Secret of the Shaolin Poles, The (1977)

To avenge the death of his friends, Shaolin hero Fong Sai-yuk (Mang Fei) engages in a classic duel atop booby-trapped Shaolin poles against a merciless Japanese boxer (Yasuaki Kurata).

Expert kung fu moviemaker Lau Kar-leung is best known for his classic genre films produced by Shaw Brothers like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, but he also took time out in between to dabble with independent productions. One such example is The Secret of the Shaolin Poles, a film Lau choreographed and appropriately so. It’s a revision of a famous incident in the life of Fong Sai-yuk, a Southern Shaolin folk hero frequently brought to life onscreen in Hong Kong. As a real-life student of Southern Shaolin kung fu, Lau no doubt had a personal interest in this film. Needless to say, the action scenes are excellent while the combined star power of Mang Fei, Yasuaki Kurata, Dorian “Flash Legs” Tan, Chang Yi, Doris Lung, and Lau’s brother Kar-wing all come together to produce a terrific old schooler.

Fong Sai-yuk is the most mischievous of the famous kung fu heroes who emerged from Southern Shaolin Temple after it was destroyed. He died young and is generally portrayed onscreen as a boyish and charismatic kung fu prodigy prone to playing tricks. In the West, Jet Li may be best known for playing Sai-yuk in Fong Sai Yuk (1993) and its sequel. But Donnie Yen, Willie Chi Tin-sang, and Alexander Fu Sheng are just some of the other kung fu stars to take on the guise. For Shaolin Poles, the gregarious Mang Fei suitably takes up the mantle again after playing Sai-yuk in Prodigal Boxer (1972) where he battled Yasuaki Kurata for the first time.

As a rebel fighting against Manchu oppression, Sai-yuk is a fugitive wanted by the Qing officials and revered by the local Han people. When two of his associates are captured and put to death, Sai-yuk arrives to get revenge. What he finds is that an imposter named Fang Ting (Lau Kar-wing) is posing as him in order to enjoy the spoils of being a local hero. A brothel brawl settles that little discrepancy and the two end up friends. A local official named Commander Ma (Chang Yi) plans a trap for Sai-yuk by baiting him into a duel with Japanese boxer Dragon Lei (Yasuaki Kurata), a man looking to avenge the death of his brother by Sai-yuk. They battle atop tall poles surrounded by sharpened bamboo stalks that promise a quick death for whoever should fall. Unfortunately for Sai-yuk, the poles have been booby trapped and he finds himself about to lose. His friends step in to save him at the last minute and though badly wounded, Sai-yuk makes his escape. A crippled former boxer named Mai-chiu (Dorian Tan) takes Sai-yuk to a secluded seashore to train in preparation for an inevitable rematch. After Sai-yuk’s mother and his girlfriend (Doris Lung) are taken captive by Ma, Sai-yuk returns prepared to fight on the deadly poles.

The whole film, which is appropriately titled, revolves around the fighting on Shaolin poles. According to popular legend, Sai-yuk did fight a famous duel on elevated poles and killed his opponent. If true, the way it’s portrayed here is undoubtedly fantasy. That’s just fine though, because the end result is a film with some wild action. The gimmick is the traps. Through some magical means, Kurata causes poles to split apart under Mang’s feet and bamboo stalks to fly up from the ground. Lau Kar-wing battles Kurata on the poles first, as a warm-up of sorts and to show the gruesome effects of landing on sharpened bamboo stalks. Kurata is definitely one of the better screen fighters of the era, but Mang isn’t quite up to the same standards. He spent much of his later career playing luckless sword heroes in Taiwanese wuxia flicks after a brief stint at Shaw Brothers. However, he acquits himself well and certainly fits the character, both in look and mannerism. His iron fan display is not up to Jackie Chan’s Young Master level, but it’s good enough considering that most of it is performed on poles.

Kurata has a grand old time with his villainous role. He slaps around the Chinese whore he’s bought and when he finds out that she has a crush on Sai-yuk, he uses her to taunt him. Then he kidnaps poor Doris Lung, attempts to rape her once and then threatens to do so on the poles! He karate chops coffin lids into pieces and sneers with delight as Mang flounders in one of the pole traps. Kurata has been in better action roles, but this is definitely one his more colorful.

Dorian Tan has a supporting role and its interesting that this expert leg fighter should play a cripple. Thankfully, that doesn’t stop him from dishing out some potent leg work when called for. Doris Lung appears in a non-action role. Her struggle is her jealous rivalry with the prostitute and this results in some mildly humorous exchanges. As the lead villain of the piece, Chang Yi is in his natural element. His kung fu work is saved for the end and though it’s not as exciting as the pole fights between Kurata and Mang, it’s a solid finish with Chang’s long spear giving him the advantage over Mang’s iron fan. Be prepared for an abrupt ending.

With Lau Kar-leung’s direction, it’s not surprising that The Secret of the Shaolin Poles has good kung fu action. As a bonus, the story is simple, yet well structured and interesting. Also, the acting is reasonably good for a budget brawler. Production values are not so hot and the Fong Sai-yuk legend gets twisted a little. But all around, this a very good feature with memorable performances from some of the best kung fu actors of the day.