Shanghai Lil and the Sunluck Kid (1973)

Shanghai Lil and the Sunluck Kid (1973)
Aka: The Champion; Karate King; Chivalrous Guest
Chinese Title: 豪客
Translation: Hawker

 

Starring: Shih Szu, Chin Han, Yi Yuan, Lung Fei, Han Su, Chin Tu
Director: Chu-Got Ching-Wan, Yang Ching-Chen
Action Director: Hsieh Hsing

 

I was recently reflecting on my fetish for Asian women who kick major behind and the why's and when's involved. What got me thinking about it was the part of me that rebelled the moment I found out that Maggie Q was going to play Mai Shiranui in the King of Fighters film. Knowing how little emotional investment I have in SNK games, I was rather curious at my own reaction to the news. It led me to think about how long I have enjoyed watching (and playing) Asian female fighting femme fatales. I came to the conclusion that it all probably started with Chun Li in Street Fighter II and gained considerable momentum after Supercop introduced me to Michelle Yeoh.

It was this fetish that, in part, led me to watch this obscure little Shaw Bros films, since one of its main stars is underappreciated screen fighter Shih Szu. Shih Szu is something of a transitional leading lady in Shaw Bros cinema, at least from what I can tell. Her career was at its peak during the early 1970s, kind of the bridge between Cheng Pei Pei and Kara Hui Ying-Hung. She's easy on the eyes, but not the most beautiful of the lot. She's not the best female fighter, either. But there's a bit of moxy in her that's evident here that made me love her fight scenes, despite the fact that they don't hold a candle to what Angela Mao and Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng were doing at the same time.

The story begins with a kung fu master getting out of jail (and kicking holes in the wall as he's leaving just to show the jailers what he thought of the experience). Even before he reaches town, a gang of men, sent by his brother, attack him and (unsuccessfully) try to kill him. At the same time, Shih Szu barges into the coal mine that the guy's brother runs and tell him to leave his ex-con sibling alone, beating some people up while she's at it. The evil brother has her thrown into the dungeon for her troubles. He then sends more men to tell his brother to get out of town.

The good brother reaches town and finds out that his brother has become something of a bad seed, shutting down their parents' kung fu school and running the town with an iron grip, with the help of some Russians who remain offscreen for the duration of the film. After dispatching of a second welcoming party from his brother, a group of shifty (were there any other kind in the 1970s) Japanese martial artists offer to help him clear the town of his brother. He refuses.

After a couple of more murder attempts from his brother's thugs, including a gang of tae kwon do experts and a strong wrestler, the two brothers meet. The good ex-con brother pleads with his brother to go good, but the latter refuses and threatens to kill Shih Szu if he tries anything funny. Luckily, Shih is freed when one of the miners, a friend of the brothers' parents, sneaks into her room and frees her.

There's another big action scene between the good brother and the evil brother's gang, which is around the 2/3 mark of the film. From that point on, the film becomes a blueprint to Rumble in the Bronx is that a new set of villains is introduced and the whole running conflict between the two brothers is COMPLETELY DISPENSED WITH. In this case, the Japanese show up and kill the evil brother and take over the town, forcing the town's men to slave in the mines for their own profit. The good brother and Shih Szu team up to send those dastardly Japanese back to Nippon...in pieces.

This film is generally classified as a "basher" film, which is a reference to the style of fighting on display. In "Basher" films, traditional technique and fancy moves are often discarded in favor of a more brutal and realistic (i.e. sloppy) style of screen fighting. Jimmy Wang Yu is best known for this type of fighting and a lot of kung fu films made between 1970 and 1975 can be classified as such.

One thing that a lot of basher films have in common is that the Japanese almost always show up as villains of one sort or another. This film is no exception, and the introduction of the Japanese as the supreme bad guys in the third act completely undermines what would've been a slightly deeper than usual chopsockey film.

For fans of female fighting fury, you'll have to wait until the second half to see Shih Szu start unleashing her moves on everybody. She spends most of the first half in captivity, which is a shame. Nonetheless, her fights against the Japanese are really fun, even if her fighting, especially her kicks, are a bit sloppy. It's pretty clear that the filmmakers were trying to film her as if she were the next Angela Mao or something, judging by her fighting style, hair, and clothes. Unfortunately, she lacks Angela's intensity and head-kicking skills.

The rest of the fights are solid by early 1970s standards (average by the standards of anything made after 1976). The hand techniques used by the fighters' are okay, but the kicks are generally low and sloppy. There are some whips, ropes, swords, and knives used for variety. Nonetheless, there's nothing really groundbreaking here.

Oh, and the title? It really has nothing to do with the film itself, but it does guarantee instant curiosity, doesn't it? The other titles are The Champion (pretty generic) and Karate King (which is slightly more accurate, as the title applies to one of the main villains).