![]() ![]() It was featured on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, so I suppose that it might be part of a home video collection, but the only DVD I can find any specs for is an anamorphic German release with no English track or subtitles. The Million Eyes of Sumuru hasn’t had an official North American digital release as far as I know. It’s definitely a handsome production, but, widescreen framing aside, there isn’t much separating it from middle-late ‘60s action-based television. Unfortunately, their carefully orchestrated images are constantly undermined by the jumbled editing, a lack of coverage, and weak action/stunt choreography. Despite its B-movie origins, the director and his crew try to shoot The Million Eyes of Sumuru as if it were a big studio production. studio sets than he does on the Hong Kong street locations, where Avalon scurries around the peripherals of the bigger story. Shonteff, who got in his pulp horror practice when he made Devil Doll (1964) and Curse of Voodoo (1965), and who dipped his toes into the Bond rip-off pool with a spoof called The 2nd Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World (aka: License to Kill, 1965), has more fun with the colourful costumes and Shaw Bros. It’s no wonder that Eaton became the basis for the franchise over her unfunny male counterparts. Despite the specter of racism, the stylishly over-the-top scenes centering on the villainess’ Amazonian cabal (which includes the always fabulous Maria Rohm) are lightyears ahead of the rest of the film. It also helps that Eaton isn’t donning yellow-face. It’s charming, but also exhausting, especially where Nader’s terrible comic timing is concerned.Īs a character, Sumuru is certainly a less offensive Yellow Peril villain than Fu Manchu, in large part because Shonteff, Towers, and co-writer Kevin Kavanagh are more focused on pushing sexual boundaries than exploiting cultural stereotypes. Towers and co-writer Kevin Kavanagh’s attempts to divide their story between Avalon, Nader, and Eaton requires wild tonal flips, unexplained story developments, and dead-end subplots – most of which involve Avalon. The narrative is garbled to the degree that significant plot points occur between scenes, probably because the script was in flux and there was no time to shoot coverage. These attempts to appeal to the widest audience possible leaves the film too overstuffed to work on the same level as a more focused pulp spoof, a Eurospy flick, or even a standalone Frankie Avalon vehicle. With a teen audience ensured, Towers tossed a scenery-devouring Klaus Kinski and a subpar Bob Eubanks stand-in named George Nader for good measure. Avalon was the star of American International Pictures’ goofy Beach Party series, which itself sort of morphed into its own Bond spoof, Norman Taurog’s Dr. While The Million Eyes of Sumuru was definitely developed to cash-in on Bond mania and the revival of a certain pulp villain, Towers wasn’t going to rest the first movie in a new franchise on only two trends, so he also hired wholesome teen heartthrob Frankie Avalon as his lead. ![]()
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