Hopping for a better life, Tan Tung, a country pumpkin who is also an expert in martial arts, swims from mainland China to Hong Kong to live with his grandpa. He soon learns that finding a job there is a struggle since he doesn't own a local ID card. Being rather resourceful, he sets up a makeshift illegal stall selling freshly hand squeezed orange juice on the streets. Eventually, he gets involved with a local gang boss Tsui Hao (Wang Lung Wei) who later sets him up by planting heroin on him. With the police also after him he has no choice but to flee Hong Kong. A relative helps him relocate to San Francisco's Chinatown where he finds a job in a restaurant. Being naïve and longing to get rich quickly he ends up working for a local gang and before long he is indeed living the good life as he moves up the ladder but all at a price.
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“Chinatown Kid” is more or less a modern adaptation of “The Boxer from Shantung” from 1972, co-directed by Chang Cheh and starring Chen Kuan Tai but set in America instead of Shanghai. All the elements are here, corruption, a plot concerning a poor humble young man with kung fu skills seeking fortune in a big city and getting involved in gang warfare, basically a rags-to-riches story. Nonetheless, Fu Sheng shines as Tan Tung, the uneducated but street tough native from China; he is brash and charismatic. As the lead protagonist he sure commands the screen with both his personality and fighting skills and he is no doubt a delight to watch.
While in San Francisco, Tan Tung meets and bonds with a student from Taiwan Yang Chien Wen (Sun Chien) while looking for a job. They both end up working as kitchen hands in the same restaurant and share the same tiny room above the kitchen. Being a bookworm, Yang is a total contrast to Tan's character, but he is gentle and polite and he is there on a scholarship solely to get his degree. Both are willing to work hard though being exploited, Tan sees him as a “good responsible person” unlike himself who is there mainly to escape from the law. Though this is his debut role, Sun is impressive and a natural who shows a good range of acting skills while hiding behind his black heavy frame glasses. The final fight with the gang members, in which he cuts loose with his incredible kicking skills, is a sequence well worth waiting for.
The supporting cast is worth a mention; Lo Mang plays the boss of the Green Tiger gang Hu Ti, a menacing and head strong character while Philip Kwok portrays the nasty head of the rival White Dragon gang Hsiao Pai Lung. Elsewhere, Chiang Sheng and Lu Feng turn up briefly as nameless gang members mostly in the background but they do get a few close-ups at times. Interestingly, these talented martial artists together with Sun Chien will team up a few months later in Chang's 1978 classic “The Five Deadly Venoms” and achieve worldwide cult status.
Choreographed by Robert Tai Chi Hsien and Lee Ka Ting, the mostly above average unarmed combat fight scenes are solid and fluid throughout. although they are less spectacular in nature. The action gets more violent and bloody by the last reel in which knives and shotguns are being used. Unfortunately, the studio-built of the San Francisco Chinatown and the unpaved streets look fake and dusty; furthermore the use of right-hand drive cars is rather out of place. However, inserted for authentic purposes are real scenic shots of San Francisco, some showing Fu Sheng wondering around the streets.
Considered by many fans as the late Show Brothers superstar Alexander Fu Sheng's finest achievement, this production comes in several versions with different endings. In the longer 115 minutes cut; look out for a very young Kara Hui who has a brief cameo playing a hostage being detained by a local gang in Hong Kong. Not seen in the shorter version is the funky 70s looking Mr. Wan (Tsai Hung) a crime boss from Chinatown. Fu Sheng's wife Jenny Tseng also has a minor part as a laundry girl who appears to be a great love interest for Tan but she disappears after a while and the romance goes nowhere.
Without a doubt this movie belongs to the playful and charming Fu Sheng, it is fun and entertaining with a story rich in character study and humor. Apart from the flamboyant 70s fashion, the stellar supporting cast which is astounding to behold, there is plenty of good action to keep martial arts fans happy.
