The Delinquent (1973), starring Wong Chung, Lo Dik and Lily Li. Directed by Chang Cheh and Kuei Cheh-hung.

(All images courtesy Celestial Pictures.)

IF Friends can be categorized as a fairy tale (a little Grimm, by some measure), then The Delinquent is pure tragedy. This could be said about more than a few of director Chang Cheh's better-known Shaw Brothers movies (like The Assassin or The Heroic Ones), but The Delinquent towers over them all with its unique, increasingly morose tone. Out of all Cheh's attempts to emulate the angst of the "Reckless Youth" found in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), he succeeds here --exceeds, really-- the best. (James Dean's "Jimmy Stark" in RWaC wouldn't last five minutes in this bleak Hong Kong.) However, he wouldn't have created this triumph without the help of three key people: writer Ni Kuang, co-director Kuei Cheh-hung and actor Wong Chung (in his first leading role).

As the plot generally goes, the teenaged John (Wong Chung) convinces himself the easiest, quickest way he and his father (Lo Dik) can get out of living and working in the HK slums is if he helps Boss Lam (Tung Lin) and his gang of robbers get into Wing Kee Warehouse to clean it out, after which John will be given a generous portion of the profits for his assistance. What complicates matters is his father is the head night-watchman at the warehouse.

While we don't know all of John's backstory, we can guess things started getting tough when his mother (seen in a brief flashback) left home. Apparently, she tired of being a housewife at some point and started going out evenings; his father thought slapping her around would bring her back to reality. It did; she divorced him and married an understanding butcher (Shum Lo). Her subsequent attempts to communicate with John through messages delivered to him by his girlfriend, Elaine (Lily Li), only serve to anger him.

The script rationalizes the father's boorishness to his being head of the household and his reputation around the area for being rough on would-be crooks who've previously tried to break into the warehouse. He wants John to get ahead in the world through hard work and avoiding shortcuts to prosperity. Though John loves his father, he sees the results of all the old man's laboring as a big waste, because it seems he hasn't advanced any further than those who also find time to relax and raise hell once in a while. These days, John is taking after more like his mother, so his father can't help but worry.

Sometime after he's fired from his job at a restaurant for fighting on the streets too much (which always brought the cops to the establishment, to the detriment of their business), John gets word of how Boss Lam needs him so they can infiltrate the warehouse. Lam's underling, Big Sean (Fan Mei Sheng), oversees a brothel, and he offers a woman to John as a means to win him over. Even after a night with her, John can't commit to the deal; when Big Sean then demands immediate payment for sleeping with the lady, John only offers to pay him later. In short order, Big Sean and some of Lam's other men track him down at a beach and beat him up when he decides not to pay at all.

Shortly, John is picked up by the police, and when his father refuses to post bail for him this time, it's Boss Lam who sets him free. Lam now talks directly with John about the proposition, offering him (in addition to money) employment, new clothes, a sports car and time with his girlfriend, Fanny (Pei Ti). It appears Lam doesn't want to mess with John's dad when he suggests to John if he can make his father take time off from work, nothing would happen to him once the caper goes down. John finally agrees to the scheme, and after a reconciliation with him, he persuades his father to take a two-day vacation.

Come the night of the robbery, when John finds out his father is filling in for the now-sick substitute, he quickly finds Lam and his men at a sawmill, telling them to postpone the operation. Of course, he finds out all too soon the deal's off; he's beaten up (again) and is left to have a deadly encounter with a buzzsaw. While John is occupied with escaping from his predicament, Lam and his men rob the warehouse, and in spite of his heroic efforts to stop them, John's father is killed. Upon finding out what all has transpired, John rapidly becomes a revenge-fueled killing machine, taking down Lam's associates one by one before finally confronting Lam himself.

With The Delinquent (released in the US as Street Gangs of Hong Kong), Kuang soloed on the script, writing a sad character study with a strong dose of violence that is always to be expected from a Cheh movie. (Had he done this as a collaboration with Cheh, I'm certain the emphasis would've been more on action.) Limited characterization behind the three lead parts hampers our empathizing with them, to a degree; John is adequately defined, his father has hints of complexity, but Elaine serves no real purpose beyond being rescued by John a couple of times or being an intermediary for him and his mom. (Lily Li gives a good performance, anyway.) Going past these minor problems, Kuang has crafted a cautionary tale where the moral is delivered like a sledgehammer between the eyes.

The original HK trailer for TD (included on the IVL DVD) promised audiences a "NEW KIND OF PRODUCTION" about "THE WRATH OF YOUTH EXPLODING LIKE A VOLCANO" that "WILL MOVIE (sic) YOU......AND EXCITE YOU!" and co-directors Cheh and Cheh-hung gave the people what they wanted. As for their joint effort on TD, it's commonly assumed the directing duties were divided, with Cheh-hung overseeing the dramatic, documentary-like scenes and Cheh handling the ones heavy on action (and his trademark "zoom" shots, though they're actually well-placed here). However, if we know anything of their filmographies, we see both were capable of versatility; based on this, it's more likely Cheh did most of the latter while Cheh-hung did most of the former. It's also possible Cheh saw something particular in Cheh-hung's own films that made him the choice for co-directing TD, because if Cheh had the likes of Wu Ma or Pao Hsueh-li on duty for this, we would not have had the level of emotional drama the movie has. Further, I think the two fed off the creative energies of each other, which is why their styles combine favorably in the completed picture, and TD ranks up there with their most analyzed films.

One of the "regulars" in Cheh movies of the late '60s through the early '70s, Wong Chung practically stepped out of obscurity to his first starring part. Whether TD was written for him or not, and considering all he's given to do during the feature (he's onscreen most of the time), it's gratifying to see the confidence the filmmakers had in letting Chung carry the bulk of the movie. He excels as John, portraying a likeable teenager with a chip on his shoulder who wants the world, and he wants it now. He makes a habit of following the impulses of youth without considering the consequences, from fighting anybody who teases him to jumping at the chance to have sex with a woman (when his girlfriend is saving herself until marriage). Only when he lets himself get involved with Boss Lam, he gets in over his head, with his father caught in the middle. He redeems himself by avenging his father's death in a burst of (volcanic) fury.

It is that very violence (along with the sexual content) which earned TD its (HK) Category "2B" rating (an "R" in the US). All of the film's fight choreography by Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaai is above average, but it's the 12-minute finale that always gets discussed. The nonstop barrage of brutality and death as distributed by John, culminating in one of the most darkest endings in any Shaw production, is stunning to behold. (It still chills me to the bone after multiple views.) This climax alone should've made Chung another big Shaw star, but he would eventually be overshadowed (in director Cheh's eyes) by his next co-star, Fu Sheng (in Police Force), leaving him to nearly fade into the background before he took up directing his own movies. (What his career would've been like if Fu Sheng never arrived on the scene, I can't guess.)

Seen today, The Delinquent isn't as slick as today's HK flicks, but it still works, though anyone who craves action over melodrama may squirm during the downbeat material as they wait for the next fight scene. With a look of impressive authenticity due to extensive location filming, the film's depiction of a life in the slums, where the people settle for just "getting ahead", says much about their living situation; not once are words like "college" or "job training" ever brought up in the entire 101 minutes. If John didn't know he had other options, or if he did, and he never found the incentive to break away from the cycle of poverty, then that's the greatest tragedy of all.

Brother Fang says..."A worthwhile buy for fans of Chang Cheh, the underrated Kuei Cheh-hung and the criminally-ignored Wong Chung! For the uncertain, try it out by borrowing or renting! Remember, with the volume of mature content in this, do NOT play it with children or overly sensitive people around!"

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

P.S. - While you still can, purchase it from PlayAsia by clicking here.

The Young Avenger (1972), starring Shih Szu, Yueh Hua and Fan Mei Sheng. Directed by Yueh Fung.

HOWEVER long she's on the screen in a Shaw Brothers movie, I get a lot out of a performance from Shih Szu. Even though she was brought in as a replacement for Cheng Pei-pei, we know she ultimately turned out to be her own person. Her striking beauty was equally as impressive as her dramatic range and her physical capabilities with swords or martial arts. Only a injury that occurred while on the set in the mid-'70s would take her from action parts (she was "deemed a safety hazard", according to the Shaw Brothers Reloaded site) to the standard "leading lady/victim" ones. By 1980, she'd be gone from Shaw; it was their loss.

Let's revisit her earlier times with her role as the title character in The Young Avenger. It's a typical "Shih Szu: Phase One" film, and that's a good thing.

After an exciting fight (during the opening titles) introduces us to Bao Zhu (a.k.a. "The Young Avenger", a renowned hero/assassin in the martial arts world), we go back ten years to Wan Sang Town, where the hunch-backed Liu Tou (the "Judge"), one of the three outlaw brothers known as the "Heroes of Qin Town" (Fan Mei Sheng, The Kiss of Death), arrives looking for Li Kui ("The Old Chief"), one of four brothers known as the "Heroes of Jiangnan" (Tung Lin, King Boxer). Twenty years prior, Liu's brother was killed by Li (he says it was accidental) with his mighty Dragonsword, and he now wants Li to pass on to him how to use the sword as a way to make up for the death.

Li says It's been so many years since he's used his sword, he he can't even recall the technique, so he must decline the request to a simmering Liu. Hours later, Liu shows up at Li's house, finding the old man practicing with the Dragonsword; even so, Li claims (smooth as his moves are) he still doesn't know everything! A skirmish breaks out; Li's victorious, but Liu gets in an Iron Palm "sucker punch" before leaving, saying there'll be a rematch in ten years at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Seconds after Liu's gone, it turns out the Iron Palm dealt a fatal wound to Li. On his deathbed, the sifu tells his student, Er Hu Zi (Ng Ming Tsui, The Blade Spares None) to take his young daughter, Bao, to her fourth uncle (known as "The Mad Monk", but these days, he's just a monk) at Dai Bei Temple to learn the Dragonsword technique so she may avenge his death.

Li's sister (Chen Yen Yen, Dead End), there to watch over him with her son, Chen Shi Lun, protests the idea, and considering how her boy would rather learn martial arts than study, it's easy to see why she feels this way. However, Bao wants to go, too, so the decision's final; she leaves the next day, cousin Chen giving her a small, porcelain Bhudda as a going-away gift before she's gone. When Li's third brother ("The Bookworm") arrives to mourn, he hears of Chen's learning issues and offers to help him out, including teaching him the Iron Fan Technique (with an actual iron fan that has deadly sharp tips).

Then, we return to the present day, where the now-adult, fully-trained Bao is walking the long journey back home. Despite being a paid assassin and ocassional bounty hunter, she leads a beggar's existence. After some battles along the way, she arrives back at Wan Sang Town. She goes to an inn to eat, but the workers do not want to serve this scruffy person, certainly not one who dares to sit at a table reserved for the inn's owner. When she flashes money, in addition to a tough attitude, they leave her be.

To her surprise, the owner is her grown-up cousin Chen (Yueh Hua, Come Drink with Me). She manages to catch his attention by throwing the little Bhudda she has saved for all those years at him; his reflexes are quick, and he catches it with his iron fan. He immediately knows who she is, and he knows why she's come back; after all, the Mid-Autumn Festival is only days away. After an emotional reunion with him and her aunt, she settles in her father's old residence and awaits Liu's return.

Ahead of his arrival, Liu has sent forces to surround the town. A spy (Liu's brother) is sent in to see if Bao is there. She sees him, and Chen quickly captures him. Along with Er Hu Zi, the two find out who he is and what's going on. Chen tries to let him go to give Liu's men the message that Bao is in town, but the vengeance-fueled lady slays him before he has a chance to leave.

Her actions aggravate an already bad situation; in retaliation, an innocent farmer is taken down with an arrow courtesy of Liu's men. Despite this, the citizens haven't forgotten how Bao's father helped them in the past, so they prepare for the advancing enemy, with Bao's fight now their fight, too.

So it goes that Liu's sneak attack on Wan Sang back fires, Chen and the townspeople taking out most of those men before Liu finally arrives. He's a little grayer, but still just as nasty; he's ready to take on the daughter of Li Kiu....

NO "SPOILERS" from here on!

Oh, that face! Shih Szu.

The most interesting observation to be made about TYA is regarding the nature of Bao Zhu. From the script by writers Ko Jui Fen and Hu Pao, we know she was sent off to learn how to use the Dragonsword in order to take revenge on Liu Tou, but at some point on her way back home, she decided to use her skills for reasons other than self defense. In the opening, she's been hired to kill the Tung brothers. Later on, she gets help from two inept robbers in liquidating men from a local triad a nearby town has a bounty on (so much money per member), letting her helpers keep the bulk of the reward. While the people we do see her eliminate are a rotten lot, there is an implication some of her victims didn't need to be killed, and she may have even gotten a little bloodthirsty at some point.

This may explain her emotional state when she's at the inn. Cousin Chen and the others have only heard so much about the scum she's taken out; her killings apparently went beyond those done in the name of "The Young Avenger", and she feels shame. Combined with the homecoming, thoughts of the impending fight with Liu, and all the blood spilt, she finally breaks down and cries. In the end, "The Young Avenger" is all too human. (Shih Szu's performance here, along with the music cues used, really caught me at this moment, giving me a slight lump in my throat. Her acting is the punctuation mark that gives her character the dimensions she has.)

Don't call Yueh Hua a "fan dancer"!

Beyond this variation in the almighty "REVENGE" theme, the script is fairly conventional. Director Yueh Fung (The Bells of Death) keeps things moving quickly and efficiently so other plot points never given any elaboration on are bypassed in order to get to the action. (Another thing to ponder: Are cousins Bao and Chen sweethearts?) If seconds or minutes have been trimmed from this, it's hard to tell where, so credit the unidentified film editor with doing a solid job.

The cinematography by Kwang Han Lu (One-Armed Swordsman, The Assassin) is impeccable; he helps set the proper mood for the picture whether in studio or outdoor locations. (He certainly catches Shih Szu's face in flattering ways; she's as lovely dirty as she is cleaned up!) The fight choreography by Hsu Er Niu is never dull; he makes Shih Szu and Yueh Hua look good with a sword and the iron fan, respectively, and uses wirework sparingly for certain jumps. A lot of the music cues were new to my ears; wherever these came from, they add a lot to the tone of the film.

The cast isn't a huge one, which helps to keep the story on the small scale it's meant to be. Fan Mei Sheng does well as the main heavy, though his abscence in-between the beginning and the end seems too long. Top-billed Yueh Hua is just playing a supporting role like he did many times for Cheng Pei-pei, but he gives his usual above-average performance. He also gets a cool weapon in the iron fan; too bad he didn't get to use it more. (It can be thrown like a boomerang, reminding me some of the "flying guillotines" found in other "old school" martial arts movies.) Along with Chen Yen Yen, Ng Ming Tsui, Tang Ti and other faces familiar to regular viewers of Shaw movies, the remainder of players lend capable support.

The whole of the film rests on Shih Szu's shoulders, and she handles it with the stamina of Atlas. She does her fight scenes with her own kind of grace and intensity; it's in those moments when she shows her vulnerable side that she stands out over the likes of Pei-pei, Lily Ho and even Li Ching. She's not dressed up here like in one of her later roles (such as The Deadly Breaking Sword), but her physical prescence is still commanding. Attractive as she is from the neck down, it's her expressive face that draws the most attention, especially those hypnotic eyes. She mesmerized me every moment she was around.

Flaws in the story aside, TYA is a compelling blend of action and drama with an ending most people won't see coming! (I still have mixed feelings about it. Anyone who has seen this already knows what I mean.) The unexpected level of subtext found in the character of Bao Zhu is most welcome, and it will bring you back for additional viewings.

As is to be expected, the IVL DVD is a nice presentation, from the anamorphic picture to the Mandarin soundtrack and adequate English subs. Great as this movie is, you won't care that it lacks real "special features"!

Simply put, with Shih Szu in a Shaw movie, you can't go wrong! Recommended by Brother Fang!

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

P.S. - Purchase it from Play-Asia by clicking on here.

River of Fury (1973), starring Lily Ho, Danny Lee and Ku Feng. Directed by Chang Tseng-chai.

"Dad passed away over a month ago. I've paid up all the debts. I don't want to be like Dad, farming in the countryside. I'd rather go out and see the world like Duobo."

WITH this opening line (rewritten from the English subtitles for clarity), so starts River of Fury, a drama from Shaw Brothers that features the first leading role of prolific actor/producer/director Li Hsiu Hsien, better known to many people as Danny Lee (Super Inframan, The Mighty Peking Man).

Here, he is Zhou Yezhuang; his friends call him Yezhuangzi (Mandarin for "strong country lad"). After his father's death, the son of a farmer sells the property, deciding to venture into the outside world to earn a living while having a little adventure (maybe) along the way.

He looks up a friend of his father's, Duobo (Ku Feng, The Avenging Eagle), a helmsman for a boat that carries Wang's Opera Troupe, a group of actors who travel town to town performing Chinese operas for people from the countryside. The touring company has just arrived in Yezhaungzi's hometown to do some shows.

Getting past the bad news of his friend's death, Duobo is more than happy to have Yezhuangzi aboard and help him out, saying, "I'll count you in no matter what business I have." In this case, on dry land, Duobo's business is opium smuggling. More on that later.

In the meantime, Yezhuangzi has fallen for the lead actress in the troupe, Ge Yiqing (Lily Ho, The 14 Amazons), their feelings firmly established as mutual when Yezhuangzi rescues some underwear of Yiqing's from the river after it accidentally falls in while being laundered.

When the boat comes to the next town, Duobo takes Yezhuangzi along on one of his excursions, and the young man finds out about Duobo's smuggling (the primo merchandise kept hidden in a wine jar on the boat). Duobo says it's easy money, compared to what he gets for running the boat, and he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life steering a boat. Yezhuangzi goes along with the notion with some reservations, feeling some of the itch Duobo has for the easy money.

Later, sometime after Yezhaungzi and Duobo save Yiqing from a spurned playboy (Fan Mei Sheng, The Water Margin) during a performance, Yezhuangzi declares he wants to marry Yiqing, buy some land, and settle down with her. With Duobo and Master Wang (Yeung Chi Hing, Vengeance!) along as support, he goes to see her mother (Ou Yang Sha Fei, Whose Baby is in the Classroom?). She doesn't think much of the poor farmboy, preferring her daughter should either be acting in bigger theaters for more money or marry into big money. When Duobo offers that Yezhuangzi will give a betrothal gift of $3,000 [HK] to her, she's as pleased as Yezhuangzi is shocked. How will he pay back Duobo?

In part, he'll go on a smuggling run for him, that's how. Duobo sends him off on a trip with the jar full of opium (giving him a gun for safety) while the actors have a two-month booking at a big theater in Shenjia Beach. Yezhuangzi will earn $500 [HK] for the task.

In his absence, a wealthy townsman named Liu (Tien Ching, Delightful Forest) sees Yiqing perform, and he's immediately attracted to her. So much so that he offers Master Wang even bigger theaters for the group to work in, sweetening the deal by agreeing to absorb the loss Wang will endure when the troupe breaks the 2-month contract. Wang accepts, and Yiqing becomes a star, becoming more popular than she's ever been. Most importantly, Liu quickly becomes engaged to Yiqing, much to her mother's delight.

Inevitably, Yezhuangzi returns weeks later to find his whole world turned upside down; of course, Yiqing will have nothing to do with him, but the real twist of the knife is when Yiqing's mother smugly gives him back the betrothal money. Duobo tries to help Yezhuangzi drown his sorrows by taking him to a brothel and getting him a prostitute.

Then, an associate of Duobo's suddenly arrives at the brothel, warning him the police apparently tailed Yezhuangi, finding two telltale ferry tickets in with his clothes, as well as the opium stash, on the boat, and they'll be arriving there shortly to arrest him. Duobo decides to let Yezhuangzi be the scapegoat rather than face justice himself. Yezhuangzi (who doesn't get it on with the prostitute, his heartbreak for Yiqing still strong) is taken into custody without incident.

After serving a two-year sentence, Yezhuangzi is released from jail, and with freedom comes a ride to Duobo's large mansion first thing (that's how big Duobo's opium business got while he was away). Also there waiting for him is Yiqing; she dumped Liu a while back (he wouldn't leave his wife for her), and with her mother now dead, she's free to get back together with him.

Yezhuangzi wants nothing to do with either of them, Duobo in particular, especially once he found out (while in the stir) how he was set up as a patsy. Duobo offers no true apology in return, and when he then has the utter nerve to ask Yezhuangzi to rejoin him in the business, it seems like a last confrontation between the two former friends is about to go down very soon.

After that . . . NO "SPOILERS"!

With a screenplay by Ni Kuang that's taken from a novel by Hsu Lu, RoF is a short (80 minutes) but solid drama with well-placed dashes of of martial arts and exploitation that aren't overdone. (The story actually takes place in contemporary times; I didn't really pick up on this until the scene when photographers in suits with 35mm cameras arrive at one of Liu's theaters to snap pictures of Yiqing.)

The direction from Chang Tseng-chai (The Casino, Sex for Sale) is smooth and assured; he gets high-caliber acting from all the actors under his guidance. He makes the movie look like an "A" picture thanks to excellent photography, the music score (stock cues, most likely) adding to the atmosphere of the proceedings.

Danny Lee takes the familiar country bumpkin stereotypical role of Yezhuangzi and gives it some dimensionality; his earlier scenes with Lily Ho are charming, with flashes of bashfulness that I didn't expect at all. He handles all scenes with such a naturalness that it makes me wonder why he didn't move on to another studio sooner to do bigger-budgeted pictures more worthy of his talent.

Nothing's wrong with Lily Ho's work in this; she's fine (and foxy) as Yiqing. She has great chemistry with Danny Lee, and the highs and lows of the relationship are comparably carried well by her. Her Chinese opera scenes are a special treat, considering she had previous experience performing in actual ones.

The ultimate Shaw actor, Ku Feng, does an extraordinary job of making Duobo seem to be an otherwise upright person who turned drug smuggler to help make ends meet; he is practically a mentor to the farmer's son, so when he lets Yezhuangzi take the bum rap (mere minutes after getting the kid a hooker!), this predictable turn is given a special texture through Ku Feng's nuanced acting.

The rest of the cast provide equally strong support to the leads, including [the recently deceased] Ou Yang Sha Fei in her finely-tuned portrayal of a stage mother. (Some will debate it, but I'll contend she's the real villain in this story.)

Though RoF is only a drama, there are a couple of martial arts scenes included here; they're choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping and Yeun Cheung Yan. Danny Lee and Ku Feng do the work very capably, both of them showing a lot of athleticism that's all the more astounding when you see everything Ku Feng does.

As always, IVL's DVD has the nice anamorphic Shawscope picture, good audio (in Mandarin), passable English subs and the typical special features.

The brevity of the film doesn't hamper what is a well-told story that exhibits no signs of being padded out. The drama was riveting enough that I did not find myself constantly watching the time or twiddling my thumbs while waiting for the fighting! Fans of Shaw martial arts films who've considered buying any of the other genre movies they did won't go wrong if they start with this one.

Highly recommended by Brother Fang!

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

P.S. - Purchase it from Play-Asia by clicking on here.