The Terror of the Tongs – 1961

Columbia Pictures Corporation Presents – A Hammer film production
Copyright MCMLX by Merlin Film Company – All rights reserved
MPAA Approved Certificate
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional
Produced at Bray Studios
RCA Sound Recording
Eastmancolor by Pathe 86 mins
Storyline
In the year of 1910, Hong Kong members of the secret Red Dragon Tong crime family protect their identities by murdering Helena Sale, the daughter of Captain Jackson Sale, a British sea officer who vows revenge and defies the spread of fear created by the tongs. Helped by a mysterious beggar and a young serving girl named Lee, Sale discovers there is an inside traitor who has been giving vital information to the tongs, thus making them one step ahead of Sale’s findings…



Crew
Function | Credited | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
Click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Associate Producer | Anthony Nelson-Keys | 49 | 13 Nov 1911 | 19 Mar 1985 | 73 | 41 | 41 | ||
Ast. Director | John Peverall | 30 | 1 Jan 1931 | 3 Oct 2009 | 78 | 21 | 21 | ||
Camera Operator | Len Harris | 45 | 19 May 1916 | 21 Feb 1995 | 78 | 52 | 1 | 53 | |
Continuity | Tilly Day | 58 | 1903 | 1994 | 91 | 13 | 1 | 14 | |
Director | Anthony Bushell | 57 | 19 May 1904 | 2 Apr 1997 | 92 | 1 | 1 | ||
Editor | Eric Boyd-Perkins | 44 | 1 Jan 1917 | 4 Dec 2014 | 97 | 10 | 10 | ||
Executive Producer | Michael Carreras | 33 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 82 | 3 | 85 | |
Hair Stylist | Frieda Steiger | 57 | 29 Dec 1903 | 19 Aug 1993 | 89 | 28 | 28 | ||
Make-up Artist | Roy Ashton | 52 | 16 Apr 1909 | 10 Jan 1995 | 85 | 36 | 4 | 40 | |
Music | James Bernard | 36 | 20 Sep 1925 | 12 Jul 2001 | 75 | 24 | 1 | 25 | |
Musical Supervisor | John Hollingsworth | 45 | 20 Mar 1916 | 29 Dec 1963 | 47 | 36 | 2 | 38 | |
Producer | Kenneth Hyman | 32 | 11 Dec 1928 | 94 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
Production Designer | Bernard Robinson | 49 | 28 Jul 1912 | 2 Mar 1970 | 57 | 46 | 3 | 49 | |
Production Manager | Clifford Parkes | 34 | 1927 | 2014 | 87 | 12 | 12 | ||
Sound Editor | Alban Streeter | 31 | 1 Jan 1930 | 93 | 7 | 7 | |||
Sound Recordist | Jock May | 56 | 1 Jan 1905 | 8 Jan 1991 | 86 | 30 | 1 | 31 | |
Supervising Editor | James Needs | 41 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 110 | 1 | 111 | |
Wardrobe Mistress | Molly Arbuthnot | 52 | 19 Dec 1908 | 31 Oct 2001 | 92 | 48 | 4 | 52 | |
Writer | Jimmy Sangster | 33 | 2 Dec 1927 | 19 Aug 2011 | 83 | 65 | 2 | 67 | |
Uncredited | |||||||||
Accountant | Ken Gordon | 1 | 7 | 8 | |||||
Art Direction | Thomas Goswell | 70 | 28 Mar 1891 | 1982 | 90 | 5 | 5 | ||
Ast. Art Director | Don Mingaye | 32 | 1 Jan 1929 | 8 Nov 2017 | 88 | 26 | 14 | 40 | |
Ast. Continuity | Pauline Harlow (Wise) | 23 | 1 Jan 1938 | 85 | 11 | 3 | 14 | ||
Ast. Costume Designer | Yvonne Blake | 21 | 17 Apr 1940 | 17 Jul 2018 | 78 | 3 | 3 | ||
Ast. Editor | Chris Barnes | 23 | 1 Jan 1938 | 5 Jun 2009 | 71 | 21 | 12 | 33 | |
Ast. Editor | Paul Smith | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Ast. Make-up Artist | Colin Garde | 46 | 16 Jul 1915 | Dec 1990 | 75 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Ast. Wardrobe | Rosemary Burrows | 36 | 5 | 41 | |||||
Cashier | Paul Lancaster | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Casting | Dorothy Holloway | 63 | 7 Mar 1898 | 1972 | 73 | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
Chief Accountant | W.H.V. Able | 66 | 1895 | 1975 | 79 | 4 | 4 | ||
Chief Electrician | Jack Curtis | 3 | 23 | 26 | |||||
Chinese Fighter | Peter Diamond | 32 | 10 Aug 1929 | 27 Mar 2004 | 74 | 4 | 23 | 27 | |
Clapper Loader | Alan McDonald | 23 | 1938 | 85 | 14 | 14 | |||
Construction Manager | Arthur Banks | 18 | 29 | 47 | |||||
Floor Props Chargehand | Peter Allchorne | 36 | 1925 | 97 | 9 | 9 | |||
Focus Puller | Harry Oakes | 40 | 16 Jan 1921 | 11 Dec 2012 | 91 | 53 | 53 | ||
Grip | Albert Cowlard | 38 | 1923 | 100 | 10 | 10 | |||
Master Carpenter | Charles Davis | 8 | 8 | ||||||
Master Painter | Lawrence Wren | 11 | 11 | ||||||
Master Plasterer | Stan Banks | 5 | 5 | ||||||
Production Secretary | Ann Skinner | 24 | 1 Feb 1937 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
Property Buyer | Eric Hillier | 41 | 1920 | 1975 | 55 | 16 | 16 | ||
Property Master | Tom Money | 44 | 1917 | 1974 | 56 | 2 | 20 | 22 | |
Publicist | Colin Reid | 6 | 6 | ||||||
Second Ast. Director | Hugh Harlow | 22 | 17 Jun 1939 | 83 | 3 | 28 | 31 | ||
Second Ast. Director | Joe Levy | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Still Photog. | Tom Edwards | 1999 | 26 | 26 | |||||
Studio Manager | A.F. Kelly | 4 | 4 | ||||||
Stunt Performer | Joe D'Orazio | 39 | 27 Jul 1922 | 9 Mar 2022 | 99 | 2 | 2 | ||
Stunts | Peter Diamond | 32 | 10 Aug 1929 | 27 Mar 2004 | 74 | 4 | 23 | 27 | |
Third Ast. Director | Dominic Fulford | 42 | 19 Aug 1919 | 23 Apr 2007 | 87 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
Cast
Character | Actor | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
Click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Captain Jackson Sale | Geoffrey Toone | 50 | 15 Nov 1910 | 1 Jun 2005 | 94 | 1 | 1 | ||
Chung King | Christopher Lee | 39 | 27 May 1922 | 7 Jun 2015 | 93 | 22 | 22 | ||
District Commissioner Harcort | Brian Worth | 47 | 14 Jul 1914 | 25 Aug 1978 | 64 | 1 | 1 | ||
Dr. Fu Chao | Charles Lloyd-Pack | 58 | 10 Oct 1902 | 22 Dec 1983 | 81 | 8 | 1 | 9 | |
Inspector Bob Dean | Richard Leech | 38 | 24 Nov 1922 | 24 Mar 2004 | 81 | 1 | 1 | ||
Lee | Yvonne Monlaur | 25 | 15 Dec 1935 | 18 Apr 2017 | 81 | 2 | 2 | ||
Mya | Marie Burke | 66 | 18 Oct 1894 | 21 Mar 1988 | 93 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Tang Hao | Roger Delgado | 43 | 1 Mar 1918 | 18 Jun 1973 | 55 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Tang Hoe | Ewen Solon | 44 | 7 Sep 1917 | 7 Jul 1985 | 67 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
The Beggar | Marne Maitland | 46 | 18 Dec 1914 | Mar 1992 | 77 | 8 | 8 | ||
Uncredited | |||||||||
Anna Chang - Housekeeper | Bandana Das Gupta | 1965 | 2 | 2 | |||||
Beamish | Tom Gill | 45 | 26 Jul 1916 | 22 Jul 1971 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Confucius | Ric Young | 17 | 1 Jun 1944 | 79 | 1 | 1 | |||
Girl | Anne Scott | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Guardian | Milton Reid | 44 | 29 Apr 1917 | 1987 | 69 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Lee Chung | Andy Ho | 48 | 2 Jul 1913 | 79 | 1 | 1 | |||
Priest at Anna's House | Michael Hawkins | 32 | 26 Nov 1928 | 26 Oct 2014 | 85 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Su Yen | Michael Peake | 42 | 13 Oct 1918 | 1 Apr 1967 | 48 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Tong Room Girl | Audrey Burton | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Barbara Smith | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Hazel Gardner | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Julie Shearing | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | June Barry | 26 | 15 Jun 1935 | 2 May 2020 | 84 | 1 | 1 | ||
Tong Room Girl | Katy Cashfield | 24 | 6 Apr 1937 | 86 | 1 | 1 | |||
Tong Room Girl | Louise Dickson | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Marialla Capes | 1983 | 1 | 1 | |||||
Tong Room Girl | Mary Rose Barry | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Patty Dalton | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Pauline Dukes | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Ruth Calvert | 45 | 15 Mar 1916 | 26 Jan 2004 | 87 | 1 | 1 | ||
Tong Room Girl | Valerie Holman | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Girl | Valerie Shevaloff | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Tong Room Patron | Alf Casha | 62 | 26 Feb 1899 | Mar 1979 | 80 | 4 | 4 | ||
Tong Room Patron | Philip Stewart | 3 | 3 | ||||||
With | Arnold Lee | 1 | 1 | ||||||
With | Cyril Shaps | 37 | 13 Oct 1923 | 1 Jan 2003 | 79 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
With | Harold Goodwin | 43 | 22 Oct 1917 | 3 Jun 2004 | 86 | 5 | 2 | 7 | |
With | Johnny Arlen | 1 | 1 | ||||||
With | Jules Ki-Ki | 1 | 1 | ||||||
With | Julie Alexander | 23 | 9 May 1938 | 31 Jan 2003 | 64 | 1 | 1 | ||
With | Peter Gray | 47 | 11 May 1914 | 24 Mar 2001 | 86 | 1 | 1 | ||
With | Poin Ping Sam | 1 | 1 | ||||||
With | Ronald Ing | 2 | 2 | ||||||
With | Santso Wong | 1 | 1 | ||||||
With | Steven Scott | 41 | 23 Jan 1920 | 1981 | 60 | 2 | 2 | ||
With | Sui Lin | 1 | 1 | ||||||
With | Vincent Wong | 33 | 4 Feb 1928 | 13 Mar 2015 | 87 | 4 | 4 | ||
With | Walter Randall | 42 | 1919 | 2008 | 88 | 2 | 2 |
Production
FILMING BEGAN | 19 April 1960 | |
UK RELEASE | 29 September 1961 | |
STUDIO | Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England |
Footnotes
The film is notable in that is the first Hammer horror film to afford Christopher Lee top billing. Lee also reported to work on the film after a vacation in Northern Italy with a deep tan, which was problematic for the make-up department since his character was supposed to have very pale skin. Lee later said in interviews that the make-up to make him appear into a Chinese in this movie was the most uncomfortable make-up he had to endure up to that time.
Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection