This is an enjoyable "B" or, perhaps, "B-"film. I'm sure the cast had a marvellous holiday in Hong Kong, if only they had been there to make a better film.
I have a real soft spot for 1960s movies and I am a fan of all of the ones produced by Harry Alan Towers in that decade. He was frequently involved in making low budget action pictures, but they were often filmed in beautiful locations with numerous stars in the cast.
I'm sure that Bob Cummings and the guest stars who played the Golden Dragons must have looked forward to a nice trip to Hong Kong as the main reason for signing on for this film. In the case of George Raft his troubles with the IRS are well documented.
With an eye/view from the US or Europe it must been very exotic/exciting watching this movie shot on location in Hong Kong - obviously trying to get some Bond-Look-a-Like atmosphere as in the same time were released/made YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. While there were some Euro-Spy-wave there were also a crime-wave in germany based on Edgar Wallace books.
For it's era not too bad at all. Compared to others of that time pretty good.
Probably the worst of Harry Alan Towers' exotic Eastern-shot quickies. The effort of gathering together "guest stars" Dan Duryea, George Raft, Brian Donlevy & Christopher Lee doubtless drained Towers and director Jeremy Summers of the stamina, inspiration (or budget) to then make a half-way decent film (we also get disappointingly little of Klaus Kinski, who's probably only in it because he was already in Hong Kong under salary to Towers filming 'Sumuru' at the time).
Robert Cummings was 57 when he made this, playing a role surely meant for someone about 25-30 years younger. I don't have a problem with actors playing younger/older characters, but this us pushing it.
To call this a strange thriller would be an understatement. The strangeness comes from the story itself.
Going into this, I knew not to expect too much from it (having watched any number of low-brow espionage fare from the era) but I was still disappointed by the way it wastes a star cast and is compromised besides by the fatal miscasting of the central role! Harry Alan Towers made several colorful thrillers during this time, often set against an exotic backdrop and filled with beautiful girls; oddly enough, then, he went and repeatedly shot himself in the foot by choosing a Hollywood veteran (read: way past his prime and usually forgotten) for leading man – I thought this practice had died with the British B-movies of the previous decade!
