Sabotage 2 (1979)

1979 - Sabotage 2 (Margarita Productions)

[Philippines release date 17th March 1979; released internationally via Liliw Films International as "Sabotage", in France as "Chantage a l'Apocalypse" and in Germany as "Geheimcode Death-Force"]

Director Efren C. Piñon Story/Screenplay Efren C. Piñon, Greg Macabenta, Jerry O. Tirazona Producer [uncredited] Tony Ferrer Music Ernani Cuenco Cinematography “Juanito “Jun” Pereira Editor Edgardo “Boy” Vinarao Cameramen [1st Unit] Ricardo Herrera [2nd Unit] Amado “Botong” de Guzman [3rd Unit] Zosimo Corpuz [4th Unit] Eduardo Cabrales [5th Unit] Oscar Querijero [6th Unit] Rey Lapid

Cast Tony Ferrer (Agent Falcon, Agent X44), Azenith Briones (Cristy Mendoza), Andy Poe (Montalban), Max Alvarado (Michael), Olivia O’Hara (Marlo Andrado), Nick Romano (Manolo del Castillo), Ruby Anna (Ruby), Manny Luna (Greg Africa), Romy Diaz (Douglas), Val Iglesia (Aris Atlonxa), Conrad Poe (Jojo Martinez), Perry Baltazar (Johnny Fernandez), J. Antonio Carreon (Don Franco Madriaga), Mike Cohen (Dr Ivan Skovsky), Manolo Noble (Colonel Nemesio Camus), Protacio Dee (Takeo Kurosaka), Henry Salcedo (Atty. Gene Marquez), James Gaines [Jr] (Jonas Grey) , Rey Sagum (Dr Skovsky’s Aide), Ben Dato (Dr Skovsky’s Aide), George Webber, Richard Olney, Carol Meyerdierks, Rick Fuller, Lourie Ann Churchill, Truman Festos, Barbara Churchill, Adolf James, Elaine Blacher, Tsing Tong Tsai [rumoured to be in the cast, but may be in Last Target instead: Bill James, Kate Atkins, Cathy Young]

Todd Stadtman’s review at Teleport City:

The road that lead me to Tony Falcon, Agent X-44: Sabotage was, as is often the case with these things, a somewhat long and circuitous one. It began when I was watching the third Christopher Lee Fu Manchu movie, the Shaw Brothers co-produced The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, on TV, and found my attention drawn to the actor Tony Ferrer, who was playing the fairly substantial supporting role of Shanghai Police Inspector Ramos. Ferrer was certainly charismatic, and handled himself admirably in his action scenes. But what really struck me was that here was a Filipino actor playing a character whom the filmmakers had gone out of their way to identify as Filipino (why, after all, name a Shanghai policeman “Ramos”?). Given that this was a film in which a pasty-faced Englishman with putty on his eyelids was being sold as Chinese, made at a time when few in the movie business were losing sleep over whether their Asian casting was race or nationality appropriate, this seemed to me like an unusual consideration. Furthermore, while a character such as his would normally have had a pretty limited lifespan in a movie of this type, Ferrer survived to the end of the movie, playing a decidedly heroic role in the climax. These factors combined gave me a strong hunch that, while Tony Ferrer may have been a nobody to a large portion of The Vengeance of Fu Manchu’s international audience, somewhere he was a big, big star.

With a geek fire of white hot intensity now raging beneath me, I set to digging, and before too long found that Tony Ferrer was indeed a big, big star in the Philippines–and that he was known as “The Filipino James Bond” thanks to his recurring role as secret agent Tony Falcon, Agent X-44.

Starting out as a contract player with his older brother Espiridion Laxa’s company Tagalong Ilang Ilang Productions (the company responsible for introducing some of the biggest action stars of Filipino cinema, including Fernando Poe Jr., aka “FPJ”), Ferrer had a fairly undistinguished early career, consisting mostly of supporting roles. This changed in 1965 when his brother developed the Agent X-44 character with him in mind, casting him in the first of a hastily churned out series of films helmed by director and cult film actor Eddie Garcia. Within a year, the Tony Falcon films had become a bona fide phenomenon in the Philippines, and the series would go on to chalk up somewhere around twenty entries, spanning from the mid-sixties to the early eighties.

With this new information turning tantalizing cartwheels in my brain, I was now, of course, dying to see these movies. Unfortunately, I had to steel myself for the probability that this simply would not be possible. Film preservation was a foreign concept to the Philippines until only very recently, and the more distant a film’s vintage, the more likely it is to have long ago returned to the dust from which it came. This is a real shame, because from what I’ve gathered, the Filipino popular film industry of the sixties was very similar to its Turkish counterpart: As prolific as it was impoverished, and with a profligate disregard for copyrights, it churned out hundreds of films a year at a combined cost that would fund one decent-sized Hollywood production, those films loaded with spies and goofy costumed heroes, including undisguised versions of Batman, Robin and Superman. (Not to mention, I imagine, Jesus showing up to make someone bleed out of their eyes or something–because the three things I’ve come to count on from Filipino genre cinema are singing, violence and, wherever you’d least expect it to pop up, jarring evidence of the particularly punitive brand of Catholicism that holds much of the country in its thrall). Despite my pessimism, however, and after a few months of rooting around, the gray market came through for me, and I eventually came into possession of an example of Agent X-44’s impressively voluminous screen output.

The 1966 film Sabotage was not the first Tony Falcon film. In fact, there were at least five other entries in the series produced that same year. But it was the first to launch the series as a true phenomenon, as well as Ferrer’s career as a superstar in his home country. The film premiered at the first Manila Film Festival–a festival dedicated to showcasing the country’s homegrown movie industry–and out-grossed all of the other films on the program. Like pretty much everywhere else in the world, the Philippines was going through a major spy craze at the time, and there would be a number of other film franchises starring super secret agents of their own–Bernard Bonnin as Agent 707, Alberto Alonzo as Agent 69 and Eddie Fernandez as Lagalag among them–but, from the time of Sabotage’s release on, Tony Falcon was the undisputed box office champ above all.

Of course, I should make clear that the particular Tony Falcon film that I had come into possession of was not, as I had hoped and expected, the original 1966 Sabotage, but rather the re-titled international release of another film from the Tony Falcon series’ waning years, 1978’s Sabotage 2. Furthermore, as is often the case with these things, the currently circulating copy of Sabotage is of a quality similar to what you might expect a broadcast signal intercepted from a very distant planet to look like–given that very distant planet is very dark and perhaps underwater. So, while I was looking forward to tasting a new flavor of 1960s secret agent cool–or, at least, a woefully underfunded and technically over-matched facsimile of same–I now had to resign myself to the fact that what I was actually going to be tasting was something quite different and probably a lot less savory.

Or perhaps not. Because Sabotage is indeed a rich slab of nada-budget cinematic cheese. Ferrer was sporting a noticeable paunch by this time, a state of affairs that Tony Falcon’s trademark white suits did little to improve upon. Still the actor is commendably game, always ready to dole out some spirited faux kung fu whenever the action requires. But what’s most impressive about Sabotage is how, by way of its by-necessity minimalism and utilitarian aesthetic, it manages to strip the spy movie down to its essential elements, leaving us with what is basically a Roadrunner cartoon featuring people in suits and bikinis.

The film’s action begins with a team of hired killers–a couple guys with mustaches, a hot chick, and an afro sporting, smooth talking Jim Kelly wannabe–discussing their intention to assassinate a visiting Latin American diplomat. After that we’re immediately into the first assassination attempt, and from there to the arrival on the scene of the resplendently pompadoured Tony Falcon, who chases down the assassins in his car, doles out some faux fu and shoots at them. Another assassination attempt, in which Tony saves the diplomat from an exploding horse on a polo field, follows right on the heels of the first one, and then another, all leading to more chasing and shooting–and all, interestingly, played out with very little dialog. In fact, we don’t hear Tony utter more than two isolated lines at a time until the final twenty minutes of the picture. What dialog there is, however, is all uttered in heavily accented English, rather than Tagalog as I had expected.

Once it’s determined that they’re not going to be able to assassinate the visiting Latin American diplomat with Tony Falcon showing up to chase and shoot at them all the time, the hired killers decide that they should start trying to assassinate Tony Falcon instead. What follows is a series of set pieces in which we get to see what Tony Falcon does in his free time. While most movie secret agents seem to cool their heels by lounging in swanky cocktail lounges, what Tony appears to be doing here is attending a series of wedding receptions that are complete with buffets and awkward, seemingly obligatory ballroom dancing. Then we see him waterskiing with one of his gal pals and, later, golfing. All of these activities, of course, are interrupted by the killers showing up to shoot bullets at Tony through scope rifles, after which he chases, fu’s and shoots at them. These scenes also afford us an opportunity to marvel at some of Tony’s high-tech spy gadgetry, including some X-Ray Specs that work just as advertised, rendering everyone they gaze upon naked while having no effect upon the strategically placed furniture and foliage that hides their nasties.

Finally we are introduced to Dr. Ivan Skovsky (Mike Cohen), a super villain who sits in a control room staffed by women in bikinis and men in orange jumpsuits, considerately making calls at regular intervals to an army officer named Campos to explain his motivations for doing all of the things he’s having the hired killers do. These motivations, however, don’t seem very well thought out–or, at least, Skovsky doesn’t appear to be very committed to them. At first he want to assassinate the diplomat and extort just a bit of the Philippines’ gold reserves. Then he wants to extort all of the Philippines’ gold reserves under threat of him launching all kinds of nuclear missiles at the Philippines. When asked the very reasonable question of why he’s interested in the Filipinos’ gold in particular, he answers that he’s not so much interested in the gold itself as he is in sending a message to the world that he means business. He figures that, once he has either extorted all of the Philippines’ gold or annihilated the Philippines with all of his nuclear weapons, the rest of the world will simply lay down at his feet. This plan makes Skovsky come off more like a super-bully that a super-villain. After all, if you have to make an example of a country, why pick on one as poor and already troubled as the Philippines? It just doesn’t seem very sporting.

Eventually, by means of donning a fake beard, Tony Falcon gains entry into Skovsky’s secret compound, setting Sabotage’s spectacular climax in motion. Because Sabotage is a zero-budget action film, this will involve a lot of helicopters–or, more accurately, one helicopter playing a bunch of different helicopters–because nothing says “production value” like a helicopter. This leads to one of my favorite out of all the helicopter-related, zero-budget action film scenarios, in which someone fires a handgun at an airborne helicopter and it explodes like it was made entirely of atom bombs. After that comes the paratrooper assault, which is accomplished by having exactly two guys dressed as paratroopers filmed from various angles and in different locations to give the appearance of being many. Finally, with these items ticked off the list of things you need in a spy movie, a model of the villain’s compound is blown up and we’re free to go home.

Just a couple of years after making Sabotage, Tony Ferrer would star in his final Tony Falcon feature, a team-up with Fernando Poe Jr. titled The Eagle and The Falcon. After that he would only revisit the character by way of cameo roles in other films that served as either direct references or knowing-but-vague homages, in both cases reflecting the enduring affection with which Agent X-44 was regarded by the Filipino movie-going public. The first of these was when Ferrer played the boss of Weng Weng–that leathery, pocket-sized star of both Filipino action cinema and my most disturbing nightmares–in For Y’ur Height Only, a fact which should clue people in that Weng Weng’s Agent 00, with his blinding white suits, was as much an affectionate spoof of Tony Falcon as he was of James Bond. More recently, Ferrer reprised the Tony Falcon role in a 2007 comedic update of the character appropriately titled Agent X-44, in which he passed the torch to young star Vhong Navarro (who also starred in the Spider-Man spoof, Gagamboy). All of this is evidence that Ferrer has left a deep imprint on his country’s popular culture and, while I have no doubt that his status is well deserved, it will take far more than a viewing of Sabotage alone to fully explain it.

To be honest, I would rather not have watched Sabotage. But to its credit, it didn’t completely kill my desire to see some of the earlier entries in the Agent X-44 series. While the Tony Ferrer who’s on display in this particular example doesn’t present the most suave and sophisticated of secret agents, he is thoroughly likeable, and there’s something in his manner that suggests perhaps an echo of something more fabulous. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that some day, if the gray market gods are willing, that murky, garbled artifact that is the nth generation bootleg of the genuine Tony Falcon, Agent X-44: Sabotage will make its way into my eager hands. Hey, nothing is beyond your reach when you dare to dream.

Crossbone Territory (1985)

1985 - Crossbone Territory (JPM Productions)

[Project started by Tessie Monteverde - daughter of Regal Films' Mother Lily - in 1983, filmed and released around 1985; released on Japanese VHS as “Omega Commando”, in West Germany as "Special Force U.S.A.", in Argentina as "Eliminator", and in Brazil as "Território de Sangue"]

Director Danilo Cabreira Story Rodolfo Dabao Screenplay Don Gordon Bell, Paul Vance [Nick Nicholson worked on the first draft] Producer Jovita P. Monteverde Executive Producer Teresita G. Monteverde Cinematography Vic Anao Music Lutgardo Abad Editor Jose Joe Solo Sound Effects Danny Sanchez Assistant Editors Dante Nava, Tony Acurin Project Co-Ordinator Manolo Maglaya Production Manager Minda Maglaya Assistant Production Manager Nita Co Jim Production Secretary Norma Tang Production Assistant Elena Ching Technical Advisor Don Gordon Bell Animation/Titles Charlie Jaleco Art Director Aurthur Nicdao Set Director Donnie Gonzales Assistant Set Director Waldo Masconi 1st Unit Cameraman Roger Estrada 2nd Unit Cameraman Alfonso Anao Assistant Cameraman Danny Subiaga Stillman Willy Anao 1st Assistant Director Roger Rivero 2nd Assistant Director Totoy Garcia, Johnny Capistrano Makeup Artist Ricardo Villamin Assistant Makeup Artist Choleng Mauricio Prosthetics/Special Makeup Cecille Baun Special Effects/Property Apolonio Abadeza Wardrobe Master Manny Espoloy Assistant Wardrobe Rafael Cui Military Liason Aurthur Bandril Stunt Groups Tanay Stuntmen, Perdiz Stuntmen, Tiger Stuntmen, SOS Stuntmen

JPM Unit Assistant Cameraman Basilio Boy Anao Field Soundman Fred Montesinos Electrician Catcho Lopez Clapper Danny Cabornay Assistant Clapper Gerry Laluan Boom Man Romano Anao Grips Andy Estrada, Jose Rory Anao

Cast Michael James (Captain John Gabriel), Don Gordon Bell (Sargeant Evans), Rex Lapid (Chief Y Bang), Paul Vance (Sargeant Smitty), Willy Williams (Sargeant Washington), Peter Barker (Lieutenant Johnson), Gabby Ferro (Sargeant Mallory), Michael Kruze (Lieutenant Epstein), Mike Cohen (Brigadier General Brown), Doc McCoy (Msgt. “Top” McCoy), Philip Gamboa (NVA Colonel), Den Montero (VC Major), Glenda Areneta (Wife of Captain Gabriel), Totoy Garcia (High Priest), Joe de Guia (Aide of NVA Captain), Mike Neylan (POW), Brent Muller (Helicopter Pilot) Montagnards Vic Santos, Carlos David, Jay Grama, Fred Quidlat, Greg Sta. Ines, Chock Agustin, Rene Nival  

Mini-review by Andrew Leavold:

From Filipino company JPM Productions, the brainchild of Tessie Monteverde – as in daughter of Regal Films’ Mother Lily – comes an attempt to enter the export market via the well-trodden Ho Chi Minh Trail. Its bare-bones narrative charts a cross-border mission led by Captain Gabriel (Searchers Of The Voodoo Mountain’s Michael James) into VC-infected Laos to destroy a radar station, and the long march back to base camp through countless ambushes and bamboo traps while being pursued by a tenacious NVA Colonel (Philip Gamboa). Some negatives, like the same loop of native fucking flutes (!!!), are outweighed by the positives: an abominably high body count, beheadings, a belt of sliced ears, exploding limbs, and a tree groaning under the weight of its severed heads, all courtesy of the Philippines’ Godmother of Gore, Cecille Baun. This emphasis on brutal realism is hammered home by the presence of real world Marine Don Gordon Bell, playing Sgt Evans as well as co-writing and acting as “Technical Supervisor”, and ex-Navy Willy Williams as the jive-talking, Stones-listening Sgt Washington. Rounding out the team are Dutch-born Paul Vance (co-writer with Bell and “Bugsy” Dabao, and also in JPM’s bizarre 1984 post-apocalyptic Mad Warrior/Clash Of The Warlords) and Rex (brother of Lito) Lapid as leader of the Montagnards, cutting an impressively heroic figure throughout with a machine gun welded to his hand. In final analysis, director Cabreira seems a lot more comfortable with action scenes than dialogue, so it comes as a relief there are very few moments where M16s AREN’T chewing the living cud out of the Philippines’ jungles. See the entire movie here.

Nick Nicholson: Crossbone Territory was with Tessie Monteverde of JPM Productions. Bugsy Dabao, Paul Vance and I wrote the script, but we were stuck with Cinex on Firebird Conspiracy. This was back in 1983 and Don had just finished Stryker with Cirio and was brought into the project and ended up rewriting the script (which was terrible, since we were writing at Bugsy's brother, Vic Dabao's home in Santa Ana on Hollywood Street (of all places). LOL At the time Don was sharing an apartment with Michael James in Ermita, and even had a Burger and Chili Stand in front of Walt's "Cathouse" in Makati... After those projects were done we worked together on Kings Ransom aka The Destroyers with Cirio.

Don Gordon Bell: Tessie Monteverde of JPM Productions. I do remember that Bugsy asked me to work on changes on the script because you were on the EPIC Firebird Conspiracy that took FOREVER to finish. We did use REAL RATS caught from the hotel of a certain producer, I will not name...in the scene with Aussie Mike. He had the balls to let five rats lick "movie blood" Karo pancake syrup with #5 Red dye. Poor rats died from the red dye. The two girls that worked at the Burger and Chili stand took it over and did quite well, according to the Man himself, Nigel Hogge.

Yes, Paul and I worked on the screenplay together, with Bugsy Dabao. We were almost locked up in the hotel of Mr. Lim night and day for three weeks. During the day we worked on everything like uniforms, web gear, military supplies, insignia, props for both Viet Cong, North Vietnamese Army, Green Beret 'over the fence' or Special Observations Group team members.

Bugsy taught us the how to figure the Production Breakdown of sequences and requirements for Daily Shooting Schedule, based on Sequences/set locations/Day or Night/special requirements, etc.

At night we would pound out the scenes with me manning the Corona manual typewriter. I went through three ribbons and many revisions. Actual shooting was done in under 7 weeks start to finish. Later I helped out on the rough cut with the director. It was a good film for the price Mr. Lim paid, AND we even convinced him to have "Smokeless" Squibs on the BODY HITS. That was progress.

Wild Force (1985)

1985 - Wild Force (Davian International Ltd/Sunny Films/Tee-Jay)

[Philippines release date 2nd May 1985]

Director /Story/Screenplay Francis “Jun” Posadas Executive Producer Lita T. Buenaseda Cinematography Arnold Alvaro Editor Oscar Dugtong Associate Director Ruben de Guzman General Manager Hildo Jose Production Consultant in Mindanao Billy Yu

Cast “Yusuf”/Yusif Salim, Robert Talby, Danny Riel, Ben Morro, Nick Alladin, Hasmin Hassan, Roy Flores, Mike Cohen, Barbara Peers

Review from the AV Maniacs Forum website:

To paraphrase Johnny Carson, there's an exciting 30 minutes of plot spread over an hour and a half. A group of commando's, including one female, are recruited for a mission to rescue Professor (doesn't-have-to-call-him) Johnson and his secretary from rebel dirtbags. Unfortunately, the soldier's monotonous trek across rugged mountain terrain wastes about two-thirds of the running time. Still, there are some nuggets of bad movie gold along the way. Typical of low rent Asian action movies, many of the Filipino soldiers have accents like the Bowery Boys. Moments of inspired stupidity, some Ed Wood Hall of Fame dialogue, and several sequences of bullet ballet virtuosity rescue Wild Force from the fast forward/eject button.

There are some terrifically terrible moments that clumsily cloy at the heartstrings. For example: In a skirmish with rebels, one of the commando's takes a bullet to the kneecap. Rather then bog down the mission, he most graciously agrees to kill himself. While holding the other soldiers at gunpoint, he engages in a hysterical suicidal rant. He can end it all with a short n' sweet bullet to the brain, but why waste ammo? Instead, he makes a decision to go for maximum entertainment value, and tosses himself off a jagged cliff. He bounces his way to an agonizing death, and much to his chagrin, is still breathing at the bottom. A few moments later the tortured soul succumbs. The other soldiers share a few moments of grief and vow to complete the mission in his honor. There's no cracking wise about the dearly departed idiot.

The staging of the final gun battle is commendable. Even minor characters and extras eat lead with a James Cagney bravado. (I really miss the ham handed flourish of old school movies in this regard. Chop-chop editing has largely eliminated the art of playing dead with gusto).

Bruce The Super Hero (1979)

1979 - Bruce The Super Hero (Dragon Films Company/Dragon Films International)

[A Hong Kong production filmed in the Philippines, also released as “Super Hero” and “Bruce The Superhero”; released on French VHS as “Contrat Pour La Mort”]

Director/Producer/Action Director Bruce Le Writer Poon Fan Executive Producer Dick Randall Supervising Producer/Dubbing Supervisor Cheng Leung On Music/Sound Effects Lawrence Chan Cinematography Ho Hak Wai Editor Robert Choi Production Manager Chan Chun Man Planners Lawrence Chan, Ho Hak Wai

Cast Bruce Le (Bruce Cheng), Lito Lapid (Ramon "Rocky" Robledo), Azenith Briones (Marlena Martinez, aka Agent Platinum), Kong To (Mr Kong, also referred to as Mr Kwong), Yang Sze [aka Bolo Yeung] (First Expert: Peter Sze aka Bullkiller), “Chai Ching Tao”/Tao Chang (Second Expert), [uncredited] Tsing Tong Tsai (Mr Lee - also referred to as Mr Ming), Subas Herrero (Martel), Mike Cohen (Don Emicio), Eddie Nicart (Aircraft Hanger Thug), Romy Nario (Failed Assassin), Ernie Ortega (Pole Master)

Review from the 10K Bullets website:

Bruce Chang (Bruce Le) goes to the Philippines after he hears the news of his sister’s death. She was in possession of a Japanese sword that contained a map written to a hidden treasure. The Black Dragon Society will do anything to get that sword. Before her death Chang’s sister gave the key to the safety deposit box where the sword is hidden to a boxer named Rocky Roblado (Lito Lapid). The Black Dragon Society kills Rocky’s father which lead to Rocky joining forces with Chang to find the gold.

There is plenty of action through out and in one scene Bruce Le comes out of the bathroom wearing the trademark yellow jumpsuit. Bruce Le and Lito Lapid make a dynamic duo that rivals Crocket and Tubbs. This film at times is all over the place with many situations being played more for laughs then seriously. Bruce the Super Hero is Bruce Le’s Citizen Kane as he wears several hats in the films production actor, action director, producer and Director. This film may not be a tour de force still it has enough laughs and action to keep things entertaining for the films full eighty eight minutes duration.

William's review from the Many Bruces website:

When his sister is murdered, Bruce Chang (Bruce Le) heads to the Philippines to find out why. It seems she was in possession of a Japanese sword that contains a map to a hidden treasure of gold. Members of the Black Dragon Society attacked her, but not before she gave the key to the safety deposit box where the sword is hidden to a local amateur boxer named Ramon "Rocky" Roblado. A United Nations Intelligence Bureau (!) agent named Marlene manages to track Rocky down and, under the guise of being a reporter, tells him the secret of the gold. After his father is murdered, Rocky teams up with Bruce to find the gold. Meanwhile, the Black Dragon Society, knowing the combination of Bruce and Rocky is a handful, brings in two high profile fighters (Bolo and Kong Do), one who had a past run-in with Bruce that left him with a broken arm and bruised ego. Bruce and Rocky eventually put two and two together and go to the safety deposit box to get the sword/map. Unfortunately, they weren't bright enough to notice they were followed and they lead the villains directly to the gold. Ohhhhh, there's gonna be some fighting!

This is a surprisingly entertaining Bruce Le vehicle. Bruce gets into plenty of fights and seems amazingly intense. While Bruce appears through out the film, Lito Lapid gets equal screen time as Rocky. He is the peanut butter to Bruce Le's jelly. The scene where the two meet is hilarious. Rocky is snooping around Bruce's house and Bruce comes out of the bathroom wearing the trademark yellow jumpsuit. "What are you doing here," he screams as they start fighting. And Lapid is a lot of fun to watch. Playing an amateur boxer, he throws jabs and punches instead of busting out kung fu. At one point in the film, he whips out a handkerchief, ties a knot in the end and starts whipping his opponent with it. Ingenuity stemming from all those towel fights he used to have in the locker room no doubt.

The deadly duo of Bolo and Kang Do is pretty cool too. Bolo is dubbed the "Bull Killer" and a flashback shows why...he kills a bull with a single blow to the head! Kang Do has a past with Bruce. During the final fight, Bruce breaks his arm again, but Kang Do comes running back, revealing his arm has turned into a cobra! Yes, his ARM TURNS INTO A SNAKE! This downright bizarre sequence came out of nowhere and had me floored.

Hardcore kung fu fans will notice this film's plot bears more than a passing resemblance to Jackie Chan's OPERATION CONDOR: ARMOR OF GOD 2. The whole chase to find WW2 gold with a key before the white bad guys do is just too familiar. Then again, maybe they both watched THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE? Nah! Chan rips off Bruce Le...film at 11! But still, Chan missed the boat. His film didn't have a scene like the one here where Marlene goes to meet her boss at a restaurant for a briefing. "Order what ever you want," her boss says. "Can I have fried chicken?" she asks. Few films can lay claim to a line like that now can they?

Review from the Internet Movie Database:

'Bruce The Superhero' features Bruce Lee clone, Bruce Le, who "stars" in and directs the film. Actually, Bruce Le is mostly a supporting player in the film while a more competent Philipino lead actor/martial artist takes charge. Le, the Philipino kickboxer, and their allies must get to hidden WWII gold before the Yakuza and a bunch of different gangsters do. Bolo Yeung(of 'Enter the Dragon' fame) plays one of the gangster's lackeys. In one scene, he "fights" with a decrepit, somewhat benign ox as a stolen Jerry Goldsmith score from 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' plays over the scene. I almost thought V'Ger was going to come down from the sky and turn Bolo into a "data pattern". This film stinks of gaudy fashions, low production values, grainy filmstock, etc. Still, there's a half-decent fight between Bruce Le and Chiang Tao(who sports a snake hand puppet). Bruce Lee clone, Bruce Le, shows little presence(as usual) in this film. I only recommend this film to hard-core martial-arts cinema fans who have the patience to endure this lackluster cheese-fest.

Review from the High Impact website:

Bruce Lee-clone Bruce Le stars, produced, and directs this HK-Filipino co-production.

When a young woman, Susan Chang is harrassed by the Black Dragons, carriage driver and amateur boxer Rocky Robledo tries to help her, but it is too later. Before she dies, she gives Rocky a key attached to a scarf. He is to give to someone named Bruce, who is actually Susan's brother from Hong Kong.

Double Lightning gang boss Kong meets with Black Dragon Boss Martel. They discuss not only Susan Chang's death, but also the mysterious Hilt of the Samurai, which contains a map that leads to a fortune in treasure. Meanwhile, Bruce has arrives to the Philippines and with the help of his uncle, he begins to investigate the death of his sister. From the moment he steps off the plane, trouble already comes in the form of the Black Dragons.

The United Nations Intelligence Office and Interpol are joining forces to investigate the Black Dragons and the Double Lightning gang. They know that Rocky tries to help Susan the night of her murder and that Bruce has arrived to begin looking into her death. To investigate Rocky, sexy agent Marlena is to go undercover as a news reporter for a sports magazine. Soon, Rocky gets into danger as the Black Dragons have killed his father and even attempted a hit on him. When both fails, Rocky is to meet someone. He gets in a local apartment and finds Bruce. Mistaken for a robber, Bruce and Rocky fight, only to have Bruce's uncle break up the meleé. The two properly meet.

Martel hires two men, Peter Sze and the Bullkiller. Peter is an arch rival of Bruce's, who was defeated by Bruce a long time ago. For Peter, it's not about the money, but vengeance. Meanwhile, Rocky and Marlena are kidnapped only to be saved by a young woman who is actually an Interpol agent infiltrating the Black Dragons. With the help of Bruce, the group find that the key Susan gave Rocky is the key to a safety deposit box that has the Hilt of the Samurai. The group decides to look for the treasure for the sake of the government. However, they have been followed by the Black Dragons and the Double Lightning as well as other factions who have allied with them. Now, our four heroes must fight to stop everyone in their paths.

This is a cheesy HK-Filipino co-production that has Bruce Le, probably one of two Bruce-alikes that actually likes to think he is Bruce when fighting on-screen. Bruce doesn't really pull off any Bruce moves until the ending, but tehre were flaws in the finale. In his fight against Chiang Tao, he is seen with 3 scratches on his stomach. However, after that, the marks are gone!!! And even more cheesy, Chiang leaves but returns with a hand looking like a snake. The supporting cast are comprised of some Hong Kong stars and Filipino stars. Lito Lapid is very fast with his hands. Azenith Briones looks like Bluto from Popeye and does no fighting at all. Bolo Yeung has a short but sweet fight against Le. The fights are all to go for here, but at times, they seemed to flawed. A cheesy chop socky film!!!

The Bottom Line: Bruce the Superhero is a film that defines the word "cheesy". Fights seemed flaw at times, Bruce Le acting like Bruce, and a very cheesy snake hand to top it off. Then again, cheesy isn't all that bad.

Invaders Of The Lost Gold (1981)

1981 - Invaders Of The Lost Gold (production company unlisted in credits)

[also released as Horror Safari, Greed, Soldner Des Todes, Safari Cannibale, Safari Senza Ritorno]

Director Alan Birkinshaw Producer Dick Randall Story Dick Randall, Bill James Screenplay Bill James, Alan Birkinshaw Music Francesco De Masi Cinematography Roberto Forges [Davanzati] Editor Roger Crook Art Director “Art Nicado”/Ruben Arthur Nicdao Makeup Cecille Baun Assistant Director Ulysses Formanes Stills Alessandro Carlotto Continuity Claire Felicen Location Manager Jim Gaines Project Coordinator Bill James Dubbing Editor Peter Goddard Special Effects Supervisor Eddie Ayay Production Manager K. Angus Robertson

Invaders Of The Lost Gold director Alan Birkinshaw

Cast Stuart Whitman (Mark Forrest), Edmund Purdom (Rex Larson), Woody Strode (Cal), Harold Sakata (Tobachi), Laura Gemser (Maria), Glynis Barber (Janice Jefferson), David De Martyn (Douglas Jefferson), Mike Cohen (Boat Captain), Junix Nocian (Fernando), [uncredited] Protacio Dee (Col. Susumo Yakuchi)

Fred Adelman's review from the Critical Condition website:

This film, originally titled HORROR SAFARI, is one of those films that's so bad it's good. It starts out during the end of World War II, where a small troop of Japanese soldiers are carrying 10 crates of gold for the war effort through the jungles of the Philippines, They are attacked by a group of headhunters, and the Japs hide the gold in a cave where only three of them survive to escape. The rest end up as heads on sticks. 36 years later, Edmond Purdom finds out about the lost gold and tries to get the three elderly Japenese survivors to help him find it. The first one is shot and killed by Purdom when he refuses to co-operate and the second one commits hara-kiri when he finds out that his commanding officer was killed. Purdom convinces the third (Harold "Odd Job" Sakata, in one of his final film performances) to help him find the gold for a 25% cut. Purdom hires arch enemy Stuart Whitman to help him on his quest since he is the best jungle man in the territory. Also along for the ride are Laura Gemser (who has a nude swim scene in which she mysteriously dies), Woody Strode (who has a fight with Sakata), Glynis Barber, David De Martyn and a bunch of disposable native Filippinos. After fatal attacks by snakes, alligators, an unstable rope bridge and booby traps, the dwindling crew get closer to their destination, and the ultimate showdown between Purdom and Whitman.

Directed without an ounce of flair by Alan Birkinshaw (KILLER'S MOON - 1978) and produced by the infamous late Dick Randall (PIECES - 1982; DON'T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS - 1984, SLAUGHTER HIGH - 1986, who seemed to use Purdom in a few of his films), INVADERS contains a lot of nothing going on throughout most of it's running time, just a ton of infighting and some short spurts of gore. The international cast is highly unusual for a film of this low budget (and obviously a cash-in to the then box office smash RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK), but nothing really happens. Just trekking around jungle scenery, lots of arguements and a very quick ending. If the rest of the film were only as good as it's first ten minutes, we may have had some enjoyment here. Stuart Whitman later made a similar film, TREASURE OF THE AMAZON (1985) in Mexico for late director Rene Cardona Jr. (BEAKS: THE MOVIE - 1987). An All American Video Release that's now available on DVD in widescreen form from Mondo Crash. Not Rated.

Lawrence P. Raffel's review from the Monsters At Play website:

Ya know, there are films that challenge us because of complex characters or story structure. Perhaps there are situations presented that are so intense, we could never imagine having to suffer through them. These are films that impact our lives, they leave us contemplating for days after viewing and many of these films become our favorites. They are the product of talented filmmakers, those who have a real grasp on the medium and are born storytellers. Then there are films that leave us scratching our heads because those involved in its creation, no matter how hard they had tried, have proved that they'd be better suited for the mailroom at a major studio, rather than behind the camera. Sadly, Invaders of the Lost Gold is one such film.

The story that is about to unfold is so inane and nonsensical that I don't even know where to begin. I'll be honest, a lot of it isn't even worth going into at this point. It's such a mish-mash you'll probably have popped an entire bottle of aspirin before the end credits have even had a chance to roll. The story begins in the 1940's deep within the jungles of the Philippines. A group of Japanese soldiers are escorting an undisclosed amount of gold when they are attacked by a group of natives. Some violence ensues and the Japanese that aren't beheaded, manage to escape to a nearby cave with the gold. They leave the gold intact, vowing not to return unless all have been able to attend the reunion.

Flash forward 36 years later to Tokyo and an asshole American businessman named Douglas Jefferson is trying to put together an expedition to find the hidden fortune. He approaches some Japanese soldiers (From the opening of the film? Your guess is as good as mine) and isn't successful until he reaches the third gentlemen (he kills the first after he refuses and the second commits suicide!). Anyway, our lecherous businessman convinces the Japanese guy to go in for something like 25% and Douglas is on his way to finance the expedition. Somehow he manages to get the $$ and puts together a motley crew of explorers (including Janice, his sexilicious daughter) and about 45-minutes into the film they hit the jungle.

Once they arrive, we're given information (limited information at that) about a possible double cross. There's a snake and crocodile attack and Laura Gemser (looking gorgeous as ever) stops by with just enough time to mysteriously die while taking a nude swim by a waterfall (this part I didn't mind so much). One by one the group starts to perish as they gain ground toward their fortune. Who's behind the double cross? I'm not sure that any of us should even care at this point!

Invaders of the Lost Gold is so beyond bad filmmaking, it's quite sad actually. The opening scene has promise and is pretty nifty with the jungle assault and all, but once we hit present time and the crew is assembled, It's hard to tell where the story is going. Before we even understand why they've chosen whom they've chosen, the boat is ready to roll and being loaded up! All of these people seem to have ties with one another, yet none of this is ever fully explained. Since we don't really know who these people are, of course we don't care a bit, so there's hardly any drama to be found. Exploitation elements are so light, that it's difficult to even enjoy Invaders on my normal perverted scumbag level as well!

Crash Cinema has released Invaders as the first title in their Mondo Crash line. Quality wise, this one is really rough around the edges. There's no shortage of print damage, with plenty of specs and scratches randomly found throughout. Quality is quite spotty as there are some scenes with fairly solid colors and very little damage while others seem to have hit the jackpot of anomalies. For what it's worth, I doubt that it's even necessary for this flick to be cleaned up any more than this - it serves its purpose well...as the main attraction of your next crappy movie night (c'mon, we all have 'em!). Audio is pretty remarkable in that this flick features one of the worst dub jobs that I have ever heard! Dubbed voices of dying soldiers and natives in the opening scenes are beyond laughable - this flick is screaming for a makeover from the retired fellas over at MST3K. There is some slight background noise, but for the most part, dialogue is clear enough in all of its terrible glory.

Extras include some completely unrelated kung fu trailers. It's nice to see Crash Cinema broadening their horizons and they have some interesting flicks coming out under the Mondo Crash line including Death Dimension and Beat Girl. While Invaders didn't exactly float my boat, I'll bet that Crash did everything they could with what they've been given. If you're looking for a film that's so bad...well it's just bad - then check out Invaders. Otherwise, keep a close eye on Mondo Crash's upcoming line, because they've got some real diamonds in the rough on their schedule. I'll tell you one thing about their release of Invaders though - the cover art certainly kicks ass!

Ian Jane's review from the DVD Maniacs website:

Invaders Of The Lost Gold has really only one thing in it’s favor – it’s made up of an all-star exploitation cast. Harold Sakata (Odd Job from Goldfinger), Stuart Whitman (who appeared alongside an oiled up Lee Van Cleef in Captain Apache and a ton of other b-movies), Woody Strode (Kingdom Of The Spiders, Once Upon A Time In The West) and Laurie Gemser (of Joe D’Amato’s Emanuelle series) all have large roles in the film.

The story starts off with a bang. A troop of Japanese soldiers in the Philippines during World War II are attacked by a tribe of blood thirsty savages (who, sadly, don’t appear to be cannibals) and the gold they are escorting through the jungle becomes lost when the savages chop off their heads.

Cut to the swinging seventies and an entrepreneurial chap decides to hire on Mark Forrest (Whitman) to lead an expedition consisting of himself, his foxy blonde daughter, his assistant Cal (Strode) and his henchman Tobachi (Sakata) into the jungle to find the gold and in turn make themselves all filthy rich.

Once they’re there, they meet up with Forrest’s ex-girlfriend Maria, played by Laura Gemser, who five minutes later takes off all her clothes, jumps into a lake for a swim, and dies screaming only to wash up on shore a few minutes later. How or why she dies isn’t important I guess, as we’re never given a reason for it. She just takes off her clothes, goes swimming and starts to scream. Ummm….ok. Sure.

Anyway, back to the story. Eventually other members of the crew start getting knocked off, and only Forrest and the foxy blonde daughter make it to the cave to find they’ve been double crossed by Forrest’s old partner from back in the day.

This movie is a total mess. The first ten minutes are great and the last twenty or so are pretty solid, but the middle drags a bit and there are so many loose ends left dangling that it can really make your head hurt if you try and sort it all out. That being said, it does have a small amount of charm, particularly if you’re a trash film aficionado like myself as it’s incoherence and gratuitous nudity and violence do make for a few stand out moments.