It begins with Shih Chun (you might remember him from films such as "Dragon Gate Inn" and "A Touch of Zen") coming to a new town with his sister and mother. They express concerns about the wanted posters for the robber. They find a house to stay. Cut to a big shot is receiving guests for his birthday party. Chen Hung-Lieh (you might remember him from "Come Drink With Me") is the important guest. Cut again to two attractive kung fu girls at a tea house are bothered by the usual crude guys and a fight starts. They are called "chits" and I assume that's a misspell of "chicks". Chen Hung-Lieh intervenes and charms them to attend the big shot's party. Thieves enter during the party. One is killed by traps. Two others fight, one is Shih Chun. They did not come together. They escape and reveal their identities. Big shot's daughter, Lisa Chiao Chiao, wants to know why he seems to have so many enemies implying he may not be a good guy. Shih Chin's mom has gone blind and the doctor can do nothing. The second thief arrives and says the big shot has an herb that was stolen from his family and it will cure mom's blindness. He goes to steal the herb but fails. Lisa talks to him. The next day she gives mom the herb to cure her blindness. But robbers attack and mom is killed.
My copy is widescreen but still has the sides cropped. The subtitles are about 50% readable and the resolution is poor, typical of a file from You Tube to watch on a cell phone. This is the price fans pay to watch these old movies. There is no use complaining as the movie would probably not even exist anymore had it not been saved as a digital file in its current condition. It is hard to review these movies objectively when they are hard to see and I rate them accordingly without subtracting for the video quality and with a warning that only hard core fans are able to tolerate the eye strain.
The fights are typical of the year. These are actors not martial artists and it is up to the stunt men to sell every punch or kick. Chen Hung-Lieh fights with a whip. The whip is not a real weapon and it can be faked in a fight easily and most important it is safe to use and difficult to hurt someone. Overall there is nothing to be seen here except for hard core fans wanting to complete a viewing list. If I could ever find a better quality video I would watch it again but until then one and done for me.
