Connie Chan Po-chu: Paragon of Sword and Knife (1967-68)

Paragon of Sword and Knife (1967-68)
Director: Chan Lit-ban
Cast: Connie Chan, Suet Nei, Kenneth Tsang, Lee Kui-on
Publisher: Tien Seng; Format: VCD
English subtitles: No
Full credits and synposis from the HKFA online catalog

Strange, that I missed this movie. I thought maybe it never came to NYC but someone else on the Web said it had. I must have missed it, so it’s a good thing we can watch Chan Po-chu’s movies nowadays and relive our childhood again. This movie was made in 1968, so Chan’s physical stature is different than when she did the older mo hup movies and when she played the naïve and helpless girl in the modern dramas. Her face seems longer and thinner. But it’s good to see her in a mo hup movie again. She’s so much better portraying the hero and not the victim. Paragon of Sword and Knife has so many characters that it is hard to follow who is who and who does what to whom. Basically, the story is about Tso Siu-pak and how he learns the techniques of sword and blade to avenge his family and to rid the martial arts world of all evil. You can really feel Siu-pak’s pain and anguish throughout the film. When he kills the bad guys and triumphs, you can’t help cheering.

The story begins with the Tso family on the run. The parents are played by veteran actors Sek Kin and Ha Ping. Lee Kui-on plays the sister Man-kuen. Our idol Chan Po-chu plays the youngest son. At this point you wonder why everyone wants to kill them. Siu-pak is fifteen and has been running since the age of seven. He asks his father why all these people are trying to kill them. His father says, “If they kill us, they can learn any form of martial arts, and I cannot tell you the reason why, because that would hurt your mother’s reputation.” Even after the end of the movie, I am still not quite sure what she did wrong. In the scenes that follow, Siu-pak’s family all die. Weeping, he reluctantly flees to safety across the poisonous Bridge of Life and Death. On the other side he meets up with the best swordsman Kei Tung and the best bladesman Heung-o, who both teach him their techniques. After five years, Sifu Kei tells Siu-pak to go back across the bridge and avenge his family. On the other side he meets up with Cheung Yuk-yiu (played by Suet Nei) who is watching two guys fight: Ko Kong and Wong Wing (played by Kenneth Tsang Kong). Yuk-yiu says that their masters fought each other to see who is supreme but wound up killing each other. Likewise, the two guys constantly fight each other to see who is supreme, but because they are best buddies, they try not to hurt one another. So they’ve devised a plan whereby they will pledge their lives to anyone who interferes with their feud. It’s a silly plan, but it works when Siu-pak decides to stop them.

The three of them go into town and see dying people being carried away on stretchers. Little do they know that Siu-pak’s sister Man-kuen did not actually die and is now proceeding to kill everyone who was involved with the murder of her parents. She uses a sword inscribed with the words “Sow Hung Zhi Keem” (Revenge Hate Sword). Because Siu-pak and the guys have arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time, they are suspected of the recent killings. They are confronted by a group of swordsmen, and Siu-pak fends them off until he gets attacked from behind. Luckily, Yuk-yiu comes to the rescue. So now we know that she has feelings for Siu-pak. Our heroes then meet up with Man Leung who has been sent to find Siu-pak by this guy named Fan, who is somewhat like the Nostradamus of China and knows everything about the current situation of the martial arts world and about who will save them all. Fan has instructed his disciples, the blind Suet-kwan and the dumb Suet-yee, to help Siu-pak find the person behind the death of his family and make the martial world wholesome again. Henceforth, the Fan sisters decide every move our heroes make, including naming the group the Golden Blade Gang and nominating Siu-pak as the leader. After being ambushed by their enemies, Siu-pak is poisoned and has to go into deep meditation to heal himself. Meanwhile, Yuk-yiu wonders to herself why Siu-pak has not returned her feelings for him. Could he be in love with one of the Fan sisters? What she said was: “Doesn’t he know I love him? How can he love someone who is handicapped.” Nowadays you’d get sued for saying something like that! The next thing you know, our heroes are surrounded again by enemies. Now, Siu-pak is great with a sword and blade but not so good if someone decides to fight dirty; he doesn’t know what to do or how to react. I guess his techniques are righteous so he doesn’t know how to defend himself in an ambush. Good thing the Fan sisters are there. While he remains deep in meditation, they successfully protect him from harm. Strangely, one of the attackers looks just like his mother. How can anyone kill someone who looks like their mother?! She mysteriously tells him that he will soon have his chance for revenge. Meanwhile, the Fan sisters heal another one of the attackers, who had been brainwashed by Sing Kuan, the mastermind behind the murder of Siu-pak’s family. Grateful for their help, he vows to help the Golden Blade Gang.

At the beginning of part two, our heroes meet up with this ugly looking dude named Hang Wun. One of the four chiefs of the four major sects who were murdered 13 years ago, he was the only one to escape. The chiefs were poisoned by their best and most trusted disciples, who then took over their positions as heads of the sects. To get all these people involved can only mean there is a mastermind behind the whole thing. So our heroes go to Shaolin Temple to confront Sing Kuan. Trying to find out the truth is like pulling teeth. Yat Chi, the head of Shaolin, is apparently not a good person, but because of that Buddha staff that he holds, the other monks just obey his commands. When our heroes confront him by bringing out Hang Wun as proof of the plot, he orders the monks to attack them. At this point, you know that Yat Chi is part of Sing Kuan’s masterplan and that he gave him the Shaolin martial-arts book. After a lengthy battle, the heroes escape from the temple and then try to infiltrate Sing Kuan’s gang. Disguised with masks, they meet up with Man-kuen, who is pretending to be loyal to Sing Guan so she can slowly diminish his army. She soon discovers that Siu-pak is one of the heroes, and brother and sister are finally united. Thanks to the woman in white, she knows where Sing Kuan is hiding. So off they go! In the final scene you see some guy dressed in all black with a veil over his hat—he is the mastermind Sing Kuan who devised the plan to murder the chiefs of the four major sects, get their martial-arts books, and then conquer the world. He was once the disciple Ching Yee Lo Yan, who was known for experimenting with facial changes—like a Dr. Nip and Tuck. Long ago he was in love with Siu-pak’s mother but was rejected by her. The woman in white who looks like Siu-pak’s mother is actually his mother’s elder sister who was made to look like his mother. Furthermore, both sisters were in love with Siu-pak’s father. Maybe that was the big secret! So Sing Kuan did all of this out of revenge and love for one woman?! Well, needless to say, Siu-pak slices Sing Kuan with his blade and avenges his family’s death. The Shaolin temple book is returned to the monks, and the Fan sisters decide to marry Ko Kong and Wong Wing. Marrying the talented Fan sisters is an honor, so the guys can’t say no, plus they are pretty ladies. To complete the happy ending, the Fan sisters act as matchmaker for Siu-pak and Yuk-yiu, but not before she plays a little hard to get.

Personally, I think this was a good movie but nothing beats the mo hup movies Connie made with Siao Fong Fong. The chemistry between them is just so much more complex and their love interest is easier to feel. Nevertheless, in Paragon of Sword and Knife, Chan is excellent as the hero seeking revenge. The torment on her face: I felt it!

Reviewed by Sue Guttilla