Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu (1974)

Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu [鬼馬兩金剛] (1974)
AKA Two Tough Guys

Starring Ling Yun, Chin Han, Li Hong, Miao Tian, Ko Hsiao-Pao, Jack Long Shi-Chia, Yuan Shen, Huang Lan, Min Min, Yang Kuei-Yu, Cheng Fu-Hung, Tsui Li, Tung-Fong Mei-Fung, Chow Chi-Kei, Chi Fu-Chiang

Directed by Lee Tso-Nam

Expectations: Hoping for another lost gem like Imperial Tomb Raiders.

I love going into films as blind as possible, allowing a film to present itself naturally. I had no idea Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu was a kung fu comedy, and it was a real surprise since that genre combo wasn’t really a thing in 1974. The only distinct kung fu comedy that I remember from earlier in my Shaw series is Chor Yuen’s 1972 film The Lizard. Regardless of whether Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu is good or not, it’s an interesting document of a daring attempt to try something that wouldn’t catch on until a few years later. It did horrifically at the box office, ranking #83 of 93 local films released that year, so it’s safe to say the public wasn’t ready for this type of film. But… Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu is good, and it’s funny, too! So it’s doubly exciting to have this film finally find its way out of the Celestial vaults and onto the hard drives of the Internet.

Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu tells the story of two men at the top of their respective fields: the gambler “God Hand” Huo San (Ling Yun) and the expert martial artist Sha Bahu (Chin Han). The Chinese title literally translates to Ghost Horse Two King Kongs, which obviously makes no sense in English. During the film, though, there’s a line where Huo Shan says “You’re King of Fists, I’m King of Gamblers.” So they’re probably the “Two King Kongs,” but I don’t have an explanation for the Ghost Horse. In any case, these two kings team up and roam the countryside for maximum money-making potential, eventually getting mixed up in a struggle between corrupt government officials and revolutionaries. It’s an episodic movie with a sparse story, but the focus is more on combining the traditional HK character archetypes of the expert gambler and the expert martial artist into a rousing action comedy.

Wang Yung-Sheng handled the action choreography; I’m not familiar with his work, but his HKMDB filmography indicates he primarily worked on Taiwanese productions or Hong Kong productions filming in Taiwan. His biggest credit is co-choreographing the action for the Joseph Kuo classic The Mystery of Chess Boxing. Wang’s solo work here in Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu is pretty good, crafting exciting fights that mostly avoid the repetitive pitfalls of many early ’70s bashers. The film’s comedic tone allowed for more variety in the choreography than usual, as every fight wasn’t a life-and-death struggle like in other films. Usually with bashers I get bored by the time the ending rolls around, because I’ve already seen the lead punch and kick his way through what seems like thousands of thugs in nearly identical ways.

Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu still suffers a bit from this, but Lee Tso-Nam injects a lot of nice camera work that keeps the fights interesting even when the choreography doesn’t. My favorite camera move comes when the kings are fighting goons on both floors of an inn. It starts by looking through the upstairs railing on Ling Yun, capturing 10 or so choreographed movements, then moving down from the rail to find Chin Han performing another 5–10 movements on the ground floor. It’s seamlessly performed and filmed, and this is just one example of something that occurs a few times throughout the film. I understand these longer takes were used to speed up editing, but it doesn’t diminish the exciting, cinematic energy that comes off the screen.

Some lost films don’t meet their built-up expectations, but I’m glad Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu isn’t one of those! I think all Shaw fans would find something of interest in this one, especially Ling Yun fans, Lee Tso-Nam fans, and those interested in the evolution of the kung fu comedy. Jack Long even has a supporting role looking much younger than I’m used to from 7 Grandmasters (even though that was only three years later)! Hopefully it’ll get an official release in the future and become more accessible to everyone.

Next up in this chronological journey through the Shaw Brothers Martial Arts catalog is the first film of 1979, Chor Yuen’s Full Moon Scimitar! The novel it’s based on is a sequel to the novel that was adapted into Death Duel, so I should probably re-familiarize myself with that one first. See ya then (hopefully soon)!