Sumuru (literary character)
Encyclopedia
Sumuru is a female supervillain created by Sax Rohmer
, author of the Fu Manchu
series of novels. She leads a secret organisation known as the Order of Our Lady.
to do a radio serial but as Fu Manchu was a controversial character, Rohmer used the same basic plots with a female mastermind named Sumuru. The series Shadow of Sumuru was broadcast from 1945-1946 on the BBC Light Programme
in eight half hour shows with Anna Burden and Robert Beatty
in the cast.
Anthony Boucher
described the 1954 installment as "melodrama almost as entertainingly Perelmanesque
as the exploits of the evil Doctor." He later praised Sinister Madonna as "outrageously enjoyable," describing it as "critically indefnsible, but my God, such fun . . . !"
, who had produced a Fu Manchu film series in the mid-1960s with Christopher Lee
, produced two Sumuru films featuring Goldfinger
golden girl Shirley Eaton
as Sumuru.
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
, author of the Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
series of novels. She leads a secret organisation known as the Order of Our Lady.
Radio
Following World War II Rohmer was approached by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to do a radio serial but as Fu Manchu was a controversial character, Rohmer used the same basic plots with a female mastermind named Sumuru. The series Shadow of Sumuru was broadcast from 1945-1946 on the BBC Light Programme
BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
in eight half hour shows with Anna Burden and Robert Beatty
Robert Beatty
Robert Beatty was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK.-Career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Beatty began his acting career in Britain in 1939....
in the cast.
Novels
In 1950 Rohmer published his radio serial as a novel entitled The Sins of Sumuru. The American Fawcett Gold Medal paperback publishing house printed it under the title Nude in Mink. When the book went into a second printing in a month's time the publisher commissioned a book series with different titles in Great Britain and the USA.- Nude in Mink/The Sins of Sumuru (1950)
- Sumuru/Slaves of Sumuru (1951)
- The Fire Goddess/Virgin in Flames (1952)
- Return of Sumuru/Sand and Satin (1954)
- Sinister Madonna (1956)
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
described the 1954 installment as "melodrama almost as entertainingly Perelmanesque
S. J. Perelman
Sidney Joseph Perelman, almost always known as S. J. Perelman , was an American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker...
as the exploits of the evil Doctor." He later praised Sinister Madonna as "outrageously enjoyable," describing it as "critically indefnsible, but my God, such fun . . . !"
Films
Harry Alan TowersHarry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
, who had produced a Fu Manchu film series in the mid-1960s with Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, produced two Sumuru films featuring Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
golden girl Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton is an English actress.Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and achieved notability for her performance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger...
as Sumuru.
- The Million Eyes of SumuruThe Million Eyes of SumuruThe Million Eyes of Sumuru is a 1967 spy film produced by Harry Alan Towers and directed by Lindsay Shonteff, starring Frankie Avalon and George Nader, with Shirley Eaton as the titular Sumuru. It was based on a series of novels by Sax Rohmer about a megalomaniac femme fatale. The film was released...
(1967) (Shirley Eaton, directed by Lindsay ShonteffLindsay ShonteffLindsay Craig Shonteff was a Canadian born film director, film producer and screenwriter who achieved fame for low budget films produced in England.-Biography:...
) - The Girl from RioThe Girl from RioThe Girl from Rio is a 1969 Science Fiction film produced by Harry Alan Towers, directed by Jesus Franco and starring Shirley Eaton, Richard Wyler and George Sanders. Led by their queen, a tribe of Amazonian woman attack wealthy men, as part of a long-term plan to take over the world...
(1969) (Shirely Eaton, directed by Jess Franco) - SumuruSumuru (2003)Sumuru or Sax Rohmer's Sumuru is a 2003 pulp SF film directed by Darrell Roodt and starring Alexandra Kamp and Michael Shanks. It is an update of Sumuru by pulp novelist Sax Rohmer about a megalomaniac femme fatale, now set on a distant planet....
(2003) (Alexandra KampAlexandra KampAlexandra Kamp-Groeneveld is a German model and actress.She was born in Baden-Baden to Peter Kamp and his wife. She visited drama schools in New York, Los Angeles and Paris before she started her career as an actress in 1994. She has had many star and supporting roles in German movies and TV...
, directed by Darrell RoodtDarrell RoodtDarrell Roodt is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer.His film Sarafina was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-Awards:...
)
External links
- The Page of Sumuru http://www.njedge.net/~knapp/sumuru.htm
- Book reviews http://community-2.webtv.net/BaronHermes/sumuru/index.html