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Cleopatra Wong, a kick-ass Interpol agent known to have influenced some of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, is to be revived in an upcoming Asian TV series.

The female action hero was created by The Philippines’ Bobby Suarez (aka George Richardson) and featured in three movies – “They Call Her Cleopatra Wong,” “Dynamite Johnson” and “Devil’s Angels” (aka “Mean Business”) – produced in the late 1970s by Bas Film Productions. Her name is a reference to Blaxploitation character Cleopatra Jones, albeit melded with Bruce Lee action and early James Bond cool. Marrie Lee (aka Doris Young) starred in all three movies.

‘Dynamite Johnson’ poster courtesy of Everett Collection.

Tarantino has said that Wong was an inspiration for Uma Thurman’s central character in his “Kill Bill” movies. The “They Call Her…” title was also used for a succession of unrelated exploitation films in the U.S., Europe and The Philippines.

Wong is...

As the most telling quote of Machete Maidens Unleashed! exclaims, “The stories are 10 times better than the actual films”. The anecdotes and memories of those involved in the Filipino exploitation genre of cinema are an amazing account of a period never to be repeated. Screening at the New York Asian Film Festival, Mark Hartley’s documentary opens our eyes to what went on in order to make some of the infamous cult schlock from the 1970s. Starting with Hemisphere Pictures and continuing into Roger Corman’s shingle, New World Pictures, the Philippines are shown as the jungle haven chock full of cheap production and expendable stunt men it was. We become privy to tales of directors, producers, and actors involved as well as a bevy of clips from their films to understand how the three B’s—blood, breasts, and beasts—created a sensation at American drive-ins across the nation.

I will admit that I am at a bit of a loss when it comes to Marrie Lee and her film They Call Her Cleopatra Wong but after watching the clips below I feel that I have been missing out on something grand. But there are enough fans of her out there in the rest of the world that she is being honored during the Paris Cinema International Film Festival with the Actions Queens Honorary Award. Legendary Singapore actress, Marrie Lee (real name Doris Young) to receive the Action Queens Honorary Award during Paris Cinema International Film FestivalParis Cinema International Film Festival (July 2 to 13,2011) will host two screenings of the film They Call Her Cleopatra Wong (Singapore-Philippines, 1978, directed by Bobby Suarez) on...

"I know when most people go to see documentaries, they expect to learn something," said "Machete Maidens Unleashed" director Mark Hartley before the film's Fantastic Fest premiere. "If you expect to learn something, you should go outside and read a book for the next 85 minutes."

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Paramount - you do learn quite a bit about the Filipino exploitation films of the 1960s and '70s from Hartley's follow-up to his wildly entertaining history of the Australian exploitation film, "Not Quite Hollywood," even if it's not what you'd quite expect. Like that film, "Machete Maidens Unleashed" is often more fun than the films it tells the behind-the-scenes stories of since it freely uses the money shots and arrives bursting with energy to spare. At once, the film is a tribute to native Filipino directors Cirio Santiago, Bobby Suarez and Gerardo de Leon,...