Shaw Brothers Cinema: The Life & Death of the Great Alexander Fu Sheng Part 1

This is a special edition of the Shaw Brothers Cinema column. This is a multi-part look at the life of one of the biggest stars of Hong Kong Cinema told with lots of vintage B/W and color photos. Wednesday, October 20th is his birthday.

***DOUBLE CLICK A PIC TO SEE A LARGER IMAGE & READ THE ENGLISH TEXT WHERE APPLICABLE***


On Wednesday, October 20th, famed Shaw Brothers movie star, Alexander Fu Sheng would have been 56 years old. Taken far too soon from this world after a tragic car accident on July 7th of 1983, the bright, yet troubled actor left behind a healthy resume of films exclusively for Shaw Brothers studio. Fiercely loyal to Chang Cheh, the director that discovered him, the actor turned down lucrative offers outside the walls of Shaw becoming one of Asia's most beloved movie personalities.


Overcoming numerous obstacles such as alcoholism, rumors of infidelity and an alleged impending divorce from his songstress wife, Jenny Tseng, Fu Sheng still managed to give his all in the movies he appeared in. Featuring in some 40 productions (36 of which were lead, or major supporting roles), the enterprising young actor has transcended the shores of Hong Kong and other Asian territories to become a cult favorite all over the world. This multi-part tribute to one of the most jovial and playfully mischievous Chinese movie performers covers his career from the humble, ambitious beginnings all the way to the sad, tragic ending.


The plethora of pictures (nearly 40 for this article) are selected images from my collection of Shaw Brothers own promotional magazine publications, Southern Screen and Hong Kong Movie News between the years of 1973 through 1983.


Born Cheung Fu Sing in 1954, his English adopted name was Alexander, hence the oft used 'Alexander Fu Sheng', which graced the credits of many great Shaw Brothers productions for a prosperous decade. Above you'll notice revered director, Chang Cheh in the middle with Fu Sheng to the left of him.



On September 28th, 1972, Run Run Shaw and Yu Ching wei presented certificates to 45 graduates of the Shaw-TVB training center. You can see Fu Sheng in the photo below in the lower left corner as well as a shot of him receiving his certificate of graduation.


The actor training center, run co-operatively by both Run Run Shaw and HK-TVB was started in August of 1971. These 45 graduates (33 men and 12 women) were the first promising stars of the future. Some had already been used as extras in movies at that time and Fu Sheng was among those that got some early practice appearing before the camera.

The 45 graduates of Shaw's-TVB training school

Some of the actors early appearances were small roles in films such as MAN OF IRON (1972), the sequel to the runaway hit, THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972). He also appeared in small capacity in Chang Cheh's fun and light-hearted youth picture, YOUNG PEOPLE (1972). His first role of substance was in POLICE FORCE (1973), which was already shooting when Fu was receiving his graduating honors. He was 17 when he debuted before the camera.


Beginning production as THE INSPECTOR, Fu Sheng plays a young martial arts tournament champion who is murdered by some thugs. His brother (played by Wang Chung), wishing to get the men responsible, joins the HK police force to do so and struggles with his emotions as well as abide by the law. He later gets mixed up in a gangster's drug syndicate.

Fu Sheng clowning around with Lily Li

Fu Sheng next appeared in Chang Cheh's youth action drama, FRIENDS in 1974 co-starring David Chiang and Lily Li. The young actor really got noticed here as the son of a wealthy businessman who runs away from home and joins a small time, but honorable street gang led by a would be artist played by award winning action star, John "David" Chiang. Fu's character is kidnapped by a rival and dangerous gang and upon discovering his background, hold him for ransom.


Alexander Fu Sheng won the 'Best Young Newcomer' award at the 20th Annual Asian Film Festival for his performance. Above is a shot of Fu (at far right) and some of the cast of FRIENDS (1974).


The actor then joined Chang Cheh in Taiwan for, among other things, a string of true kung fu pictures about the Shaolin martial arts under the 'Chang's Company' banner, an "independent" production company set up by Chang Cheh to shoot movies for Shaw Brothers using funds the movie mogul could not take out of the country. It was here that Fu Sheng would undertake a role he would become universally synonymous with--that of famed Chinese folk hero, Fang Si Yu. He played this role four times in the films HEROES TWO (1973), MEN FROM THE MONASTERY (1974), SHAOLIN TEMPLE and SHAOLIN AVENGERS (both 1976).


Fu's performance personified the brash, rebellious youngster akin to the James Dean persona that fascinated Chang Cheh which he molded into his own style over his long, illustrious career. Fu Sheng made the role of Fang, the pseudo invincible warrior trained by his mother, the definitive performance that no other actor has been able to replicate to quite the same level of perfection.


Other films followed in this cycle such as the excellent SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS, the fan favorite FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS (both 1974), DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN (1975) and NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS (1976). The latter two had little relation to the previous 'Shaolin' movies save for featuring popular styles that emanated from the famous temple.

Fu Sheng battles Tsai Hung in this still from SHAOLIN AVENGERS (1976)

FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS was intended to have been the first movie, but problems during the filming caused it to be put on hold so HEROES TWO and MEN FROM THE MONASTERY were put into production ahead of it. HEROES was a hit while the MONASTERY crumbled. FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS, taking a year to complete and exhausting Shaw's in-extractable Taiwan capital was worth the expense in ticket sales.


The other films in this series proved profitable, too. SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS paved the way for the teacher/student dynamic that became the rage after the mediocre SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978) took kung fu in new, yet dismal directions; but extremely profitable just the same. DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN became Chang Cheh's biggest HK hit and arguably the finest acting performance of the fabulous Fu Sheng.

AD Wu Ma demonstrates a scene of affection between Fu and Chen Ming Li

NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS aka GRANDMASTER OF DEATH aka DEMON FISTS OF KUNG FU was a departure from the Chang Cheh super team dynamic. Fu Sheng would headline alone without the participation of his frequent co-star, the formidable Chi Kuan Chun (he, himself eventually left Shaw Brothers and started his own production company). The next four images are from NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS.

Behind the scenes of NEW SHAOLIN BOXERS (1976)

Just prior to the Shaolin films, Fu Sheng also starred solo in a fantasy picture about the mythological Chinese Gods. Here, Fu played NA CHA, THE GREAT (1974). The movie itself is no great shakes, but does contain some good sequences including a bizarre take on Chang Cheh's generous level of bloody violence. In an underwater kingdom, the minions that fall to Na Cha's fire spitting spear gush blue blood in slow motion arterial sprays.

NA CHA, THE GREAT

The special effects are terribly primitive, but some of them are not without some creativity. The picture moves at a snails pace, but it does feature a long string of fight scenes in the latter half including one against a Chinese dragon.

Fu Sheng as NA CHA, THE GREAT (1974)

In between Cheh's Shaolin cycle, Fu Sheng took part in several 'Cast of Thousands' epics, movies the director had been doing since the 2.5 million HEROIC ONES from 1970. These would be the war epic, SEVEN MAN ARMY (released in 1976) and BOXER REBELLION (1975). The former was based on a true occurrence wherein a handful of Chinese soldiers staved off an attack from invading forces for five days and nights. Several Chinese commanders who took part in the battles against the Japanese were consultants on the movie.

David Chiang (left), Fu Sheng (middle), Ti Lung (right); behind the scenes from SEVEN MAN ARMY

The film was made with the co-operation of the Chinese Defense Ministry and the Army Headquarters in Taiwan among other organizations. It was also during this time while shooting BOXER REBELLION in 1975 that Fu Sheng met someone that changed his life forever--Jenny Tseng aka Chen Ni. She was a popular singer who toured around the world and lent her voice to Chinese movies and television programs.

Cast photo during the making of BOXER REBELLION, December 1974

BOXER REBELLION was another historical epic based on a tumultuous time in Chinese history. Released in a seriously compromised version eliminated much of the films 137 minute running time as SPIRITUAL FISTS, the uncut version was finally released to DVD some 30 years after its original release. The last of the Shaolin pictures was released in the early part of 1977. That film was the sprawling SHAOLIN TEMPLE, an episodic 2 plus hour super production.

Shooting SHAOLIN AVENGERS and SHAOLIN TEMPLE (1976)

After the controversial political interference, the censoring and the subsequent theatrical disappointment of both SEVEN MAN ARMY and BOXER REBELLION, Chang's big productions were soon to be over.


Chang Cheh had one last war picture left on his slate. This one was the lackluster and inferior THE NAVAL COMMANDOS (1977). The monumental cast of SHAOLIN TEMPLE was retained for this last hurrah in this Shaw Brothers co-production with Taiwan's Central Film Company. The Taiwanese navy helped out in the making of the picture, but were unable to save it from mediocrity.

In this photo: standing--Lu Feng, Kuo Chui; kneeling--Chiang Sheng, Chi Kuan Chun, Fu Sheng; from NAVAL COMMANDOS (1977)

Towards the end of 1976, Ti Lung married Amy Tao, who also acted alongside him in some of his movies. Fu Sheng, who quickly became a close friend to Ti Lung is seen below with Jenny at Ti's wedding. It wouldn't be long before wedding bells would be ringing for Fu as well.





Fu Sheng is seen below in a role in the embarrassingly bad comedic kung fu caper, MAGNIFICENT WANDERERS aka MAGNIFICENT WARRIORS (1977). During production, it was known under the oddly titled BATTLE IN THE SOUTH SEAS.


On December 4th of 1976, Alexander Fu Sheng and Jenny exchanged vows. Their brief time together would be filled with both happiness and turmoil and finally tragedy.



Even on their wedding day, the happy couple have no problem letting the child within them shine through.



With Fu Sheng now married, he would continue working with Chang Cheh but would also branch out and sporadically star in movies for other directors. He would also soon become close friends with one of Hong Kong's and Shaw Brothers biggest stars However, the concluding years of the 1970's would prove to be a near career ending catastrophe for the trouble young superstar. Part two will continue into 1977 and on to 1980 in this multi-part tribute to the life of Shaw Brothers mega-star, Alexander Fu Sheng.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974) review

LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES 1974 aka DRACULA & THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES aka THE SEVEN BROTHERS MEET DRACULA

Peter Cushing (Professor Van Helsing), David Chiang (Hsi Ching), Julie Ege (Vanessa Buren), Shih Szu (Mei Kwei), Robin Stewart (Leyland Van Helsing), Chan Shen (Kah/Dracula), John Forbes Robertson (Count Dracula)

Directed by Roy Ward Baker

The Short Version: Cataclysmic clash of East meets West was just as harrowing behind the scenes as what ended up on screen. Shaw Brothers and Hammer make it all work in the end with a fun comic book flavored horror rendition of THE SEVEN SAMURAI paired with vampire lore.

To see more behind the scenes photos from LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES and also SHATTER, click here.


Professor Laurence Van Helsing travels to China to speak about his ordeals with the supernatural and discovers through an interested student that Count Dracula is alive and well and lording over a peasant village miles away from civilization. Taking his son and a wealthy lady traveler who finances the expedition, Van Helsing joins up with an honorable, yet vengeful Chinese warrior and his seven brothers, one of which is a feisty female fighter. They make their way to the village to protect it from Dracula and the dreaded golden vampires and their army of undead followers.

Shooting a night time scene; Southern Screen February 1974

1974 was the year of co-productions at Shaw Brothers studio. They had made numerous pictures with Korean film companies, but now they would work with American and European moviemakers. The worldwide success of KING BOXER (aka 5 FINGERS OF DEATH; 1972) had opened the floodgates for Bruce Lee and a cavalcade of kung fu killers. This success attracted various other movie producers from Italy, Germany and America. Great Britain was among them and the collaboration proved anything but fruitful.

Liu Chia Yung (left), Peter Cushing (middle) and Huang Pei Chi (right) make their way to Dracula's hideout

Roy Ward Baker has directed some of the finest examples of Hammer Films style of Gothic horror. Some of these are considered classics (QUATERMASS & THE PIT, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS), some were original takes on familiar material (DR. JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE) and some were far more gory than usual (SCARS OF DRACULA). LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES, the very first horror kung fu combo, falls somewhere in the middle. It's definitely an original take on a time worn tale and one that proved to be one of the most tumultuous, headache inducing experiences for both East and West.

Roy Ward Baker and David Chiang study the script between takes; Southern Screen Feb. 1974

Neither side were prepared for the culture clash about to take place. Both found the others methods of filmmaking to be perplexing to one another. Hammer wanted to shoot with live sound while the Shaw's shot silent and dubbed in everything in post. Hong Kong, at one time, used to shoot live sound, but later, they found it to be more economical to shoot silently since everything was going to be dubbed into different languages anyway.


Also, as opposed to being quiet on the set, the Shaw's crew had other things going on while shooting was taking place. This was disruptive to the British crew who obviously weren't used to it. Neither crew realized just how differently films were made and it resulted in some seriously bad feelings at the time. Reports of racism from the foreign crew towards the Chinese workers didn't help matters at all. Reportedly, Baker (and some of the other crew) was prejudiced against the Asian technicians constantly shouting aloud about them, which embarrassed many of the more understanding British crew. It got worse when the Shaw's were dissatisfied with the fight scenes Baker had turned out. At one point, the fight sequences were going to be re-shot with Liu Chia Liang and Tang Chia in control, but the production soon carried on under Baker's guidance.


Even though Baker, in a past interview, made statements that he directed the kung fu sequences better than the Chinese could, his action scenes (arranged by both Liu Chia Liang and Tang Chia; at the time, Liu was working as fight co-ordinator for the venerable Chang Cheh and desired to direct on his own which he did the following year with THE SPIRITUAL BOXER) do resonate with a certain degree of tension. This is especially evident during the first time we see the brothers in bloody battle against a Triad gangster. The finale is also well orchestrated and spectacular accompanied by a stirring score from James Bernard. The picture was very successful in Singapore and later in Britain. It did only moderate business in Hong Kong. Possibly due to their lackluster returns on their previous Hammer releases, Warner, despite the millions earned from their Shaw acquisition KING BOXER, sold the film off to a small time outfit where the picture was literally gutted with scenes rearranged from beginning to end without rhyme or reason.


After the disastrous reception received by the two modern day Dracula's, Christopher Lee was adamant that he wouldn't be appearing in any more Hammer vampire movies. According to Michael Carreras in 'House of Hammer' #17, "When we saw the finished picture, we thought the Kung Fu parts of the film were much more exciting than the Dracula sequences, so we cut a version without Dracula...what we had was a very good Chinese action-adventure/Kung Fu frolic but unfortunately in that form it was too short so we had to put Dracula back in." Most critics make fun of John Forbes Robertson's make up, but I never really paid all that much attention to it. He looked dead and that was fine by me. More successful is prolific actor, Chan Shen's portrayal as Kah, whose body is possessed by the bloodthirsty Count.


Chan Shen was a contract player at Shaw Brothers whose career began back in the early 70's. From that time, he amassed an incredible amount of character roles with most of them as nasty villains. Some of the juicier ones are as a Japanese in THE DEADLY KNIVES (1972), a sex crazed rapist in INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN (1972), another rapist in THE KISS OF DEATH (1973), the Centipede chief in WEB OF DEATH (1976) and yet another despicable rapist/slave trader in the deplorable LOST SOULS (1980). He did play a good guy in Chang Cheh's INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN (1978) as a teacher. Chan had intense, piercing eyes and the film would have worked just fine with him playing the main antagonist.


David Chiang is impressive as the leader of the seven brothers. He speaks very good English and impressed his occidental counterparts, especially Peter Cushing and Roy Ward Baker. Chiang came to prominence after he got critical notices from his supporting role in Chang Cheh's avant garde tragedy, DEAD END (1969) starring Ti Lung. From there, he featured mostly in swordplay and action films, but did partake in a drama, or two. He was better suited to Wuxia adventures, but occasionally the choreographers made him look good performing kung fu. His skills are convincing here in this visually impressive production.

Shi Szu during a break in filming; Southern Screen February 1974

One thing is for certain--the Shaw's were able to instill an epic feel that Hammer couldn't have done at the time. Compared to the other strange vampire picture from the company, CAPTAIN KRONOS (1972), the Shaw-Hammer co-production is the better film in my opinion. KRONOS has a TV movie feel and outside of some fun ideas and quirky moments, the action pales when compared to Baker's movie. GOLDEN VAMPIRES looks like a hellish version of SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) while KRONOS is simply bland.


This movie also has something that KRONOS doesn't have and that's Peter Cushing. The gentle old man of horror always brings something to even the lower level pictures he appeared in. If he was miserable on set, it doesn't show. Cushing was 60 when this film went into production in 1973 and gets down with some kung fu of his own during the battle royal at the conclusion. He battles the golden vampires, their zombie slaves and then finally Dracula. Van Helsing had more to do here than probably all his other ventures combined.

Peter Cushing battles the undead minions of Dracula and the Golden Vampires

Other people to look out for are the lovely Shih Szu, swordswoman extraordinaire who filled the boots of Cheng Pei Pei after she left Shaw's to get married. Liu Chia Liang's brother, fellow director and choreographer Liu Chia Yung (TREASURE HUNTERS 1981) has a role as one of the brothers as does choreographer Huang Pei Chi and actor Tino Wong (INVINCIBLE ARMOR). Also, the sensual Julie Ege doesn't mind getting her hands dirty as the adventurous Vanessa Buren.


Despite all the turmoil in getting it made, the director seems to have grown fond of the movie over the years and did have nice things to say about working in Hong Kong (Set Designer, Johnson Tsao and David Chiang for instance). For many years this picture was given the cold shoulder by most Hammer fans. The plot and the preponderance of Chinese and kung fu in the film seem to turn people off who are more accustomed to the more familiar European settings. Still, a lot of those same people (including some of those that worked on the film) seem to have warmed to the late Roy Ward Baker's movie over the years. It's quite a fun picture with lots of action and some stylish set pieces.

This review is representative of the Anchor Bay DVD