Sun Dragon (1979)

Sun Dragon (1979)
Aka: A Hard Way to Die

Starring: Billy Chong Chuen-Lei, Carl Scott, Louis Neglia, Ma Chung-Tak, Joseph Jennings, Gam Biu, Lam Hak-Ming, Hau Chiu-Sing, Leung Siu-Chung
Director: Hua Shan
Action Director: Leung Siu-Chung

Billy Chong is one of those names in martial arts movie world that I knew about for a long time—he got a fair amount of attention in Thomas Weisser’s Asian Cult Cinema—but it wasn’t until the last 10 years or so that I started to watch his movies. Despite his career kicking off in Hong Kong, he was actually Indonesian, born on the island of Java in 1957 as Chuang Chen-Li. Chong (also known as Willy Dozan) trained in a number of martial arts, including karate, kung fu, and quite possibly one of the silat styles practiced in Indonesia. He got his start in the film business in 1977 in Black Belt Karate, in which he had a supporting role opposite the star, Indonesian-born, ethnic-Chinese karate expert Larry Lee. He had another supporting role in 1978 in Invincible Monkey Fist, starring opposite Chen Kuan-Tai.

Chong really came into his own in 1979, when he had his first two roles as the main protagonist. The first was in Crystal Fist (released on physical media as Jade Claw as part of the Shaolin Dolemite Collection), which was a rip-off of Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. Clyde Gentry III, who wrote Jackie Chan: Inside the Dragon, points to this film as being the best non-Jackie movie to use the so-called “Seasonal Formula,” although I’m personally inclined to disagree. There is some great ying jao pai (or Eagle’s Claw style) in it, but there are better kung fu comedies out there than that one. His second movie was the kung fu western Sun Dragon, or Hard Way to Die.

If I can say anything about this movie before getting into the plot synopsis, it’s that the film is better than some of the other attempts to mix kung fu and western sensibilities, like Kung Fu Brothers in the Wild West; Return of Shanghai Joe; and Tiger at the River Kwai. The film involves a Chinese guy who has arrived in America circa 1860-something-or-other (we see the Chinese still working on the trains) looking for someone…his grandfather, perhaps? He quickly makes enemies for himself after getting involved with the local brawlers, who set up fights for people to bet on. He beats up all their talent and refuses to join their gang, so they become his enemies.

While that is going on, a pair of fugitives—Jimmy (Louis Neglia, 3-time champion kickboxer), Jackson (Joseph Jennings, a 9th degree black belt in Isshin-Ryu Karate), and Ma Shaw-Yee (Ma Chung-Tak)—are looking for a place to lay low after robbing a stagecoach (or a bank). They find a small farm belonging to a family of black homesteaders and try to buy the place from them. When the family patriarch refuses, they just kill everybody and occupy the place. The only survivor is Tommy (Carl Scott), who is seriously wounded. Tommy is found by Shao Chong (Billy) and his friend, Ah Kam (Lam Hak-Ming), who take him to a Chinese doctor (Leung Siu-Chung). The doctor is able to save Tommy and ends up teaching him Chinese kung fu—specially the Leopard, or Panther, style. Tommy and Shao Chong end up teaming up to defeat the fugitives once they throw in their lot with the brawl organizers.

If Sun Dragon doesn’t have a “so bad it’s good” reputation, then color me surprised. Its badness mainly stems from the lack of attention to period detail, probably derived from a mixture of both cultural ignorance and a small budget. The Eternal Film Co. made other films outside of Hong Kong, like Little Godfather from Hong Kong, but I can’t imagine that they had the money necessary to construct even faux-Western sets or even rent your most basic cowboy garb that you would’ve seen in an 1930s oater starring a pre-fame Duke. So, you have 1860s cowboy types walking around in jeans and tank tops (which didn’t really exist until the early 20th century), some of whom are also wearing sunglasses (once again, not popular in the States until the 1920s and 30s). There is also a scene near the end where Tommy beats up some Chinese guys for attacking one of their own: in the background, you can see a modern mining factor that I’m pretty sure would not have existed at the time.

Anti-Chinese racism is also ignored: here we have Chinese-owned saloons where people of both races seem to get along just fine. I mean, “whitey” doesn’t like Shao Chong, but it has less to do with him being Chinese (in and of itself) and more to do with the fact that he beat up their best brawlers and then refused to join their gang. Interestingly enough, when the fugitives suffer from an onset of cabin fever while waiting for the dust to settle from their heist, they start getting in fights with each other. When Jimmy, who ultimately ends up being the main bad guy, gets in a fight with Ma Shaw-Yee, it is Chinese kung fu that comes out on top when the two get into it. But then again, this is a Hong Kong movie so that sort of thing could be expected. It is interesting to see a Hong Kong film from 1979 about American-Chinese relations manage to be less racist than Ip Man 4, made 40 years later.

The action was staged by Leung Siu-Chung, best known as the father of Leung Siu-Lung (aka Bruce Liang) and Tony Leung Siu-Hung. I was actually impressed at how good Leung’s action direction is here. He goes for a solid mix of karate/kickboxing, shapes-based combat, and Bruce Lee imitation fighting. Billy Chong is clearly imitating Bruce Lee for much of the film, minus the catcalls. That said, he is a solid kicker and his footwork is fun to watch throughout.

African American actor Carl Scott learned karate/kenpo in the 1960s through the Black Karate Federation (BKF). He was discovered by Ng See-Yuen while playing an extra in Bruce Lee – The Man, the Myth and his first real Hong Kong film role was in Last Strike, also known as Soul Brothers of Kung Fu (1977). Sun Dragon was his next film, made two years later, and this was an even better showcase for his talents. I do not know if Carl received any formal kung fu training prior to his truncated career in chopsocky cinema, but he looks absolutely professional in performing the Leopard Style. That particular style didn’t always get a lot of attention compared to the other animal styles, but in 1979, we got Carl Scott in this and Lau Kar-Yung in The Tigress of Shaolin really tearing it up with the panther fists.

On the side of the bad guys we have Louis Neglia, who was a champion kickboxer with a record of 34-2. His character is a lot bigger—muscular and larger bone structure—than his co-stars, making him an imposing villain. His moves don’t quite impress—this happens with professional kickboxers turned actors—but for an Eastern Western, he’ll do. Joseph Jennings as the other Caucasian robber stands out as his character is a knife expert. Shaw Brothers actor Hau Chiu-Sing (Five Superfighters and Stroke of Death) shows up in a cameo at the end as an opponent for Billy to take on. The bad guys are a decent punch, but are let down by the script. That said, there is enough quality fu and earnest ineptness that Sun Dragon is worth a view.