The most surprising thing about this film
is who plays the hero. It is Chen Hung-lieh who played some of the more villainous
characters in Shaw Brothers films. He has a face for villainy with his buck
teeth, narrow face and Joker like smile. Perhaps best known for being Jade
Faced Tiger in Come Drink with Me but also a total rotter in A Taste of Cold
Steel, Mission Impossible, Black Butterfly and after Shaw The Great Hunter
with Jimmy Wang-yu. But he is the hero here and though I kept expecting him
to turn into a betrayer, he never does. He does dishonestly seduce Angela
Yu Chien, but for a good cause and who can really blame him. Even heroes
have their weaknesses.
It is one of those slightly convoluted beginnings,
but it gets cleared up along the way. The heads of many martial arts clans
gather to discuss the death of the King of Martial Arts. Before dying, he
wrote a manual of his fighting techniques and then tore it into two parts
- one with the even numbered pages and one with the odd. Unless someone has
both, it is useless. The Masters are worried this will happen if they don't
stop it. One part is with Winged Tiger Den Fei (Chen Lei) and the other with
the Yin family headed by the King of Hades (Tien Feng). But a merger is about
to take place - the King of Hades has promised his sister Cai Fa (Angela)
in marriage to the Winged Tiger.
The Masters ask Hero Guo (Chen Hung-lieh)
who belongs to no clan to get the two manuals and destroy them. He is a great
wuxia warrior and on top of that is a ventriloquist and can imitate voices.
He first tracks down the Winged Tiger and his disciple Soul Sucking Lad (Wong
Kin-wah) and takes their part of the manual and then goes to the Yin home
and passes himself off as the Winged Tiger. Cai Fa is immediately love struck
- I guess buck teeth and a wicked smile were considered handsome traits in
those days. The film has a fair amount of action at the beginning and end
choreographed by the legendary pair of Lau Kar-leung and Tong Kai and it
is quite good with lots of flying about.
But what takes it up a grade is the constant
intrigue within the Yin family home. The Three Officers are there - David
Chiang (Jade Face), Law Hon (Iron Hand) and Tong Tin-hei (Golden Face) who
are all conspiring to steal the manuals. Then as the right-hand man of the
King of Hades is You Ming (Wei Ping-ao) who is blind, devious and deadly
with his spear. All these moving parts are sneaking about, trying to kill
each other, eavesdropping on every conversation and poor Cai Fa just wants
love - but is also a kung fu killer if need be. I enjoyed this much more
than I expected. It is directed by Shen Chiang who directed Shih Szu in Lady
of the Law, Heroes of Sung and The Rescue.
