REVIEW: ‘The Deadly Duo’ (1971)

Chang Cheh directs arguably his greatest leading men, Ti Lung and David Chiang, in this short, but action-packed martial arts classic. It’s probably most notable for being one of, if not the first Hong Kong martial arts movie to feature an all-male cast. This was a significant departure from most martial arts films of the past that usually featured women in leading roles.

The film’s story takes place at the end of the Northern Sung (or Song) Dynasty (around 1126) as Jin forces occupy the north of China and have taken Sung Prince Kang prisoner. He is the likeliest candidate for fleeing south to form what would become the Southern Sung Dynasty and it falls to a group of martial heroes to rescue him. The only trouble is that he’s guarded by the Jin Emperor’s leading enforcer Man Tien-kuei (Guk Fung) and his band of deadly and cunning fighters. The first rescue team is routed and imprisoned. Enter hero Bao Ting-tien (Ti Lung), who leads a second team to rescue the rescuers. Alas, they only escape with a single survivor (Wong Chung), but he possesses critical knowledge of the prince’s whereabouts. All they must do to reach him in a fortified camp is to cross a rotting bridge with the help of a light step kung fu expert (David Chiang).

There really isn’t much to this movie in terms of plotting. It’s a “men on a dangerous mission” flick with the unnecessary use of a flashback to tell its initial story and isn’t too compelling until a final desperate fight. The main gimmick is crossing a bridge and the way it’s handled is plain silly. Unable to wait for the light step expert to show up, some of the heroes decide to cross anyway and predictably fall to their deaths as the wood gives way. You’d think they would have considered roping up beforehand, but no. Lack of rope is no excuse either as soon afterwards, a hero is able to quickly gather a sizable length of vine for Chiang to use as he nimbly makes his way across.

On a happier note, the action scenes are full of that old-fashioned, blood and guts vigor as fighters are impaled by spears, riddled with crossbow bolts and cut down by the dozen with axes and swords. A lot of outdoor photography is used, the best of which appears on and under the water as the battle rages on large rafts.

Action directors Tong Gaai and Lau Kar-leung predictably craft some terrific group actions sequences in the foreground, however, they leave the poor extras in the background with little to do but noticeably dance back and forth while jabbing at empty space with their spears. I put the blame on Chang Cheh, for in Lau Kar-leung’s own movies, you rarely see even screen-fighting extras go to waste.

The scene that really makes the movie worth watching is the finale as Ti Lung and Chiang fight their way out of the enemy’s camp and to the shore for a desperate escape via boat. It’s classic heroic bloodshed from master Chang Cheh, as the duo make their bloody last stand.

Chiang gets the flashiest moves as charismatic Little Bat, with his rope and hook weapon in hand. Ti Lung isn’t overshadowed though in scenes where he wields an oversize axe with skill. One of few old school kung fu movie veterans to cross over into Hollywood is the buffed Bolo Yeung, who has a sizable role as the villainous River Dragon. His shtick is duel-wielding a hammer and dagger, and using water as cover. Director Chang uses tricks like warriors hidden in trees and underwater that would reappear years later in his classic Venoms picture Five Element Ninjas (1982).

The Deadly Duo is generally a fun watch, although with a thin story hedging on a overly simplistic plot device and only a modest Ti Lung and David Chiang match-up, compared with superior works like Anonymous Heroes and Vengeance! With its all-male cast and emphasis on gimmicks, it definitely foreshadows the campy films that Chang would direct a decade later, mostly with his Venoms crew.