The Shadow of Fu Manchu

The Shadow of Fu Manchu was a fifteen-minute serial that aired in 1939 and 1940. It follows the efforts of Nayland Smith, assisted by Dr. Petrie, to thwart the evil and convoluted plots of Dr. Fu Manchu. Fu Manchu was played Harold Huber, one of the most accomplished character actors of his day.

The radio series was based on the Fu Manchu novels by the Englishman Sax Rohmer; the books also spawned movies, comic strips, and comic books. The Fu Manchu character is often criticized for promoting some of the most demeaning western stereotypes of Asian and, particularly, Chinese culture. Indeed, during World War II, the United States government asked Hollywood to stop making Fu Manchu movies because they offended China, which as an American ally in the war against Japan.

To learn more, see Wikipedia.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.