Golden Needles (1974) review

 

GOLDEN NEEDLES 1974

Joe Don Baker (Dan Mason), Elizabeth Ashley (Felicity), Jim Kelly (Jeff), Burgess Meredith (Winters), Ann Sothern (Finzie), Roy Chiao (Lin Toa), Frances Fong (Su Lin), Tony Lee (Kwan), Si Ming (Su Lin), Fong Wah (Lotus), Sonny Barnes (Claude; as Clarence Barnes)

 

Directed by Robert Clouse

 

The Short Version: Imagine a movie about a boisterous Texas thief living in Hong Kong's underworld assigned to track down a golden statue that gives its owner youthful energy and a powerful libido. Add a bunch of familiar faces from Hong Kong martial arts movies, some big name American stars, a witty script and a ten minute foot chase through Kowloon's Walled City and you have a nifty little B-movie from the makers of ENTER THE DRAGON (1973). It's fun even if it's not pure action movie gold.

 

The search is on for a mysterious golden statue made for the Sung Emperor. The statue and its seven needles representing seven vital acupuncture points, bring youthful vigor and sexual prowess when applied correctly. If not, they bring about a brutal death. Master thief from Texas, Dan Mason, is hired to find the elusive statue and gets in trouble with Triad killers along the way. It's an adventure that begins in Hong Kong, moves to Los Angeles and back to Hong Kong.

 

GOLDEN NEEDLES (1974) is one of the weirdest martial arts pictures of the 1970s. An American production shot on location in Hong Kong, the film opens with an outrageously wild sequence wherein an old man in a wheelchair (Hao Li Jen, veteran player of over a hundred Shaw Brothers pictures) receives the fabled needles that restores his ability to walk. Surrounded by four prostitutes, the elder is barely in the bedroom before two men in fire-retardant suits enter and open fire with flamethrowers, turning everyone into extra crispy chicken tenders. A wacky movie throughout, it never attains this level of absurdity again; at least not till a maniacal Burgess Meredith shows up wearing an enormous, multi-colored bow tie.

 

 

There were a lot of movies like this throughout the 1970s of varying quality and substance. There was DYNAMITE BROTHERS (1974), BLACK BELT JONES (1974), KILL OF BE KILLED (1976), DEATH MACHINES (1976), DEATH DIMENSION (1978), CIRCLE OF IRON (1978), KILL THE GOLDEN GOOSE (1979) and A FORCE OF ONE (1979) to name a few. Kung Fu pictures enjoyed a degree of popularity they would never enjoy again. With the global success of ENTER THE DRAGON (1973), it seemed logical the makers would follow that hit with another potential moneymaker.  

 

In what was to have been the first of a series of HK spy flicks, George Lazenby was initially set to star in what was being called, 'The Golden Needles of Ecstasy'; instead, he was replaced by Joe Don Baker who was enjoying the notoriety that the major Drive-in hit WALKING TALL (1973) was bringing him. 

 

In late 1973, it was also reported that Angela Mao and Cheng Pei Pei would be Lazenby's co-stars. Even though he didn't take the role, the one-time James Bond did work in Hong Kong pictures, making a few films for Golden Harvest like STONER (1974), THE MAN FROM HONG KONG (1975) and A QUEEN'S RANSOM (1976).

 

 

Like Lazenby, neither Pei Pei nor Angela Mao Ying appeared in the movie. Instead, Eurasian actress Si Ming (billed as Frances Fong) was the lead Chinese actress alongside leading American actress Elizabeth Ashley. Later in her career, Si Ming would do acting work on the stage and even hosted some paranormal television programs. She had been dating Lee Ka Ting since 1970 so her impressive strikes and kicks were likely due to him, making Pat Johnson's American-style choreography easier for her to pull off.

Lee Ka Ting has a supporting role as Lin Toa's main henchman. He was an actor in dozens of movies and a martial arts director in even more. He worked in many HK movies, particularly for the Shaw Brothers. He appeared in small roles in Chang Cheh's films and later moved up to choreographing them in pictures like NAVAL COMMANDOS and CHINATOWN KID (both 1977). When director Chang was making his 4th Generation films starring the Venoms, Chang became increasingly frustrated with the work done by famous martial arts instructor Leung Ting. The director remarked at the time how he was contemplating replacing Leung with Lee Ka Ting, noting how slow Lee was but preferable to the frustrations Leung was causing. Ultimately, Chang didn't bring Lee back, but did get rid of Leung Ting, giving Lu Feng, Kuo Chui and Chiang Sheng the opportunity to join forces and bring a much more satisfactory style of action design to the screen. 

 

If you've watched many Shaw Brothers pictures from the 1970s, you've assuredly seen Lee in the background somewhere. He would eventually move up to martial arts director which paid more than the numerous bit actor parts he was getting. He joined the industry in 1965 and worked on movies for other companies like Cathay and independents. Like many others, Lee moved into television. As stated above, he was dating his co-star, the aforementioned Si Ming at the time. The two would marry in 1977.

 

Leading the cast of this martial arts curio is Joe Don Baker. A memorable actor with a distinguished and imposing Texas drawl, Baker was an unsung action hero in the 1970s. He had some great lead parts throughout the decade; but unfortunately, too many Drive-in style pictures may have diminished his momentum into the 1980s. He was great as the one-armed confederate soldier who briefly clashes with Bernie Casey before siding together as two of the GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1969). He was also in good company as one of the disturbed Vietnam vets in WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER BOYS (1971). Baker's career got wider notice after playing Steve McQueen's brother in Sam Peckinpah's JUNIOR BONNER (1972); and took off in a big way once the box office receipts came in for his starring role as real life Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser in the original WALKING TALL (1973). Big ticket crime films came that same year for Joe Don with CHARLEY VARRICK and THE OUTFIT. 

 

 

Another crime picture, the brutal and underrated FRAMED came in 1975 and reunited Baker with his WALKING TALL director Phil Karlson. The actor's title role as MITCHELL (1975), a cult favorite DIRTY HARRY style cop thriller, was directed by veteran western film and TV director Andrew V. McLaglen. After the widely panned and misunderstood MITCHELL, Baker starred in a series of Drive-in style pictures like the wasted opportunity, CHECKERED FLAG OR CRASH (1977); then the obscure western spookshow THE SHADOW OF CHIKARA (1977). With crash n' burn car chaser flicks being big business in the late 70s, Baker did a really good one, although it's not well known; that being SPEEDTRAP (1977). One of his best was THE PACK (1977), arguably the best killer dog movie of that sub-genre. This film saw Baker being directed by Robert Clouse again.

 

 

The actor still got good roles in the 80s and 90s, but any leading parts were relegated to low budget pictures like FINAL JUSTICE (1984) or main bad guys in the comedy JOYSTCKS (1983) and the actioner GETTING EVEN (1986). 

 

Elizabeth Ashley plays Felicity, a delightfully mouthy broad who always finds herself in a predicament. The love interest to Baker's Dan Mason, the script spends a good deal of screentime with them. It never gets boring as there's plenty of witty banter between the two. It's another area where the filmmakers were obviously trying to differentiate themselves from the flurry of Kung Fu pictures emerging all over the place just a year after the world market exploded with them due to the board-breaking success of FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH (1972s KING BOXER); followed by Bruce Lee's fist and kickers, FISTS OF FURY (THE BIG BOSS) and THE CHINESE CONNECTION (FIST OF FURY).

Ashley is highly entertaining in the movie and a key reason it's as engaging as it is. She and Joe Don Baker work well off each other so it's a shame we didn't get at least one more adventure with the two co-stars.

Roy Chiao Hung is a formidable bad guy, playing the gangster Lin Toa. He conveys a great deal of villainy with his facial expressions and muted tone. If you're not a huge fan of martial arts pictures, particularly those of the Chinese-language variety, then you've likely see Chiao in several American-made martial arts-action films.

A cultured man, he spoke several different dialects and was fluent in English. An army interpreter in the 1950s, he would soon get into the film industry where he quickly met the woman he'd marry in 1958, a dubbing artist named Liu Yan Ping. He appeared in a variety of movies, predominantly for independent companies, including Golden Harvest before they became a major studio and after. His first film role was in Chang Cheh's first time out directing in STORM OVER ALISHAN in 1949. Other filmmakers he worked with include King Hu, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.

 

Mainstream audiences will remember Chiao best as the gangster menacing Dr. Jones at the beginning of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984); one of the main villains in THE PROTECTOR (1985); and Jean Claude Van Damme's martial arts teacher in BLOODSPORT (1988).

A devout Christian, Chiao founded a Christian Fellowship in Hong Kong. He passed away after suffering several heart attacks in April of 1999 at the age of 72.

One of the fun things about this movie is picking out the numerous HK film actors, some of whom would become famous over time. Richard Ng is one such performer seen in GOLDEN NEEDLES. He plays a gangster here, but he would become famous for his comedy roles. If you're a HK film fan, you will know him from the LUCKY STARS series of films. Some of his other related or similar pictures are CARRY ON PICKPOCKET (1982), WINNERS AND SINNERS (1983), the quartet of films in the POM POM series, YES, MADAM! (1985) and THE MILLIONAIRES EXPRESS (1986).

 

Rounding out the American cast....

Jim Kelly has what amounts to a guest star turn playing another partner to Joe Don Baker. Kelly was a real life Karate champion and taught the arts in his own school; but when it came to on-screen fighting, he seldom looked good doing action sequences. Pat Johnson was the fight designer on GOLDEN NEEDLES but Kelly wanted to do the honors for his one fight scene.

 

The choreography is what you'd expect from an American production; although the Asian performers look the best doing American-style MA choreo. Baker does a surprisingly good job in his fight scenes with his "hunched-over" style when tossing people through windows or glass doors that always seem to be nearby in all the fight scenes.

One of GOLDEN NEEDLES' most prestigious participants is Ann Sothern, a multi-Emmy nominated actress of stage and screen and comedienne. A close friend to Lucille Ball and the star of a few television shows, Sothern was a businesswoman and singer. In the 1970s when her movie career began to wind down, she did a handful of Drive-in type pictures like the underrated THE KILLING KIND (1974), CRAZY MAMA (1975) and THE MANITOU (1978).

He's best known for his TWILIGHT ZONE appearances, playing The Penguin on TV's BATMAN series, and playing Mickey Goldmill, the ill-tempered boxing trainer to ROCKY (1976); Burgess Meredith is probably the last person you'd expect to see in a martial arts movie. An award-winning actor, once he hit his late 60s-early 70s, he took on an occasional quirky role like many of his colleagues did during their career twilight years. There's really no need for Meredith's flamboyant crime boss character, but it's another weird element to the script that probably would've been expounded upon had the film been a hit and a sequel made.

 

It's not 24 karat Kung Fu cinema, but GOLDEN NEEDLES is certainly a fun little movie with a list of actors you'd never associate with the genre. If you're looking for something similar, and in a closer vein to the Hong Kong style, then the US-HK co-pro CLEOPATRA JONES AND THE CASINO OF GOLD (1975) comes highly recommended. But as far as weird 70s actioners go--and for Joe Don Baker fans--there's a bounty of value in this minor nugget of vintage American martial arts action.

This review is representative of the Kino Lorber blu-ray. Specs and extras: 2.35:1 1080p anamorphic widescreen; audio commentary with Howard S. Berger and Chris Poggiali; image gallery; radio spots; theatrical trailer; reversible artwork; running time: 01:32:15

 

Reel Bad Cinema: Crocodile (1979/1981) review

 

CROCODILE 1979/1981 aka CHORAKHE aka CROCODILE FANGS

Nat Puvanai (Dr. Anthony Akom), Tanny Tien Ni (Angela), Min Oo (Dr. John Strom), Angela Huang An Qi (Linda)

 

Directed by Won Se Lee (credited to Sompote Sands)

 

The Short Version: This multi-Asian co-production with one of the most convoluted 'making of' histories, has a few absurdly entertaining moments even if the sum of its parts equals a giant CROC of shit. JAWS made waves in Southeast Asia (as it did everywhere else in the world)--leading to a spate of Asian-style disaster movies. CROCODILE, on the other hand, is a disaster of a different kind--in its chaotically edited, Tsunamically awful English-speaking export version brought to you by exploitation connoisseurs Herman Cohen and Dick Randall. 

 

Nature strikes back after atomic testing sends a giant crocodile to snack on vacationers and wipe out small villages in Thailand. Three men--two doctors and a crocodile hunter--who apparently were the only three on Earth to never see JAWS head out to sea to kill the supernatural reptile and discover too late they needed a much bigger boat.

A favorite video store rental back in the 1980s due largely to its eye-catching artwork, if you were one of the many that rented CROCODILE, you were likely disappointed or possibly even thankful if you were having trouble sleeping in those days. A pan-and-scan nightmare on VHS, things are modestly improved in the widescreen format in this blu-ray presentation from Synapse. 

JAWS (1975) redefined movies back in 1975 (till STAR WARS came in 1977 and changed every aspect of cinema forever). With Spielberg's shark movie making major moolah all around the world, companies like Shaw Brothers--who distributed the Great White horror in SE Asia in 1976--were determined to break the US market with a blockbuster of their own. Shaw's, as well as other SE Asian film companies, and other industry personalities, wanted to show audiences there was more to Hong Kong cinema than Kung Fu fighting. 

What Shaw's really wanted to do in 1976 was to make TAIPAN with a major American studio and a Hollywood budget to match. They'd even built new air-conditioned facilities to accommodate foreign crews filming there. While that project simmered, the thinking was to catch international attention with a JAWS-like thriller. Shaw's had collaborated with Warner Brothers on CLEOPATRA JONES AND THE CASINO OF GOLD in 1975, a large-scale and fairly large budget action movie blending the Black Action and Kung Fu genres. 

 

A more ambitious sequel to 1973s CLEOPATRA JONES, the movie did poorly in both America and Hong Kong. Blaxploitation had peaked in 1974 and KF flicks were flooding the market exclusively through small outfits by 1975. JAWS took a big bite out of the industry and everything changed. The first Hollywood blockbuster, the $100 million grosser made unprecedented numbers in foreign markets as well.

 

A shark movie wasn't practical for Hong Kong, so a movie about a giant ape was more feasible; and with a KING KONG remake going into production at Paramount, so came the cult favorite THE MIGHTY PEKING MAN (1977). While times were hard for independents and other Asian markets, Shaw Brothers had the capital to go it alone. 

 

Sadly, STAR WARS came out in 1977 and made a monkey out of KING KONG while changing the entirety of the American movie industry virtually overnight. 

By 1976 in Southeast Asia, markets like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, etc, put stricter regulations in place on how many Hong Kong movies they'd import. Sex was becoming more permissive as was an increase in violent content; both of which were heavily censored in markets like Malaysia and Indonesia. This, along with other market-crushing factors, impacted the HK film industry in that other territories weren't going to take just any movie anymore.

 

 

These other markets decided to focus more attention on building up their own local film industries. To compensate, Chinese companies partnered with other Asian producers to share in the cost of shooting co-productions. 

 

Shaw's did the same, helping other territories like Malaysia build their industries by sending some of their directors and talent pool to other countries to participate in these co-pro deals. 

Unfortunately for Hong Kong, Anglo-audiences weren't interested in anything but Kung Fu, and even that was losing favor with theater patrons. Major companies were no longer interested, but smaller ones were. So you had the US-Korea co-production, A*P*E* in 1976 (a movie featuring a ridiculous sequence where the giant gorilla battles a shark); and that same year, Taiwan filmmakers signing with American porn director Michael Findlay to make two Kung Fu epics using his then new 3D process; and then there was the Thai-Korea-Hong Kong three-way, CROCODILE.

 

Crocodiles are enormously popular in Thai folklore and a huge part of their culture. Thailand is the epicenter of crocodile farms with hundreds of thousands of them bred for purposes of food, clothing and medicine. Then there's the famous Krai Thong legend of Chalawan the Crocodile King.

 

CROCODILE was one of, if not the first movie of its kind, although it almost wasn't. ALLIGATOR was in pre-production in America in 1976, but wasn't made till four years later. About the only similarity that carried over to Lewis Teague's movie from its early inception was the gator ended up in the sewer system.

 

Run Run Shaw did finally get on the JAWS bandwagon, late though it were, co-producing BLOOD BEACH (1980) with American producer Steven Navelansky. Then in 1981, American exploitation producer, Dick Randall, who was good friends with Huang Chien Lung, aka Bruce Le (who often made Kung Fu movies in exotic Asian countries), bought the rights to the Thai giant reptile movie and re-titled it CROCODILE.

 

The movie has a murky history that is made slightly more clear by the film's apparently real director, South Korean filmmaker Won Se Lee. According to him, the movie was shot in 1977 and released in 1978. What's most striking about his interview on this blu-ray release is he is totally unaware that he is not the credited director on the film. 

 

For decades, the film has been viewed as the work of Sompote Sands, the founder and CEO of Chaiyo Productions (who passed away in August of 2021). He is also the man who tried to put Tsuburaya Productions out of business in a fraudulent effort to steal their ULTRAMAN properties; as well as illegally producing films ripping off Toei's KAMEN RIDER series. That Sands may have taken credit for someone else's work seems feasible considering the above-mentioned two-decades+ long court battle against the Tsuburaya company.

It could also be argued that Sands altered Won's work enough to get away with keeping his name off CROCODILE's release version (in Thailand and seemingly everywhere else in the world), as it has sequences culled from other sources. Some of the croc footage is reportedly from a different movie, too.

 

What sometimes happened in those days with multi-cultural co-productions is there were times where you would have two directors--one for the HK market and, in this example, one for the Korean market. 

 

If this was the case with CROCODILE, Won Se Lee would have been assigned as director of the version for release in the Korean market. This would basically be the same movie just with sequences exclusive to Korean theaters. Meanwhile, the film is released elsewhere in the world without a clue as to who actually directed the movie.

The film doesn't appear to have been a hit anywhere it played outside of Thailand--since there were more locally made croc movies that surfaced in its wake.

Judging the English cut only, it's both a dull and fairly terrible movie with a few sequences so spectacularly shoddy you simply can't look away. However, the original Thai version appears to be far more cohesive than the slipshod, drunkenly edited edition Dick Randall concocted for American release. There's even one brief scene that's repeated but with different dialog dubbed over it.

The "best"  parts are an extended assault on a Thai village that plays far better in the Thai version. Randall splits the sequence in two, so later in the movie you'll wonder why you're seeing the same people being swallowed up a second time. What's frustrating is there are decent shots in the Thai original that didn't make it into the US version.  One of these is a lengthy attack by the big croc and a valiant father who fights it off; and a striking shot of a large number of body parts descending to the bottom of the river (seen in the extras on the blu-ray).

 

Elsewhere, laughter is derived from the title reptile's glow in the dark eyes (that looks like the filmmakers strapped two flashlights to a piece of wood); and in probably the film's funniest moment, the image of the enormous critter pole-vaulting over a toy boat in a bathtub.

 

There's some nice miniature destruction although it's not known who did what. Sompote Sands (or Sompote Saengduenchai) is always credited with doing the SPX, yet Kazuo Sagawa worked on the film. It wasn't his first time on a Thai picture, either. 

 

Sagawa studied under Eiji Tsuburaya in the 1960s, became a camera assistant, and worked his way up to Special Effects Director on THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN series that ran from 1971-1972. In 1974 he worked on some co-productions with Sompote's Chaiyo company that Tsuburaya Productions probably wished they'd never partaken in considering the thievery and lawsuits that followed.

 

As mentioned earlier about Southeast Asian markets working together for mutual cooperation to bolster their respective entertainment industries, this included Japan, too. Chaiyo's CEO Sompote Sands wanted to import Japan's ULTRA shows as well as co-produce with them as superhero programming was popular outside its native Japan. Two movies were made in conjunction with Chaiyo, those being JUMBORG ACE AND GIANT and THE SIX ULTRA BROTHERS AND THE MONSTER ARMY. Kazuo Sagawa worked on both of these, although only the latter title would see release in Japan.

 

In 1995, Sands mounted a relentless offensive against Tsuburaya Productions to claim worldwide ownership of their ULTRA properties; asserting that Noboru Tsuburaya--who had just died in 1995--had signed over rights to a number of their shows in the 1970s due to money Noboru allegedly borrowed from Mr. Sands that he was unable to pay back. 

 

The new CEO of Tsuburaya, Kazuo Tsuburaya, was naturally skeptical of this out-of-the-blue deal since Noboru never mentioned its existence in the 20 years it was said to have been written; not to mention that Mr. Sands waited till Noboru was dead before going public with it. 

 

This led to a series of unnecessary court battles wherein Sompote Sands quite literally attempted to steal a property that never belonged to him. He had already illegally appropriated Toei's KAMEN RIDER character when they refused to co-produce features with him.

As for Kazuo Sagawa, he would also work on the first two of three co-productions with the Rankin-Bass Corporation; those films being THE LAST DINOSAUR (1977) and the massive cult favorite THE BERMUDA DEPTHS (1978). At some point before, during, or after these two American projects Sagawa worked on CROCODILE, alias GIANT CROCODILE.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Sagawa would lend his talents to Hong Kong productions as well. Shaw Brothers Production Manager Cai Lan, who was fluent in multiple languages including English and Japanese, had a great working relationship with Japan and was a good friend of Sagawa's.

 

As for Sompote Sands, his 20+ year crusade to crush Tsuburaya Productions and lay claim to creations that didn't belong to him finally came to an end in 2018 with the Japanese giant retaining properties that belonged to them in the first place.

 

One the acting front...

 

The Shaw Brothers had nothing to do with CROCODILE, but a Taiwanese actress who worked on many of their movies had a supporting role in it to help with the marquee value. Tanny Tien Ni's contract with Shaw's allowed her to be a freelance actress. She'd been in the industry since 1969 and was something of a controversial individual in those early days; she was a bit of a wild card. 

She'd made headlines in 1971 for having an open affair with filmmaker Mou Tun Fei, who was married at the time. He did eventually separate from his wife and promised marriage to Tien Ni. Mou Tun Fei, of course, was the director most famous for the 1988 endurance test that is MEN BEHIND THE SUN. Prior to that infamous horror film, he'd already made a name for himself with nihilistic movies like A DEADLY SECRET and LOST SOULS (both 1980). 

 

Mistresses weren't encouraged, but it was part of the Asian culture at the time. What made this occasion different was it was being done right out in the open as opposed to keeping it as private as possible. 

 

When Tanny realized Mou wasn't going to marry her, the next high profile affair she was involved in was with British actor Robin Stewart; whom she met while he was in Hong Kong starring in THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974). Stewart was so taken with her, he wrote an article in Shaw's Hong Kong Movie News about their love that was possibly leading to marriage... it didn't.

She would then enter into a healthy and stable relationship with popular Swordplay actor Yueh Hua. The two married in December of 1975 and remained together till Hua's death in 2018.

 

There's nothing special about any of the performances in this movie, but there's an attempt to create sympathy for Dr. Akrom who has lost his wife (rather poorly) to the crocodile. It's impossible since there are so many instances where scenes begin and end so randomly. Either the original production didn't have time to fill in the gaps or this was due to Randall's scissor fingers.

If you can handle the awful experience you're in for, you may notice there's some things in CROCODILE that show the director was trying to make a professional movie--particularly where camera placement is concerned. Unfortunately, the English cut is so appallingly edited, these moments may likely pass you by.

 

 

What makes CROCODILE somewhat, and unintentionally, worthwhile is the wildly disparate croc shots. The film uses what looks like a 25ft, virtually immobile model; a real croc on miniature sets; a croc head for close ups; and a tail for some splashing scenes. None of these ever match up. The critter looks normal sized in one scene and as big as Godzilla in the next. This is one of the film's charming qualities--there just isn't enough of them to make the movie endearingly bad; it's just outright bad.

 

There is, however, some nice natural disaster footage at the beginning that is from a different movie called LAND OF GRIEF. And 92 minutes of grief is what most will be getting.

 

Amazingly, CROCODILE, the last picture distributed by Herman Cohen, does have a fanbase; so if you're a lover of bad movies, Asian horror and giant monster flicks, you might just do a death-roll over this Far Eastern saltwater Croc schlock.

This review is representative of the Synapse blu-ray. Specs and extras: 1080p anamorphic widescreen from the original 35mm camera negative; Interview with original director Won Se Lee; deleted and alternate scenes; original trailer; English subtitles; audio commentary with Lee Gambin; nude slipcover limited to 1,500 units; running time: 01:31:48.