The Star, The Rogue, and the
Kung Fu Kid (1977)
Chinese Title: 武師,花旦,大流氓
Translation: Martial Artist, Vivacious Female[1],
Big Gangster
Starring: Leung Siu-Lung (Bruce Liang),
Michelle Yim, Wang Lai, Kwan Chung, Ku Feng, Tony Leung Siu-Hung, Addy Sung
Director: To Man-Bo
Action
Director: Leung
Siu-Lung
This
obscure film from the latter part of Leung Siu-Lung’s old school career
actually turned out to be one of his absolute best, at least out of the movies
of his that I’ve seen. It’s supposedly based on real-life events in Bruce
Liang’s life, although I wonder if there were so many well-choreographed fights
in his real life.
The story
is pretty simple. Leung Siu-Lung plays a man named Chang, but I’ll just call
him Bruce for short. Bruce is an action choreographer and martial arts actor on
the TV circuit. One day he steps in when an up-and-coming actress, Shen
Ming-Ming (a HAWT! Michelle Yim), is being harassed by a bunch of
hooligan-types working for a Triad who has his dirty mits in the entertainment
industry. Bruce and Shen eventually start spending time with each other, much
to the chagrin of Ming-Ming’s mother (Wang Lai), a lazy gambling addict who thinks
she has the right to make all decisions regarding her daughter’s professional
future.
Worse than
Bruce’s potential mother-in-law is the aforementioned Triad boss (Kwan Chung),
who probably is given a name, but whom I’ll refer to as Weinstein Fong. Fong
has somehow determined that his life will not be complete until he beds
Ming-Ming, and won’t let a low-caste kung fu actor like Bruce stand in his way.
Whether it be staging accidents onset, attempted framings or flat out kung fu
ambushes, nothing is below Weinstein in his mindless quest to get into
Ming-Ming’s panties.
There are
some dull spots, a few soap opera moments of pure melodrama, and some dodgy
editing at the end that confuses how the main conflict was resolved, but for
the most part, I was entertained throughout the film’s brief 82-minute run
time. I did like the pseudo-“behind the scenes” look at making kung fu TV in
Hong Kong. Much like Black Belt,
there’s an interesting scene where Ming-Ming’s current studio heads try to
guilt-trip her into renewing her contract, which is about to expire. I also
find it interesting how kung fu actors are treated by people in the business as
a lower caste, as if dating a rich businessman, producer or director was the
supreme goal for an up-and-coming actress.
Exploitaiton
fans will get their fill with a random strip club sequence early on, followed
immediately by a sex scene between Kwan Chung and Lam Yeung-Yeung, who plays a
slutty wannabe actress who thinks she can use her vagina to get to the top
(incidentally, Yeung-Yeung’s filmography suggest that she quickly got
pigeonholed into “sexy” roles in movies like Sensual Pleasures and Erotic
Dreams of the Red Chamber). I sort of feel sorry for her character, as she
hangs out with the Triad guy and his men all the time, and they never think
twice about calling her a talentless tramp who can’t act. And yet she sticks
around probably because she doesn’t feel there’s any other path she can make
it.
There
are a handful of fights, all of which involve Leung Siu-Lung save one, in which
Lee Ka-Ting, in a cameo as Michelle Yim’s fight choreographer, exchanges some
blows with Ku Feng, the wastrel father of one of Yim’s co-stars. Leung’s kicks
are on full display here, and they look great. While he does throw his fair
share of Mississippi haymakers, he also does a lot of machine gun punches, and
some interesting blocks that look like they were adapted from the snake style
or wing chun. There are surprisingly fast and agile exchanges of hand-based
attacks, especially by 1977 standards. The finale has him taking on numerous
attackers, including Ku Feng and his own little brother, Tony Leung Siu-Hung,
who busts out the sai swords. Leung Siu-Lung, instead of wielding the expected
nunchaku, uses a chain whip for part of the climax. He doesn’t do anything
flashy with the weapon, but the change of pace is welcome. I’m tempted to place
this above the finale of Call Me Dragon
(it certainly beats his work in Broken Oath) because there’s less running and better handwork.
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