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The Damned
(aka Battle of Shaolin, Bandits Prostitutes and Silver, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow 3, Wu Tang Hos Thugs and Scrilla, Robbers Pros and Money)
1977; directed by Go Bo-Shu

Despite the wealth of old-school kung fu movies that were produced and released in Hong Kong during the 1970's, very few of them were helmed by women. An exception to this was Go Bo-Shu (aka Kao Pao Shu), who directed about a dozen pictures during the decade. For the most part, her entries (such as 1977's The Damned) weren't anything extraordinary, but still provided enough action to keep fans of chop-socky happy.

Even though Angela Mao dominates the cover art on all the various versions (my particular favorite being the horrible retitle from the low-budget company Xenon of Wu Tang Ho's, Thugs, and Scrilla) and is given top billing, the actual star is Don Wong, who plays Shang, a horsecart driver who is trying to earn enough money to buy his wife back from a brothel. But after several years, Shang only has a fraction of the cash needed saved up, and so he reluctantly agrees to help the bandit Sparrow (Man Kong-Lung) rob a shipment of silver belonging to the crime boss Pao (Lo Lieh). Of course, Pao doesn't take to having his goods stolen lightly, which leads to a bloody final confrontation.

The Damned

Angela (along with Phillip Ko) come forth later in the movie as the leaders of a clan of robbers who take pity on Shang and decide to help him out. The scenes with Angela are the best parts of The Damned, as she is a wonderful contrast to the usual weak "damsel in distress" take many female characters are given in kung fu pictures. The fact that she looks absolutely lovely and has a very cool special weapon in the form of mini-buzzsaws that spring from her shoes doesn't hurt matters, either. Her final confrontation with Lo Lieh is violent yet elegant, and definitely the high point of the film.

Unfortunately, the rest of The Damned doesn't rise to those heights. Action director Blacky Ko does a competent enough job, introducing other unique weapons into the mix such as wrist crossbows and flying guillotines, but the movie's boring set designs and flat shooting and editing style put a damper on a lot of the potential excitement that otherwise seemingly could have been generated by the fight scenes. And some mention should be made of the horribly annoying little kid sidekick whose constant imitation of Bruce Lee will make you want to hit the fast-forward button every time the brat pops his head on-screen. Overall, though, The Damned does enough things right that it brings back those warm fuzzy feelings of watching Kung Fu Theatre on lazy Saturday afternoons.

RATING: 5

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