax Rohmer himself wrote all of the

earlier episodes and then turned the scripting chore over to his wife Elizabeth and, later, to his

friend (and future biographer) Cay Van Ash. “We just went straight through the books in their

natural sequence,” explained Van Ash in a letter to Rohmer scholar R. E. Briney. “We did our

utmost to avoid narration and to translate action directly into dialogue or sound. This often

required additional material, and I think we also used a great many more sound effects than there

were in the AmericanShadow ofFu Manchuradio series.”

Clarke-Smith later reprised his role of Nayland Smith in a Rohmer script entitled “The Peculiar

Case at the Poppy Club,” which was broadcast on December 16, 1938 as part of the BBC series

What Happened at 8:20?It is not known whether or not Fu made an appearance also.

ORIGINATION:

Radio Luxembourg.

DURATION:

December 6, 1936-November 28, 1937 (original series), December 5, 1937-

February 6, 1938 (repeat series of episodes #19-28).

[NOTE: There was also a repeat series of the first eleven episodes on Wednesday afternoons at

4:45, running from July 21 through September 29, 1937. The complete series was also broadcast

over Radio Lyons from March 7, 1937 through March 6, 1938.]

PERSONNEL:

Elizabeth Rohmer (scriptwriter), Sax Rohmer (scriptwriter), Cay Van Ash

(scriptwriter).

CAST: D. A. Clarke-Smith (Sir Denis Nayland Smith), Frank Cochrane (Dr. Fu Manchu), Cameron

Hall (Dr. Petrie—EPS. 44-52), Mervyn Johns, Vernon Kelso, Jack Lambert (Dr. Petrie—EPS. 1-9),

Gordon McLeod (Dr. Petrie—EPS. 27-43), John Rae (Dr. Petrie—EPS. 10-24), Pamela Titheradge

(Karamaneh), Rani Waller (Karamaneh—LATER EPS.), Arthur Young.

SPONSOR

: Milk of Magnesia.

EXTANT RECORDINGS:

None.

DR. FU MANCHU (RADIO LUXEMBOURG)
[Sunday—7:00-7:15 PM]

Dec. 6, 1936

[1] “

The Painted Kiss

Dec. 13, 1936

[2] “

The Clue of the Pigtail

Dec. 20, 1936

[3] “

The Mystery of Redmoat

Dec. 27, 1936

[4] “

The Green Mist

Jan. 3, 1937

[5] “

The Call of Siva

Jan. 10, 1937

[6] “

The Hulk of the Flats

Jan. 17, 1937

[7] “

The Brain Thief

Jan. 24, 1937

[8] “

Aaron’s Rod

Jan. 31, 1937

[9] “

The Living Dead

Feb. 7, 1937

[10] “

The Fungi Cellars

Feb. 14, 1937

[11] “

The Lord of Fires

Feb. 21, 1937

[12] “

The Wire Jacket

Feb. 28, 1937

[13] “

The Cry of the

Nighthawk

March 7, 1937 [14] “The White Peacock

March 14, 1937 [15] “The Coughing Horror

March 21, 1937 [16] “The Capture of

Karamaneh

March 28, 1937 [17] “The Silver Buddha

April 4, 1937

[18] “

The Terror Tower

April 11, 1937

[19] “

The Fiery Hand

April 18, 1937

[20] “

The Return of Aziz

April 25, 1937

[21] “

The Six Gates

May 2, 1937

[22] “

The Mummy

May 9, 1937

[23] “

The Brass Box

May 16, 1937

[24] “

The Flower of Silence

May 23, 1937

[25] “

The Golden

Promegranates

May 30, 1937

[26] “

The Adventure of the

Queen of Hearts

June 6, 1937

[27] “

The Xagazig Mystery

June 13, 1937

[28] “

The House of Hashish

June 20, 1937

[29] “

The Lillies of Death

June 27, 1937

[30] “

Lady of the Si-Fan

July 4, 1937

[31] “

The House of the Wild

Cat

July 11, 1937

[32] “

The Lion Crypt

July 18, 1937

[33] “

The Flying Death

July 25, 1937

[34] “

The Shadow Army

Aug. 1, 1937

[35] “

Satan’s Chapel

Aug. 8, 1937

[36] “

The Purple Shadow

Aug. 15, 1937

[37] “

The Flying Plague

Aug. 22, 1937

[38] “

The House of the Devil

Doctor

Aug. 29, 1937

[39] “

The Hairless Horror

Sep. 5, 1937

[40] “

The Scented Drug

Sep. 12, 1937

[41] “

The Devil Doctor’s

Daughter

Sep. 19, 1937

[42] “

The Flower of Eternal

Life

Sep. 26, 1937

[43] “

The Return of the Monk

Oct. 3, 1937

[44] “

The Big Raid

Oct. 10, 1937

[45] “

The Arrest of the Devil

Doctor

Oct. 17, 1937

[46] “

The Secret of the Living

Dead

Oct. 24, 1937

[47] “

The Sleeping Venus

Oct. 31, 1937

[48] “

The Vault of the Living

Dead

Nov. 7, 1937

[49] “

The House of the

Bloodhound

Nov. 14, 1937

[50] “

Man Made Gold

Nov. 21, 1937

[51] “

The Human Incinerator

Nov. 28, 1937

[52] “

The Hell Below the

Thames