The Lady Hermit (1971), starring Cheng Pei-pei, Shih Szu, Lo Lieh and Wang Hsia. Directed by Ho Meng-hua.

(All images courtesy Celestial Pictures.)

FOR all the acting ability she showed in a variety of parts through the twenty-three pictures she did for Shaw Brothers, Cheng Pei-pei is best known for her wuxia movies, or, rather, one wuxia movie: Come Drink with Me. While opinions vary over King Hu's film (even its status as a classic), most agree her star turn as Golden Swallow is the model for the character of a strong swordswoman that Hong Kong screenwriters were inspired to copy (if not better) in future wuxias at Shaw and other studios. The way the Shaw experience went down, not one wuxia after CDwM could duplicate its success, including Golden Swallow, the sequel directed by Chang Cheh. Even the prescence of Pei-pei in these follow-ups didn't guarantee a good picture, demonstrating how much the arrangement of the young woman under the guidance of director Hu was one of those "blue moon" occurrences.

The Lady Hermit is among those select few Shaw wuxias that came close to the level of quality found in CDwM. While not as moody or "trippy", after energetic fighting scenes and a "love triangle" subplot, TLH is best remembered for Pei-pei working with the woman who'd try to replace her as Shaw's wuxia queen, Shih Szu.

Three years prior to the events depicted in TLH, the sword-wielding heroine known as Lady Hermit (Cheng Pei-pei) disappeared shortly after fighting the self-proclaimed Number One bad ass of the martial arts world, Black Demon (Wang Hsieh), who wounded her in the abdomen with his "Shadowless Claw" technique. As it turns out, Yeng Yushuang (her real name) has spent that time laying low in the town of Dungan, recovering from the injury while working at Da Am Security Service as a maid for Chief Wang (Fang Mien).

Arriving in town one day is Ciu Ping (Shih Szu), a young lady who knows how to handle a whip as well as she can a sword; she has come to visit her uncle Wang as she searches for LH in hopes of getting her as a sifu. When Ping mentions rumors that LH is in the nearby town of Baijiang, Wang arranges a ride there for her with a shipment driven by Chang-chung (Lo Lieh), a good-looking escort she develops a crush on. Once in Baijiang, she finds out LH is supposedly in Chung Kuei Temple, where the townspeople go to buy charms from her as protection from ghosts that are currently on a nightly murder spree. Ping is skeptical about the whole situation, and not long after she realizes the "ghosts" are flesh and blood, she and Chang-chung enter the temple, discovering this LH is a phony Black Demon is using to lure the real one into a trap. As LH eventually shows up to eliminate the imposter and rescue Ping and Chang-chung, the moment the two hear LH's voice, they realize the mystery woman is Yushuang.

With Yushuang's cover blown, she abruptly leaves the security service; Ping quickly finds her on the road and begs Yushuang to teach her kung fu. United by their common hatred of Black Demon, Yushuang agrees, and as they refurbish an abandoned house for shelter, Yushuang trains Ping, including showing her the "Flying Tiger" style, a countermove to the "Shadowless Claws" where (basically) landing on one's feet like a cat after after being thrown by an opponent may help one to gain the upper hand.

As several weeks pass by, Ping's attraction to Chang-chung has increased since she began teaching him the martial arts she's learned from Yushuang, but what Ping doesn't know is he's had feelings for Yushuang since she was working at the security service. In turn, Yushuang cares just as much for him, but she can't think about romance until she deals with Black Demon. However, when Chang-chung suddenly arrives at the hideout in a mutilated state after barely escaping from Black Demon's men at the security service (because of his ties to LH, they have slain Wang and burned the business to the ground), Yushuang helps him to recover while Ping is away collecting ingredients for some medicine, and in the process, she lets her guard down for him...a little.

When Ping comes back from a month's worth of gathering, she sees the two of them together, and jealousy clouds her mind in a hurry. Twenty-four hours later, her perceptions haven't changed, and on an impulse, she decides to handle the messy affair of killing Black Demon herself. Despite Yushuang's assertion she isn't ready, Ping rushes off to get him anyway. With Yushuang and Chang-chung trailing not too far behind, Ping defies the odds by overcoming all barriers along the way before finally arriving at Black Demon's head-quarters. Bottom line: if Ping can't stop him, can Lady Hermit (lingering injury and all) be there in time to save her and be able to deal with Black Demon on her own?

What immediately stands out about TLH is the superb cinematography by Lin Kuo Chiang, Li Yu Tang and Tsao Wei Chi. After King Hu's movies, such attention to the slightest of visual details is typical of director Meng-hua's best films, and TLH is no exception. Every last shot taken seems to have been given some significant thinking through, from the lighting to camera setups. In conjunction with Chang Hsing Lung's marvelous editing, every scene, whether a quiet one or full of swordplay and arterial spray, benefits from the craftsmanship of these talented guys. For the era, this is one of the best looking "old school" wuxias ever.

Yeh I-Fang's screenplay for TLH wisely reinforces the "less is more" argument with straightforward storytelling without a lot of psychology. (I imagine his version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would be called "Tiger and Dragon", for a start.) He keeps the action and Black Demon off at strategic intervals in order to focus more on the sisterly bond between Ping and Yushuang, which is only threatened when Chang-chung (innocently) enters the scenario. As sufficiently developed the low-key soap opera is, the looming prescence of Black Demon should've been emphasized more. As it is now, he comes off as just a big bully. Further, if anyone attempted to bring an end to his reign of terror in the past, no previous contenders are mentioned; this implies only LH (Ping comes later) has stood up to him, which is pushing the limits of all plausability. (Possibly, a more physically imposing actor other than Wang Hsieh could've been cast, but this would've solved only half the problem.)

The acting (aside from what Hsieh brings to the production) does not disappoint at any level. Cheng Pei-pei easily gives style and substance to LH, and the well-written part is in synch with her usual good performance, and this wasn't always the case with some of the wuxias she did after CDwM. Lo Lieh appropriately underplays Chang-chung, the "eye in the hurricane" for the film, whether quietly pining for Yushuang or charming the lovestruck Ping. Among the supporting players, more than a few familiar faces pop up as Black Demon's men; keep watch for Chuan Yuan (The Thunderbolt Fist), Cliff Lok, Yeung Chak-Lam (The Shadow Boxer), Kok Lee Yan and Sammo Hung.

Even though it's Pei-pei's movie, the other reason TLH exists is to showcase Shaw's rising star, Shih Szu, the designated heir apparent to Pei-pei. So it goes she does a lot more in TLH (her third Shaw picture) than Pei-pei, but to her credit, she doesn't upstage Pei-pei. She portrays Ping as a young woman who shows maturity with a sword and whip but is still immature to many ways of the world and life. The acting range she displays is as impressive as the kinetic fighting action (supervised by Leung Siu Chung) and two sequences of elaborate stuntwork (involving a bridge and a pagoda) she participates in. I also get a kick out of the light moments she shares with Lieh where Ping practically swoons over Chang-chung; whenever the lovely Szu acts bashful and flirty, no fan of hers is immune to her charms (especially Brother Fang).

Funimation's last Shaw DVD release (until we hear otherwise) is consistent with their previous reissues. It has a fine anamorphic picture (stemming from a proper transfer with no "combing" in the playback), and the two soundtrack choices (English and Mandarin audio in their original mono, the latter with optional English subtitles) both sound great. The only "extras" found on the disc are advertising.

Through the May '70 issue of Hong Kong Movie News (thanks to venoms5 over at Cool Ass Cinema for the info), we know Pei-pei left Shaw to get married, and move to the US to retire from moviemaking, after finishing work on Lo Wei's The Shadow Whip. Had TLH been her last film, it would've made her exit from Hong Kong that much sweeter; unfortunately, seven months after TLH's January '71 opening, Shaw let TSW drop, an uninspired piece of work in which Pei-pei's character brandished a whip much like Szu did in TLH. (Hindsight is 20/20, but Shaw would've been better off leaving TSW in the vault or putting it out before TLH.) As the business of cranking out motion pictures at Shaw went during the early 1970s, they were staying the course, right down to thoughtlessly giving their departed star one more raw deal.

(Two years later, Golden Harvest would coax Pei-pei out of retirement, but that is a story best saved for another time.)

Brother Fang says... "Fans of Cheng Pei-pei, Lo Lieh and Shih Szu are already sold on this, and all lovers of Shaw Brothers' wuxia films should follow suit. It's a good, affordable DOMESTIC copy of a hard-to-find import; need I say more?"

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

Lady of the Law (1975), starring Shih Szu, Lo Lieh and Chang Pei-shan. Directed by Shen Chiang and Hsiao Yung.

Behind the scenes with Shih Szu.

DID an incident occur during the making of this film, prompting those at Shaw Brothers to bar their wuxia star Shih Szu from doing any more action-oriented leads not long after? It's a question yet to be answered satisfactorily in my mind.

The fansite Shaw Brothers Reloaded relates that sometime during '73-'74, "she heavily injured her right arm during a movie shoot", resulting in her being restricted "to play 'damsel-in-distress' roles only." Lady of the Law was put out in '75, but it's possible it was completed in '74 and its release temporarily delayed; this happened with Shaw pictures once in a while, so this fits into SBR's scenario. However, once I saw her in The Proud Youth, a '78 "sleeper" from Sun Chung, she was back doing a physical part, albeit a limited one in contrast to years past; based on this, any imposed ban wasn't a permanent one.

Regardless of how it came about, the notion is Szu was not happy with being treated like fragile china, as a result. Partly on advice from Ti Lung, she would find action on some independent productions (like the '79 Massacre Survivor) until her Shaw contract expired in '80; from there, she did TV work in Taiwan until she left the entertainment industry in '87. Considering how Fu Sheng's Shaw career got mucked up with his "Black September" on-set accidents, Szu was wise to get out while she was still in one piece. This fact alone makes Brother Fang relish all her movies now out on DVD that much more, including LotL, her "swansong" to Shaw wuxia films.

Aside from an interesting detour, the story is involved but fairly straightforward. Jiao Yaner (Lo Lieh) is out to avenge the death of his father, the chief of Yungtong Escorts after Chief Chen (Yang Chi-ching) of rival Wacheng Escorts had him killed in an elaborate scheme to become the main escort service (the ancestor to armored bank trucks) in the region, Chen skimming the coffers often while maintaining the facade of being an upright citizen. The younger Yaner only escaped death at the hands of Chen thanks to the intervention of sifu Madam White Brows (Ou-Yang Sha Fei) and her student, a little girl named Leng Rushuang. Chen was even brazen enough to go so far as to pledge to White Brows he'd raise the orphaned Jiao to manhood. Because he felt the boy was traumatized by his father's fate, he didn't think there would be any retaliation from him; he thought he was getting a servant who constantly feared for his life: a plum arrangement, in Chen's eyes.

In reality, several years after the passing of his father, Yaner has been only biding his time, learning the "Flaming Daggers" technique from a manual of his father's while he awaits the return of Rushuang, who promised to come see him again someday. One night, Chen's son (Dean Shek Tien) watches him practice in secret; he tells his father, and he's upset that despite deliberately not training Yaner in kung fu, he wound up doing it on his own. (White Brow suggested he shouldn't train the boy if he showed any bad temper; of course, Chen sneakily agreed to this.) Yaner is not as dumb as he looks, after all; moreover, he's dangerous in relation to all of Chen's illicit interests. Still, at the moment, he's more worried about someone else.

Rushuang (Shih Szu) is now known in the martial arts world as the "Lady of the Law", a vigilante who's partnered with the local authorities in the dispensing of justice. She is there in Ji County to help in the capture of a murdering rapist; as it turns out, the perpetrator is Chen's son. As they begin to feel the pressure of the investigation, Chen and his offspring (in an act that's so much "killing two birds with one stone") frame Yaner for the crimes, the son planting the body of his latest victim (the concubine of Valley Head, played by Chang Pei-shan) in Yaner's room.

Alas, once she sees where the corpse of the victim is, Rushuang is disappointed in Yaner, regretting she helped to save his life so long ago. Knowing she's not on his side (yet) and how he has no chance as long as Chen tries to orchestrate a speedy execution for him, Yaner is compelled to escape. Rushuang and some constables begin the pursuit, with Chen and his "demonseed" not far behind, hoping they can get to Yaner first. Now, the last hope for Yaner being exonerated is in his finding Officer Yan Bixian (Chan Shen), a witness who's being kept in protective custody at a nearby prison. Though the rapist blinded him with rocks and dirt in a desperate ploy to avoid capture (the night Rushuang arrived), he can still identify the culprit by his voice....

Writer and director Shen Chiang is reunited with his three stars from Heroes of Sung (1973), and he delivers a quirky but strong screenplay that suits them better than his haphazard one for the earlier film (save for the freaky "splitting" finale that would be equally at home in a "Venoms" movie). He and his co-director Hsiao Yung do a marvelous job with the direction; Yung's parti-cipation may be the reason this picture is better structually, compared to Chiang's solo effort on HoS. They put a lot stuff of into the running time of 86 minutes but not so much the result is like an overpacked can of sardines. Beyond the inevitable formula elements found in most Shaw wuxia films (trampolines, high leaps, and erratic wirework), LotL has so much going for it, I don't even mind the abrupt ending!

One of the more mindboggling performances I have ever seen from a Shaw actor is found here, courtesy of Lo Lieh. His work in King Boxer and Clan of the White Lotus doesn't compare to his interpetation of this strangest of heroes. Yaner continually pretends he is "shell-shocked", even a little mentally slow, as he prepares to deal with Chen. At the same time, the story hints he has been literally waiting years for Rushuang to come back to the point he (apparently) spent much of his spare time each day out on the street watching for her arrival in town. Not all this behavior feels like a charade; has he become obsessed over her riding to his rescue? Is she the "trigger" to his proceeding with revenge? Lieh's acting job here is such that you find yourself wondering if he has maintained his sanity all these years as a lowly helper for Chen; there's no doubt Chen and the people who work for him (also his son) have treated him like crap, so if Yaner has kept his wits intact all these years, then he's the equivalent of a John McCain among indentured servants. Fighting or acting, Lieh managed to impress me in LotL like he never has before.

Cheng Piang-shan is back to being a bad guy after being good in HoS. (To look at the cover for the IVL DVD, you're inclined to think he's fighting crime with Szu and Lieh.) He plays an associate of Chen who happens to have many wives, and when he loses his newest woman to the rapist, he wants Rushuang to replace her. He figures into the "detour" subplot where she has to deal with his sword-wielding "harem" as she tries to track down Yaner. I'm more used to him as a villain, so he didn't fail to disappoint me (trademark "cookie-eating grin" and all) as the secondary heavy.

Shih Szu does the "Lady of the Law" reasonably straight. If she's not playing a supercop in this, then she's a very persistant, savvy person who gives Chen or other troublemakers a reason to fear the wrath of her blades. Again, she breezes easily through portraying another wuxia heroine, which includes doing what stunts she did (which appears to be the majority of them). Then again, she always did a great job in her movies for Shaw, whether she did fighting or not.

In the end, LotL is your typical above-average Shaw production that looks and plays better than some HK "A" pictures of the '70s. The remastered film and audio on this DVD complement the original presentation; it's a movie that anyone who loves Lo Lieh or Shih Szu absolutely needs to add to their collection.

Given a choice, I'll take Lady of the Law over She's the Sheriff any day!

Recommended by Brother Fang!

Keeping it trivial....

Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.

P.S. - Purchase it from PlayAsia by clicking on here.