In the early '70s some crazy stuff was coming out of Italy. The martial arts craze was a big influence and even led to a mini-genre, that of the "kung fu spaghetti western". However, LITTLE GODFATHER OF HONG KONG is the only Italy/Hong Kong collaboration I know that mixes in the martial arts genre with the then-hot polizia (or crime thrillers) that were flooding the screens in Italy. Here, a family of the Italian Mafia find themselves up against a Chinese movie star and martial artist, who unwittingly gets involved when he thwarts an assassination attempt made by them on an Interpol agent.
What follows is a plot spread very thinly, which is basically an excuse for a series of well-staged fight sequences. But when these scenes take place at some of Rome's most gorgeous locations, you won't hear me complaining. In particular the final shoot-out takes place in a beautiful valley and is a treat to watch. In fact I knew I was in for a good time from the opening scenes of this film, which depict a series of staged assassinations taking place in various countries - one involves an exploding dog! What follows is a cool car chase with stunts, scenes of Wang's family and friends being bumped off and Wang gradually eliminating Carro's evil family - first his three sons, then finally Carro himself. The bad guys fight back by attacking Wang with an exploding camera, electrocution, shoot-outs, you name it, but being a Chinese martial artist he is always one step ahead.
Bruce Liang (real name Liang Hsiao, renamed to cash in on the obvious success of Bruce Lee) is Wang (not WONG!), playing very much a simple Bruce Lee-type role. He's charismatic, agile, a high-kicker, and everything you could want from a martial artist. He's ably supported by the likes of the beautiful Shirley Corrigan as an actress (who unsurprisingly appears naked in the bathroom) and screen heavyweight Gordon Mitchell, playing an evil Nazi complete with fake German dubbing! Mitchell's death in particular is a good one, as falling from a high tower he turns into an unconvincing dummy before hitting the ground below.
The fight sequences are well-staged and make good use of props, with one baddie's head being burnt off in a fireplace, another being fried by electricity, and some blood and violence on top of that (including a few neck-breakings for good measure). Despite a high body count for the good guys (basically Wang is the only one left standing!), the film has a jovial tone throughout and never takes itself too seriously - for example the scene in which Wang takes down a pair of Russian thugs. Therefore it's good fun for kung fu addicts.
What follows is a plot spread very thinly, which is basically an excuse for a series of well-staged fight sequences. But when these scenes take place at some of Rome's most gorgeous locations, you won't hear me complaining. In particular the final shoot-out takes place in a beautiful valley and is a treat to watch. In fact I knew I was in for a good time from the opening scenes of this film, which depict a series of staged assassinations taking place in various countries - one involves an exploding dog! What follows is a cool car chase with stunts, scenes of Wang's family and friends being bumped off and Wang gradually eliminating Carro's evil family - first his three sons, then finally Carro himself. The bad guys fight back by attacking Wang with an exploding camera, electrocution, shoot-outs, you name it, but being a Chinese martial artist he is always one step ahead.
Bruce Liang (real name Liang Hsiao, renamed to cash in on the obvious success of Bruce Lee) is Wang (not WONG!), playing very much a simple Bruce Lee-type role. He's charismatic, agile, a high-kicker, and everything you could want from a martial artist. He's ably supported by the likes of the beautiful Shirley Corrigan as an actress (who unsurprisingly appears naked in the bathroom) and screen heavyweight Gordon Mitchell, playing an evil Nazi complete with fake German dubbing! Mitchell's death in particular is a good one, as falling from a high tower he turns into an unconvincing dummy before hitting the ground below.
The fight sequences are well-staged and make good use of props, with one baddie's head being burnt off in a fireplace, another being fried by electricity, and some blood and violence on top of that (including a few neck-breakings for good measure). Despite a high body count for the good guys (basically Wang is the only one left standing!), the film has a jovial tone throughout and never takes itself too seriously - for example the scene in which Wang takes down a pair of Russian thugs. Therefore it's good fun for kung fu addicts.