Little Godfather from Hong
Kong
Director: Ng See-yuen
Year: 1974
Rating: 6.5
Aka - The
Godfather Squad
A while back I watched the film Kidnap in Rome that was directed by Ng See-yuen
starring Bruce Leung and little Mang Hoi. It took place in Rome and was so
bad that I had to enter into a rest home for a few weeks till I could look
at myself in the mirror again. In the same year, while in Rome Ng also directed
this one with the same two stars and I could not help myself. I had to see
how bad it was. And damn, it was pretty good. Not a brain in its head but
good stupid fun. The plot can fit on the back of a stamp from China but every
few minutes a fight breaks out. A lot of people get killed. Choreographed
by Bruce Leung.
Don Caro has been hired to knock off some Interpol agents around the world.
One is shot in London, another garroted in Paris and the third in Hong Kong
is supposed to be killed by a dog with an exploding collar. Don't get too
fond of the dog. But Bruce happens to be walking by and saves him from being
killed. Caro and his three sons - Mario Cutini, Gordon Mitchell and Kurata
Yasuaki - an equal opportunity father - lose face and decide they have to
kill Bruce. And he gets hired to appear in a film in Rome. Convenient for
the killers. Homemade pasta and an army of professional killers. Bruce shows
up with his younger brother Mang Hoi who looks to be 12 and pedophile bait.
He is kind of Veronica Lake to Alan Ladd - the only martial artist that Bruce
can find that is shorter than him.
They stay with his older brother who begs for him to go back to Hong Kong
- Bruce refuses - he has a contract - the next morning his brother has been
killed. And then pretty much everyone in Rome tries to kill him. A couple
with an exploding camera, an EKG exam, poison darts in St. Peters Square while
the Pope preaches, a washroom attendant who locks him into his stall and
pulls out a machine gun, a stuntman in the movie who switches blanks for
real bullets and many more. I am only surprised that the Pope didn't
try and kill him. Most of them end up dead including one of Caro's sons. Caro
weeps for him. "When he was four years old he strangled a cat. When he was
ten, he killed two negros. I was so proud of him." Gordon Mitchell all scarred
up and acting like Klaus Kinsky has a nice fight - first with a machine gun,
then a revolver and finally brings out the whip. It takes a while but the
showdown with Kurata takes place as they run all over Rome to stop and fight
and then run again. In fact, they run so much that they cut from the steps
of a church to the countryside with snow. The oddest transition in movie
history. Its loopy and the climax is the loopiest of loopy. Lots of
great location shooting - lots of fights - though you can easily see Bruce's
kicks missing by a good foot most of the time - but damn can he kick - and
jump over cars. No rest home this time. Ng made a third film that year with
Bruce, Mang Hoi and Kurata called Call Me Dragon but fortunately I don't
have it.
