What's good people? Hai! Karate comes back with another madcap martial arts film to cover, and being that it is Women's History Month, we're going to get into a key film in the career of the Iron Phoenix, Judy Lee aka Chia Ling!! The film? Queen Boxer!! This flick comes to the public straight from the independent Fung Ming Motion Picture Company. Now there's a couple of reasons why this film gets a look here, and we'll cover those soon. But first - the action!!
Queen Boxer begins with a fighter by the name of Ma Yu Chen who
heads to a restaurant to settle a score with the big boss(Lee Ying)
and his gang of cutthroats. Now cutthroats as a term applies 'cause
after Yu Chen wrecks the squad on hand, he somehow gets ambushed
and winds up dead in a gruesome manner. It turns out that this
group happens to be the infamous Axe Gang of Shanghai. And on
their rampage, they happen to massacre a family. But what they
didn't plan on was, that one member of the family would get wind
of this - and seek revenge.
Ma Su Chen(Lee) arrives in Shanghai after a slightly drawn-out
intro complete with a jacking of Issac Hayes' 'Shaft Theme'. It's
not the only bit of music that was boosted, as we'll get to. Su
Chen comes to rest at a rice bun shop run by Fan Kao To(Peter Yang
Kwan), a local who is fed up with gangs trying to terrorize folks
to the point where he refuses to pay protection. As he stands up
to the Axe Gang subordinates, Su Chen winds up fighting off one or
two of them herself, performing a bit of instant dentistry in one
case. Kao To winds up running a casino due to his stance, and he
and Su Chen wind up teaming up to fight the big boss and the rest
of the Axe Gang for some overdue justice.
I won't lie to you - Queen Boxer does have some snooze-worthy parts
to it. Lee gets introduced early, and doesn't have much major action
until nearly halfway through. Now - she DOES thoroughly bust some
heads in this flick. Lee proves exceptional when it comes to handling
knives, as evidenced in one scene where she catches a blade and
whirls to take out someone in a fluid motion. She stands out in
this picture, and while it's not hard to do given the cast(Yang
Kwan is aight, but no one else really grabs you), the film does
stand out because of her. The action director, Wu-Min Hsiung, more
than likely just told her, 'we're going to really highlight how
fierce you are - so go get em!' This sentiment was probably shared
by the director, Florence Yu Fung-Chi - who also happened to be the
producer. She and the Fung Ming company would have this as their
only spark of notice, a spark that got snuffed out quickly because
of some fibs being told. First one? The film got advertised as a
'sequel' to Shaw Studios' Boxer From Shantung, which starred Chen
Kuan-Tai and was a hit that same year. Another aspect was how Judy
Lee got her Western moniker. Apparently, Fung Ming(which was owned
by both Fung-Chi and Peter Yang Kwan)was looking to maximize their
profits with the film. That's why they jacked music not only from
Issac Hayes, but also from Shaw flicks and others. It explained
why, according to legend, they shot the film in ELEVEN days. And
it also was the motive behind making Chia Ling as Judy Lee in order
to pass her off as the iconic Bruce Lee's sister in promotions for
the film. When the jig was up, Judy wound up being the scapegoat
and drew the wrath of those fooled in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Now it
is up for debate whether the film company did this on purpose. In
any event, Judy dealt with the situation as best as possible. A tough
thing when it is your first film. As for Florence Yu Fung-Chi, it
was her attempt to be a major director and producer, a tough go for
a woman - this was the time where women didn't have the higher
prominence outside of acting, not until Mona Fong's rise with
Shaw Studios a couple of years later. Not even her prior work as
a minor role actress could help further her ambitions in that sense.
Or should we say, second? Because Lee's first film is listed as
Escape, and there's not too much more info to be found about this
film made in the same year by the same company with Yang Kwan in
the lead. Lee was only eighteen, and in this film, she shows off
the first glimpses of a fighting style that combines raw power with
crisp and graceful presence that would ensure Lee's popularity and
be a trademark for the rest of her acting career. She'd be part
of the new wave of fierce heroines in martial arts films of the
1970's that would include Angela Mao, Nora Miao, and Li Ching. But
for Judy, a good deal of her roles would resemble what you find in
Queen Boxer - straight roustabout beatdowns. For those who want
a film with a loose plot and a chunk of bloody action, check this
out with a bag of popcorn to kill some time and to get some knowledge
on how the Iron Phoenix got her start.
RATING: 2.5 OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
(German trailer)
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