Christopher Lee stands among the international cast of THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU (1966) in this extraordinary London location publicity photograph, assembled on a rain-darkened Westminster roadway with Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster rising unmistakably behind them. Surrounded by an elegant group of actresses dressed in distinctly mid-1960s coats and fashions, Lee occupies the center of a composition that functions as both film promotion and a remarkable photographic time capsule of London more than half a century ago.

The pavement is still wet.

Heavy coats suggest cool weather.

Period automobiles line the street.

And towering above everyone—

Big Ben makes London itself part of the cast.

Fu Manchu Comes to Westminster

THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU (1966) continued Christopher Lee's portrayal of Sax Rohmer's criminal mastermind Fu Manchu, bringing together an international cast for another entry in the popular 1960s adventure-thriller series.

This publicity photograph takes the unusual approach of removing the performers entirely from the exotic and sinister world suggested by the film.

Instead—

it puts them unmistakably in London.

The group stands directly across the wet roadway in Westminster.

Christopher Lee's extraordinary height makes him immediately recognizable near the center, despite the absence of Fu Manchu's elaborate screen appearance.

Around him stands an international ensemble associated with the production, including Yvonne Ekman, Anje Langstraat, Grete-Lill Henden, Katarina Quest, Heinz Drache, Christine Rau, Gaby Schar, Evelyne Dheliat, Daniele Defrere and Jeannette Napper.

But the photograph rewards attention beyond the performers.

Look downward.

The pavement is dark from recent rain.

Small reflections appear across its surface.

Now look at the wardrobe.

Coats.

Long sleeves.

Covered legs.

Practical outdoor clothing mixed with unmistakable 1960s fashion.

This wasn't photographed under idealized studio conditions.

The environment remains visible.

And that is precisely what makes the image so fascinating.

Behind the group, Westminster stretches into the distance.

Period vehicles occupy the roadway.

Architectural details remain visible along the street.

Pedestrians and the ordinary activity of London continue around what is, essentially, an extraordinary film-publicity event occurring in the middle of the city.

Then the eye travels upward.

Big Ben dominates everything.

Its enormous vertical form rises directly behind the cast and provides a scale no studio backdrop could reproduce convincingly.

The people suddenly appear small.

London appears monumental.

And the photograph acquires an identity completely independent of THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU.

That is the collector WHY.

A conventional cast photograph documents the performers.

This photograph documents the performers, the promotion, the fashion, the weather, the automobiles and London itself.

It preserves a moment.

That distinction becomes increasingly valuable as the photograph ages.

What may once have been created primarily to generate publicity for a current motion picture now preserves visual information about an entire era.

The wet Westminster street.

The women's coats.

The men's overcoats.

The hairstyles.

The cars.

The architecture.

1966 is everywhere in the frame.

Christopher Lee provides another fascinating visual contrast.

Collectors accustomed to seeing him as Fu Manchu—or Dracula—might initially expect an imposing costumed character.

Instead, Lee stands among his fellow performers dressed for the London weather.

No elaborate makeup.

No theatrical pose.

No sinister lair.

Just an extraordinarily tall actor surrounded by an international group of performers during the promotional life of the film.

That informality makes him strangely more interesting.

And there is something wonderfully audacious about the composition.

THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU promises exotic criminal intrigue.

The publicity photographer answers with—

Big Ben.

It could hardly be more British.

For the Christopher Lee collector, that gives the photograph tremendous crossover value beyond a conventional character still.

It documents Lee during a particularly prolific period of his career while simultaneously preserving him within one of the most recognizable urban landscapes in the world.

For the cinema-history collector, it records a coordinated location publicity event.

For the London collector, it preserves Westminster in the mid-1960s.

And for the fashion historian, the lineup provides a wonderful cross-section of women's coats, shoes, hairstyles and silhouettes from the period.

One photograph. Several histories.

That is what elevates it.

The movie brought everyone together.

The photographer arranged the group.

The rain supplied the reflective pavement.

And London supplied a backdrop that no production designer could possibly improve.

Preserved within the KissMeMonster photographic archive, this rare black-and-white location publicity photograph has been carefully restored to retain the individual facial detail of Christopher Lee and the international cast, the textures of their distinctive mid-1960s clothing, the reflective character of the rain-darkened roadway, the surrounding period automobiles and the architectural detail of Big Ben and Westminster—preserving an exceptional intersection of film publicity and London history from THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU.