New! King of Fists: the Legendary Lau Kar-leung

The origins of kung fu cinema can be traced back in time to a handful of pioneers, visionaries who first comprehended how kung fu routines and stage battles could be translated into film magic. These innovative souls, people like Ren Pengnian and Wu Lizhu, Hung Chung-ho and Chin Tse-ang, Yam Yu-tin, Yuen Siu-tin, and Wu Pang, were veterans of opera schools, martial arts training halls, and Shanghai film studios. Coming together in Hong Kong after war and revolution had wracked the Chinese mainland, they forged a new art, the art of action direction. The lively give-and-take of wushu fist and weapon forms was combined with special effects to bring tales of heroism to life. Highbrow critics may have deplored the low budget productions, but audiences loved the stories of justice and revenge and bullies smacked down by noble swordsmen and feisty women.

Left: Kung fu movie icon Lau Kar-leung with Gordon Liu and Yuko Mizuno on the set of HEROES OF THE EAST. Right: Lau in MY YOUNG AUNTIE.

The medium of film is young enough that only two or three generations separate the first kung fu filmmakers from the headliners of today. Much like the lineages found in traditional kung fu schools, Chinese action filmmaking has been passed from father to son (and daughter, in the cases of Yu So-chau and Yam Yin), and master to student. One of the most influential cinematic lineages of the 20th century is that of the Lau family.

Lau Cham was a student of Hung Gar kung fu master Wong Fei-hung’s student Lam Sai-wing. In the world of southern Chinese boxing, that’s like saying you learned to drive from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Lau Cham was one of the Hung Gar experts recruited by director Wu Pang for his enormously popular series of films about the life and exploits of Master Wong. By 1954, Lau was playing his own sifu in the films. He also worked with opera-trained martial actors like Sek Yin-tsi and Law Yim-hing on the Fong Sai-yuk series, as well as in 1950’s THE STORY OF LUK AH-CHOI, an early film adaptation of the life of Wong Fei-hung’s own sifu. In 1951, he joined the cast of Wu Pang’s all-star epic THE BRAVE ARCHER, based on a famous kung fu novel. In all, Lau Cham choreographed or appeared in at least 71 films.

Left: Flyer for WONG FEI-HUNG WINS THE DRAGON BOAT RACE (1956) with Lau Kar-leung. Top right:: Flyer for THE BOXER FROM NANHAI (1954) with Lau Cham. Lower right: Lau Cham.

Two of Lau Cham’s sons followed him into the film industry, Kar-leung and Kar-wing. Lau Kar-leung (also known as Liu Chia Liang) would dominate the Hong Kong action industry in the 1970s, but at age 16, when he picked up his first film credit along with his father as “martial arts choreographer” in 1953’s CROSSING YUANYANG RIVER BY NIGHT, he was just one of many would-be stuntmen looking to make a living, albeit one with a better pedigree than many. Lau Cham and his sons found regular work in the long-running Wong Fei-hung series and its many spin-offs and look-alikes. Besides Wu Pang, they worked with other genre directors like Ren Pengnian and Lee Tit. Lau reminisced about his days as a stunt performer in the semi-documentary RED TROUSERS (2003), recalling that “back then, you couldn’t make a living if you don’t let them beat you up. I wasn’t handsome enough to be the leading man and, being a stuntman, I had to fight.”

Magazine ad for SOUTH DRAGON, NORTH PHOENIX (1963).

The long hours and hard work paid off eventually. The young stunt performer’s growing reputation for innovative choreography, especially when he partnered up with another youthful kung fu actor named Tong Kai, led to a golden opportunity for the duo. In 1963, Wu Pang was planning to direct a new martial arts movie called SOUTH DRAGON, NORTH PHOENIX. He wanted something new for the action, something audiences had never seen before. He hired Lau Kar-leung and Tong Kai as action directors. The film was a success, and a new trend in kung fu movies was born.

In this clip from THE BLONDE HAIR MONSTER (1963), part of a series about a righteous thief named Wong Ang and her all-woman gang, Lau Kar-leung fights Connie Chan. The fight is a goof, with exaggerated reactions from Lau’s scuzzy punk. The comic timing between Lau and Chan is a delight.

Read King of Swords: the Groundbreaking Choreography of Tong Kai
Read The Early Choreography of Lau Kar-leung and Tong Kai: ‘Jade in the Red Dust, Part 1′

Tags: Lau Cham, Lau Kar-Leung, Wu Pang