Jade Bow, The (1966)

One half of a martial arts book is stolen and the owner, Li Fan-shan is killed by Meng Sheng-tung. Twenty years later, Meng’s daughter (Ping Fan) and a young hero (Fu Che) are caught up in an attempt by Meng to take the other half of the book from Li’s daughter (Chen Sze-sze) and brother.

Before master choreographers Lau Kar Leung and Tang Chia became the premiere action directing team at Shaw Brothers, they came together for the first time to construct the action for The Jade Bow. The film was a hit at the time of its release and it’s not hard to see why, even today. It’s set in the colorful “jiang hu” underworld where pugilists with near superhuman abilities fight for martial secrets amid grand palaces and hidden lairs with deadly traps. It features a great cast including two lovely leading ladies, Chen Sze-sze and Ping Fan. Add dazzling costumes, an adventurous musical score, romantic angst, and a frosty variant of the “Wonder Palm” and you have a fine martial arts classic.

If I wasn’t certain that the plot structure had not already been established in the earliest days of Hong Kong’s film history, I would say that The Jade Bow set the framework for hundreds of kung fu movies to come. The story begins with a hero named Chin Shi-Yi (Fu Che) being instructed by his dying master to correct a mistake he made twenty years prior. Through flashback we learn that he failed to stop a devilish fighter named Meng Sheng-tung from stealing the first volume of a martial arts instruction book and killing it’s owner. In the struggle, Meng’s wife is killed. She had carried their infant daughter on her back. This girl ends up in the hands of two heroes who raise her to be a righteous woman named Ku Chi-hua (Ping Fan). At the same time, the infant daughter of the book’s original owner grows up in the care of her uncle to become a spunky beauty named Li Shen Nan (Chen Sze-sze). Shen Nan’s uncle had also taken the second half of the book and with Shen Nan, hidden himself from Meng in an underground lair full of traps.

Back in the present, Shi-Yi ventures forth to fall in love with Chi-hua and become her protector, while a lonesome Shen Nan mischievously attempts to divert his affections to her. After a series of adventures, events turn deadly with our three main heroes caught in the middle. In hopes of securing the second book, Meng plots to kill Shen Nan’s uncle, who plans to counter with a devious attack of his own.

The Jade Bow is a great film, but it could go underappreciated by today’s audiences based on the classical treatment that appears stuffy by today’s standards. Aside from one gruesome scene near the end, the film shies away from gratuitous bloodletting and even a kiss between Fu Che and Chen Sze-sze noticeably takes place off camera. The placement and movements of the actors have a staged, yet poetic feel that could be compared with Hollywood’s pre-1940’s era. One could even compare this film with classic Western films starring Roy Rodgers. Like the sequin shirts and other fancy duds that singing cowboys of old would don for a romanticized depiction of the old West, this film offers up early Ching-era heroes in wildly colorful and silky garments with flowery accessories. The best example must be the uniform of Meng’s soldiers who look like sword-wielding bakers in large puffy hats.

The swordplay is fun to watch, but very methodical. There is an obligatory outdoor teahouse fight that is the most playful and establishes two of our main heroes’ abilities. The “Jade Bow” from the film’s title refers to a small jade bow that belongs to Shen Nan. The unintentionally comical way that she fires it reminds me of a scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) where “Hubert” limply shoots an arrow out of a castle window. The same bow or one that looks similar is put to more devastating use as a booby trap near the end. Some fantasy elements are also included. Once his palms become blackened with power, Meng has the ability to freeze hot tea or cause internal injury to his victims. Also, characters will frequently drop out of hiding in the high branches of trees. Speaking of trees, the entrance to the underground lair would make the Keebler elves proud. A false door on the trunk of a large tree opens up to a descending staircase.

Fans of vintage film should really enjoy these many charming facets. It’s also important to note that Hong Kong experienced the same popular culture revolution in the ’60’s that most free societies did and this is reflected in their films. The Jade Bow could be considered one of the last of its kind to represent an older generation, before audiences began to demand grittier and more realistic martial arts action. Comparisons aside, this is a fun adventure classic that should be seen, if for no other reason than to be bedazzled by the charms of its leading ladies.