Xiao du long

Shih Szu was a female fighting star at Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio who had a string of swordplay films built around her in the early 1970s (THE RESCUE, HEROES OF SUNG, THE LADY HERMIT). She is front and center in THE YOUNG AVENGER (1972) despite the presence of some strong male co-stars. She fights three bad guys in a pre-credits sequence and then, after the opening credits, we go back in time to see her character, Bao Zhu, as a little girl whose father is a kung fu master faced with a sudden visit by an old enemy. The father is mortally wounded in a sneak attack and Bao Zhu is sent off alone to study the "Poisonous Dragon" sword style with an uncle known as the "mad monk." When she is old enough to head out on her own, she dresses as a man and adopts the identity of "the Young Avenger" to seek out her father's killer, Liu Tou (Fan Mei-sheng), and get revenge.

When she returns to her hometown, dressed as a beggar, she causes a scene at the local restaurant, all a ploy to draw out Chen Shi Lun (Yueh Hua), her cousin and childhood sweetheart, and effect a reunion. This encounter takes place at about the half-way mark and it's quite an emotional and moving scene. Too bad nothing of real substance develops from it. After that point, it becomes a matter of the town preparing for an attack by Liu Tou and his gang, and all the townspeople pitching in to lay traps and set up defenses at the different entrances. The bad guys soon descend on the town and it's an all-out battle for the rest of the 82-minute film, with everyone participating. Bao Zhu's teacher eventually shows up as well and it's a welcome heroic role for Chan Shen, normally one of Shaw Bros.' most dependable villains (e.g. WEB OF DEATH, THE BRAVE ARCHER, SHAOLIN INTRUDERS).

The parts may be greater than the whole, but it's an enjoyable film if you like female fighting stars and imaginative action scenes. The fights were staged by Hsu Er Niu (aka Simon Chui Yee-ang, aka Simon Hsu) who also choreographed the action for AMBUSH, DUEL FOR GOLD, BROTHERS FIVE, and THE FLYING GUILLOTINE, among others. There are long takes and fluid camera moves to capture some intricate fighting maneuvers, with much of the action staged outdoors. Under Hsu's direction, Shih Szu has to work really hard to prove herself a plausible action heroine by battling multiple opponents with a variety of techniques in real time and she certainly pulls it off. (She's a good fighter, a strong actress and a beautiful woman, a hard combination to beat.) The other performers are all excellent, most notably Yueh Hua, Fan Mei-sheng, Chan Shen, and Tung Lin, who plays Bao Zhu's father. Yueh Hua's character has been trained in the Iron Fan and he uses that weapon to great effect in the film's battle finale.

This film is not to be confused with a later kung fu film of the same title, released in 1980 and starring Wong Yue, and also reviewed by me on this site.

It opens with Shih Szu as a paid assassin taking out three men. After the opening credits the story goes 20 years in the past. (This was not clear to me when I first watched the movie.) The back story plays out. Fan Mei-Sheng kills Shih Szu's father with a dishonorable attack to the back. This sets up her reason for revenge which is the plot.

The Mad Monk was played by Chan Shen. He has about 170 credits which equals about 10 a year over his 15 years in the business. He died April 26, 1984 at age 44. He always played a solid role with good stunt man skills. I have read he was murdered but I cannot confirm the information.

The fights are almost all weapons featuring the sword and the iron fan. There is minimal wire work. All the fights were above average. I can't rate the movie above average though. I felt there simple were not enough fights. The end fight was good but too short. Despite the movie's short run time of about 80 minutes it seemed to drag. I blame this on the few fights and some specific scenes. The tea house scenes with the bits about giving the waiter a hard time, demanding a seat, demanding someone else's food were all so predictable and done over and over again.

THE YOUNG AVENGER is a second-tier Shaw adventure made as a showcase for the undoubtable talents of femme fatale Shih Szu, who rose to prominence in a supporting role in THE LADY HERMIT. Here, she's the archetypal revenge-seeking young swordswoman of the title, led down a dark path when family members are slaughtered by a brutal hunchback. Being a second-rate production, this one lacks the vibrant cinematography that the best of Shaw is known for; what should be an exciting, SEVEN SAMURAI-style siege climax plays out in an oddly inert and rushed way. But you do get fan favourites Yueh Hua and Fen Mei Sheng in support, so it's not all bad.