Christopher Lee is good as Chung King but his performances in other films, both for Hammer and other films, are far better. In fact, this is one of my least favourite of his performances. It has some nice performances from Roger Delgado and Burt Kwouk (one of the few people in the film actually of Chinese descent and the only one with more than a few lines) but otherwise it's very dull. Marne Maitland, who was Indian, makes for the least convincing of the faux Chinese people but he's up against some pretty stiff competition.
"The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films" said it best: "The Terror of the Tongs, perhaps thankfully a rarely-seen film, remains resolutely undistinguished in almost every department." It's only 73 minutes long, making it the shortest Hammer film that I've seen, but feels twice that. It's underwritten and the characters don't behave like real people. This is second only to "The Horror of Frankenstein" as my least favourite Hammer film, I'm afraid. This is the third and final film directed by Anthony Bushell, who had a solid career as an actor. I can't say that I'm surprised that his directing career never took off.
"The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films" said it best: "The Terror of the Tongs, perhaps thankfully a rarely-seen film, remains resolutely undistinguished in almost every department." It's only 73 minutes long, making it the shortest Hammer film that I've seen, but feels twice that. It's underwritten and the characters don't behave like real people. This is second only to "The Horror of Frankenstein" as my least favourite Hammer film, I'm afraid. This is the third and final film directed by Anthony Bushell, who had a solid career as an actor. I can't say that I'm surprised that his directing career never took off.