The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)

THE MASK OF FU MANCHU  (1932)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Charles Brabin 
    Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley,
    Myrna Loy, Charles Starrett, Jean Hersholt
A team of British archeologists travel to Mongolia to retrieve the sword and mask of Genghis Khan before an evil Chinese warlord can use them to take over the world. The inherent racism in this has less to do with Boris Karloff playing an Asian than with the racist nature of the script. It's one of Karloff's most frightening portrayals, and the only horror movie I saw as a kid that came close to creeping me out. Myrna Loy, in the last of her early oriental roles, plays Karloff's "ugly and insignificant" daughter.