Dubei dao (1967)

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writers:

Cheh Chang (writer)
Kuang Ni (writer)

Release Date:

26 July 1967 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

An evil gang attacks the Chi school of Golden Sword Kung Fu. One student sacrifices his life to save his teacher and his school...

Plot Keywords:

Sword | Whip | Fishing | Dismemberment | Martial Arts

Cast

Yu Wang	...	Fang Kang
Chiao Chiao	...	Hsiao Man
Chung-Hsin Huang	...	Wei Hsuan
Yin Tze Pan	...	Chi Pei-erh
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pei-Shan Chang	...	Sun Hao
Hsiung Chao	...	Ah-Hsien
Chuan Chen	...	Chi student
Lei Cheng	...	Teng Chung
Yanyan Chen	...	Madam Chi (as Yen-yen Chen)
Lung Chiang	...	Chi student
Yuan Chieh	...	Lu Chen
Siu Loi Chow	...	Bandit Hsu
Dan Fan	...	Sun Hao's Chi sidekick
Mei Sheng Fan	...	Kuo Sheng
Li Jen Ho	...	Grandpa Wang
Lin Ye Hsiao	...	Chi student
Chin Hsu	...	Chi student
Liu Hung	...	Chi student
Feng Ku	...	Fang Cheng
Hao Li	...	Chi student
Chia-Liang Liu	...	Ba Shuang
Chia Yung Liu	...	Chi student
Kang Liu	...	Wu Yuan
Cliff Lok	...	Chi student (as Chin Tung)
Mars	...	Festival kid with mask
Chia Tang	...	Ting Peng
Ti Tang	...	Smiling Tiger Cheng Tien-shou
Feng Tien	...	Chi Ju-feng
No Tsai	...	Bandit Ma
Choh Lam Tsang	...	Waiter
Tsai Pao Tung	...	Bandit messenger
Kuang Yu Wang	...	Pei Hsun
Shih Chieh Wang	...	Cheng disciple
Tsing Wang	...	Chi student
Chih-Ching Yang	...	Long-Armed Devil
Shi-Kwan Yen	...	Chi student
Cheung-Yan Yuen	...	Chi student
Woo-ping Yuen	...	Chi student

Directed by
Cheh Chang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Cheh Chang		writer
Kuang Ni		writer

Produced by
Runme Shaw	....	producer

Original Music by
Fu-ling Wang

Cinematography by
Chen San Yuan

Film Editing by
Hsing-lung Chiang

Art Direction by
Ching-Shen Chen

Makeup Department
Yuen Fang	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yuan Shen Huang	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Yung-Hua Wang	....	sound recordist

Other crew
Chia-Liang Liu	....	action director
Chia Tang	....	action director

Production Companies

• Shaw Brothers

Distributors

• Concorde Film (197?) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Dragon Dynasty (2007) (USA) (DVD) (special collector's edition)
• Intercontinental Video (2004) (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The One-Armed Swordsman (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:111 min (restored print)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (2007) | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Movie Connections:

Referenced in DragonBlade (2005)

ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN - the seminal HK martial arts film

THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967) is often cited as Hong Kong's first real martial arts film, i.e. with emphasis on martial techniques, styles and training rather than on clan politics, corrupt officials, and court intrigue. Star Jimmy Wang Yu is much more intense here than in most of his previous starring roles (e.g. TWIN SWORDS and TRAIL OF THE BROKEN BLADE) and his fighting is much more ferocious. Overall, this is a bleak, somber film, with occasional tearjerking and melodramatic moments. The darkly handsome Wang Yu brings the right tone of brooding and melancholy and makes the climactic moments of violent outburst quite satisfying.

Wang Yu plays Fang Kang, a martial arts student whose right arm is chopped off in a sudden confrontation with his master's impetuous daughter and then must learn how to fight with his left. He runs off and finds a simple farm girl, Hsiao Man (Chiao Chiao), to take him in and care for him. She has a half-burned old swordfighting manual which she gives to Fang to teach himself left-hand sword techniques. Her father had died after a sword fight (over the book) and her mother had started to burn it. Her mother had warned her to never fall for a sword fighter and she urges Fang never to fight. However, after he is humiliated by some martial arts students when they try to flirt with Hsiao Man, Fang resolves to fight again.

Fang is forced into action when his former master, Teacher Chi, and his students are attacked by Long-Armed Devil who has called on evil swordsmen, including Smiling Face and his two loutish students, to raid Teacher Chi's school during Chi's retirement party. Long Arm gets things rolling by sending his two henchmen to kill any students they can waylay. The henchmen have a sword-lock on their swords with which they can trap the opponents' swords and slay the opponent with a right hand dagger to the belly. Ultimately, only Wang Yu's short, broken sword is capable of counteracting the sword-lock.

Wang Yu returned to the role of Fang in THE RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1968), which is even more focused on swordfights and bloodshed (and is also reviewed on this site). He later left Shaw Bros. to star in ONE-ARMED BOXER (1971), which, along with his last Shaw Bros. film, THE CHINESE BOXER (1970), was a seminal film in the budding kung fu genre.