The son (Carter Wong) of murdered Yang family officials masters kung fu at Shaolin Temple and emerges to wage war against the treacherous Tin Erh-keng (Chang Yi), his two lieutenants (Sammo Hung, Hau Pak-wai) and the perilous Tien Lo Set 17-man fighting formation. His only ally comes in the form of the beautiful and fierce adopted daughter (Polly Kuan) of Erh-keng.
The year 1976 saw the release of no less than four kung fu classics starring Carter Wong as an avenging hero trained at Shaolin. Three of them, including 18 Bronzemen, Blazing Temple, and Return of the 18 Bronzemen were directed by Joseph Kuo and were ambitious and entertaining films for having relatively small budgets. But the best of the bunch was Sung Ting-mei’s Traitorous.
With a plot that mirrors 18 Bronzemen closely, Traitorous features emphasis on training and more competent direction that fleshes out the characters and story while providing much more violent action featuring limb hacking and eye gouging. Sammo Hung gets top billing for his popularity, but Polly Kuan steals the show with a career best performance of on screen martial arts combat that cements her status as one of, if not the top martial arts heroine of all time.
The plot should be quite familiar. As a child, Yang witnesses the murder of his parents by three kung fu masters. His father, a Ming loyalist was kicked out of his political post and now a Ming traitor named Tin Erh-keng (Ching Yi) and his two lieutenants magnificently ride in on horseback to finish them off. Sammo Hung and Hau Pak-wai do most of the dirty work in a gruesome fight to the finish. Yang’s mother dies wearing a bracelet with bells on it and this becomes an important plot device throughout the film as years later, he carries the bracelet and its sound reminds the killers of their deed. This is reminiscent of Sergio Leone’s unnerving use of a music box in the ‘spaghetti Western’ For a Few Dollars More and is nearly as effective. The child finds his way to Shaolin and patiently waits outside until admitted and is later accepted as a student by one of the elder monks. The training is painlessly short compared with other Shaolin tales and consists of carrying buckets up stairs, leaping out of pits, and actual combat training. One important skill is his ability to puncture objects with his fingers, as his main foe shares the same ability. Although the ‘Bronzemen’ make an appearance as statues, Yang has no trouble leaving the temple ready to find the killers and make mincemeat of them.
With his back story told, Yang now becomes the nameless hero who wanders into town and aids the afflicted while searching for the killers. An unexpected foe comes in the form of a woman named Hisao Yun-erh (Polly Kuan), Tin’s adopted daughter. She challenges Yang in one of the better teahouse confrontations. The match is unresolved, although Yang has the upper hand in more ways than one. Ultimately, Yang has to deal with Hsiao, figure out a way to get past a wild kung fu multi-man formation known as the Tien Lo Set, and defeat the lieutenants in order to challenge Tin himself.
The Tien Lo Set is one of those puzzling aspects of kung fu movies that will leave some people forever shaking their heads in befuddlement. A drummer pounds out various rhythms that cause fighters to leap onto the shoulders of their comrades to form a three-man high formation. Any fighters who are knocked down by an attacker simply leap back up again. This highly impractical, but entertaining routine climaxes when the fighters bust out a giant net to ensnare their opponent and the formation becomes the ‘Tien Lo Net.’ Gimmicks like this one are common in kung fu movies, but rarely are pulled off with enough skill or creativity to be worthy of praise. I’ll say they did a fine job and if it seems too improbable, then Ching Yi’s occasional flying or Carter Wong’s mammoth leaps should go under the same scrutiny. But why bother when it’s so much fun?
The director of this film, Sung Ting-mei, is not well known and this is only the first of a handful of kung fu classics he is known to have directed. But he seems to have had a rather good grasp of what it takes to tell a story visually, and not just film 90 minutes of people hitting each other. First off, everyone in this film looks good. Chang Yi is in top form as a villain capable of ripping your chest open with his fingers and burning holes through your skull with the intensity of his eyes. This is the Chang Yi fans dream of seeing and even if you don’t know who I am talking about, you’ll appreciate his performance. He uses a claw technique and his form looks spectacular. Carter Wong seems more distant in this role, but physically looks as powerful and dynamic as ever. Rare for his early film appearances, Sammo Hung’s weight is not a factor in defining his character. He wears a white wig and elaborate robes that obscure his girth. His performance is not what his fans would generally prefer as he is cast as a vicious villain, but he does it well. Aside from his climatic match with Carter that includes some three-section staff use, his kung fu is not anywhere near as brilliant as the stuff he would direct himself over the course of the next six years.
By now you should know I’m saving the best for last. Polly Kuan is on fire in this film. She’s a beauty with real physical skills who pours everything into her action performance much the way contemporary starlets like Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh do. One big difference being that this level of intensity from a female star in the mid-’70s was rare as very few of them were actually martial artists or stunt performers outside of doing acting. Polly displays something else as well, namely charm. I think it is fair to say she owns this film, despite having less screen time and fewer action scenes than Carter.
The kudos for Traitorous do not end with the actors. The orchestral and early synthesizer music, though heavily ripped from James Bond films and possibly Tangerine Dream, is spot on in its use for the most part. The editing and pacing is above average as Sung takes more time than usual to set up confrontations in order to build impact. The choreography nicely mixes exaggerated fantasy with more realistic sparring and is never dull or repetitive.
There is more than enough quality kung fu and excitement packaged with a refreshing polish in Traitorous to satisfy old school fans. If for no other reason (and there really are plenty), check it out to see Polly Kuan aggressively clobber her way through the film with a fetching, wry smile.
Related Topics:
Carter Wong • Chang Yi • Genre: Kung Fu • Genre: Shapes • Polly Shang-kwan • Sammo Hung • The Traitorous (1976)
