User Reviews

Closing the weird two last episodes which were split in two parallel stories, Caine was helping an old man called Logan McBurney (Stefan Gieraski), who carry a box with his native wife, in all likelihood already dead inside, first he needs to marry with her, but any Christian Minister is willing to do such thing, then Caine ends up making the wedding ceremony, once again Caine recalling from several flashbacks at China when the young Caine found his first love affair, he and the young beauty girl Maily Ho (Nancy Kwan) formerly one of the hundreds concubines of the Chinese emperor, Mayly Ho at last was caught by the tireless warrior Kai To (Stefan Gieraski) whom was promising to marry upon by own emperor's order, Caine appears again on the Kai To's house keen to take Maily Ho anyhow, thus the boastful warrior suggest a duel with Caine, the winner got the girl, meanwhile in the present day Logan decides burry his wife at Sioux's reserve at sacred ground, somehow the Chief Lame Dog agrees, but just upon certain conditions that later Caine will becomes aware, on flashback the young Caine is winning all kinds of duels, the already worn out warrior iKai To invokes Caine to kill him, Caine didn't accepts, on the final has a suggestive conclusion on both cases, with one smashing uncovering that will knock out all the viewers, complex episode that require shrewdness to grasp!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

My focus is upon history of Native Americans, past & present, and media portrayals. In the past many Non-Native actors were painted up to portray actual Natives, with the thick halting "speak-um" English. The famous Iron Eyes Cody was actually an Italian-American (nee: Espera Oscar di Corti) Though fond of Native American culture, he was still a fraud.

In this 1974 episode of KUNG FU, I found it interesting to listen to LAKOTA Language spoken by NED ROMERO as "Lame Dog". Ned is a descendant of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.

The prior year 1973, Marlon Brando sent an Apache actress Sacheen Littlefeather to the 45th Oscars to decline his Oscar for The Godfather. Sacheen read a speech instead about the plight of Native Americans. In 1973, the 71-day Occupation of Wounded Knee began in the Oglala LAKOTA reservation Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The U.S. Govt responded with force, gunfire was traded back and forth, and media brought the scenes to the Nation and World.

Which producers & writers of KUNG FU wanted the LAKOTA dialogue by Ned? I applaud.

The second season ends with a 2 part storyline that boldly crosses back and forth between the American West and Imperial China (no flashbacks at the temple, and no Keye Luke or Philip Ahn). Stefan Gierasch plays a role in each tale, a madman named Logan McBurney in America, and a warlord named Kai Tong in China. McBurney wants to transport his beloved Anna to an Indian burial ground, revealing that he had hanged her seven years earlier. Kai Tong covets the beautiful Mayli Ho (Nancy Kwan), concubine of the Emperor, but is opposed by Kwai Chang Caine, now a Shaolin monk, having only left the temple the month before. Mayli Ho captivates the naive monk, becoming his first lover, which is easily the greatest aspect of this entry. Gierasch is fine as Kai Tong, but hams up his annoying McBurney, overburdened with a Scottish burr that leaves much of his dialogue unintelligible. The lovely Nancy Kwan was perhaps the greatest Asian star to appear on KUNG FU, and her performance provides some much needed class to the proceedings. The producers were getting bored with the West, and this was an attempt to broaden the series' appeal, leading to certain third season episodes being set entirely in China. Michael Pataki is sadly underused as a gold thief who steals a Gatling gun, and Milton Parsons, another veteran of the Charlie Chan films, turns up as the reverend who recognizes McBurney. In my opinion, this was one of the few duds during three sterling seasons.