Conspiracy of Thieves (1975)

Conspiracy of Thieves (1975)
Chinese Title: 賊公計
Translation: Thief

Starring: Tan Tao-Liang, Tan Tao-Kang, Betty Pei Ti, Sun Yueh, Cliff Ching
Director: Larry Tu
Action Director: Tan Tao-Liang, Wong Yeuk-Ping

 

There are a whole bunch of classic movies, especially those from the Shaw Brothers, that I haven’t seen yet, but I’m always poking my head around obscure and forgotten corners hoping to happen upon a gem that hasn’t been discovered yet, or whose brilliant luster has been lost to the generations. With Tan Tao-Liang’s third film, Conspiracy of Thieves, I have found such a movie. It is the Casino Royale of kung fu movies, and I mean that in the most flattering way.

We open with the arrival in town by a rather poor-looking creature named Chu (Tan Tao-Liang), who appears to have some kung fu skills, given that he got a ride on a carriage by kicking its former occupant, Mr. Wong (Sun Yueh), into the mud. He’s dismissed by the inn owner/prostitute/madame of the local restaurant (Betty Pei Ti, not to be confused with Betty Ting Pei) until he shows her how much money he has on him. She helps him rent a nice Western suit—this film is set during the Republic Era, much like Tan’s first two films—after which he heads over to the local casino to test his luck.

At the casino, Chu asks to see the boss, claiming that he wants to play the big games for very high stakes. Assuming that he’s just looking for trouble, the casino workers take him into the courtyard and fight him, and we see that he really does know his kung fu. The fight is interrupted by the arrival of the owner (Tan Tao-Kang, who I assume is Tan’s brother in real life) who asks him what he wants. Chu tells him that he’s not rich and would like to bet his own life at the tables. The owner tells him that such a proposal isn’t worth it and offers him 100 dollars to take a hike. Chu insists and the owner relents, giving him 50 dollars as starting money.

Lo and behold, Chu is actually a pretty good gambler. In the course of a few hours, Chu has multiplied his winnings to the point where the house now owes him 12,000 dollars! Cue the arrival of Mr. Wong, the same gentleman who had been humiliated before. The tension rises as the stakes rise, with the final game being played for Mr. Chu’s life, or the entire casino. That’s where we start to learn more about the characters and their motivations.

This is one of the few kung fu movies where I actually really care about the story developments and what happens next, instead of waiting impatiently for the next fight scene. Director Larry Tu, a former assistant of the great King Hu, is smart enough to keep us interested by revealing the characters’ backgrounds and motivations gradually, keeping our interest through some sleight-of-hand gambling tricks (which Mahjong Dragon was missing) and the suspense of if Chu would lose and then how would the casino owner would react if he lost everything. The story structure, with most of the first half taking place at the gambling tables, reminded me of Casino Royale, albeit with a kung fu bent to it.

There aren’t a whole lot of fight scenes in the movie, but because I’m invested in the characters when the action picks up in the last third, it has a lot more impact to it. Also, this is probably one of Tan Tao-Liang’s best martial arts performances, period. The action, choreographed by Tan himself and Wong Yeuk-Ping (who did some assistant directing in the Tan Tao-Liang film Snake-Crane Secret and shows up the first casino employee to play against Chu), maintains a high standard throughout, even when Tan isn’t fighting. Tan gets to use all of his kicks: side kicks, front kicks, roundhouse kicks, spin kicks, jumping spin kicks, jumping side kicks, hop kicks, and a few other aerial kicks that I’ve only seen Tan use in John Woo’s Hand of Death. Tan’s handwork is pretty simple, but still executed with strength and crispness, so that you know that it’s hurting his opponents. His brother Tan Tao-Kang uses an Eagle Claw-esque hand technique, a good foil to Tan’s legwork, and is assisted in action by Cliff Ching, who’d play the main villain in Fighting Ace, starring Tan Tao-Liang’s student, John Liu.

In the end, this is an unsung classic that deserves to be known by more people. Highly recommended.