Last Updated on October 2, 2020 by rob
When pretty Kaiyun Yang (Cheng Pei-pei) uses a whip to break up a fight in the village guesthouse she works at her exceptional prowess attracts the interest of swordsman Wang Jianxin (Hua Yueh), formidable Kung Fu master Hong Dapeng (Ku Feng), some thugs known as The Serial Trio and a gang called the 16 Bandits of Yanyun. All four come to believe Yang’s Uncle must be fugitive Fang Chengtian (Tien Feng), a notorious criminal they’ve all been chasing who 15 years before slaughtered an official’s family and bodyguards with a whip and made off with some priceless jewels.
A modestly satisfying Shaw Brothers entry distinguished by the charisma of stars Pei-pei (looking fantastically cute in a fur trimmed winter cape) and Yuah of Come Drink With Me fame, the striking snowbound setting and a plot that offers enough twists and turns (the introduction of Hong Dapeng, walking across snow without leaving any footprints is an especially nice touch) without overcomplicating itself. Despite some rather feeble wirework and ill-advised overcranking in order to speed up some of the action most of the fight scenes are energetically staged and an impressive showcase for the agility of Cheng Pei-pei. She’s a real star; burning with righteous indignation at the aspersions cast on her Uncle and kicking serious ass – with a whip no less (a refreshing change from the standard swordplay stuff).
It’s fun to watch Yang wrap her whip around a foe’s sword or spear and pull it from his hands straight into the body of another luckless adversary. More than once we see Pei-pei fight off dozens of adversaries in lengthy single takes that are a testament to just how fit and well trained these Shaw players needed to be. It’s so different from modern action movies where everything is broken down into itty-bitty little cuts because the actors aren’t fit enough or trained enough to do the moves. Also of note are the striking snowbound, mountain locations which make a spectacular backdrop for the action. And I love the music cues ripped off from late 60’s James Bond movies. Appropriately enough for a snowbound adventure like this some of John Barry’s marvellous score from OHMSS crops up here. There’s a real adrenaline thrill in the way these cues are combined with the sometimes razor sharp editing that more than compensates for Wei Lo’s workmanlike direction.
