The Kid with the Golden Arm
Staring
Sun Chien – Yang Hu Yun/Iron Feet
Lo Mang – Golden Arms
Kuo Chui – Hai Tao
Lu Feng – Silver Spear
Chiang Sheng – Short Axe Yang Jiu
Shu Pei Sun – Long Axe Fang Shih
Wei Pai – Li Chin Ming
Helen Poon – Miss Leng Feng
Wang Lung Wei – Iron Robe
Yang Hsiung – Brass Head
Directed by Chang Cheh and produced by Mona Fong “The Kid with the Golden Arm” is probably one of the most influential movies to my personal life. The Kid with the Golden Arm is a heroic tale about Yang Hu Yun Escort firm which is tasked with escorting a cargo of gold to a famine area. To protect the gold, Yang depends on his friend’s swordsman Li Chin Ming, Ming's girlfriend Miss Leng Feng, Long Axe Yang Jiu, Short Axe Fang Shih, and a drunk know as Secret Agent Hai Tao. Along are hero’s journey they are faced with handling a gang of evil killers known as the Chi Sha Gang who intend to hijack the gold. The Chi Sha gang is comprised of Golden Arm, Silver Spear, Iron Robe, and Brass Head. Overall, the plot of the story is very simple but at the same time interesting! Lo Mang as the main villain Golden Arms is show stealing performance! Golden Arms is the founder and number 1 of the Chi Sha Gang. The Chi Sha Gang is ranked by skill not age as result the youngest member Golden Arm is the leader. Golden Arm being the leader of such a viscous gang shows how big of a threat he is. Lo Mang portrays Golden arm as cold killing machine, with strong sense of honor and loyalty. Golden doesn’t believe in using weapons because both of his arms are hard as gold and invulnerable. In contrast to the main villain our main hero Hai Tao is played by Kuo Chui! The best description of Hai Tao is a crafty and knowledgeable secret agent who is know for fighting best when drunk, it is even said that wine is his best friend! He is the exact opposite of most of the characters in the film who only care about themselves/reputations. Hai Tao saves the day on numerous occasions and doesn’t seek any thanks. Personally I believe this is some of Kuo Chui best acting and character work. As previously mentioned this movie is simple and the the story is tight. What it lacks in complexity it makes up in memorable characters and fights. The ending plot twist of the movie is pretty amazing also! If it’s your first time watching, you definitely won’t regret it! Growing up Kid with the Golden Arm was my favorite movie to watch. My mom once told me that when I was a baby, she thought I was weird because I would cry if cartoons were playing. All that would calm me is watching old kung fu movies. Even now that I’m older as a creative myself most of my work is heavily inspired by Shaw Brother Movies. One of my biggest goals is to make my own kung fu film if I’m lucky maybe I could cast a couple of the surviving Venom Mob members in it. Hopefully one day I can make it happen! My favorite scenes are the ones when Hai Tao is on the screen, he is my favorite character in this movie. My favorite fight is a tie between long axe/short axe vs silver spear & Hai Tao vs Golden Arm. If you have time, I recommend giving this movie a try!Long Axe/Short Axe versus Silver Spear https://youtu.be/whPpLqA0Z4o
Kid with the Golden Arm Trailer https://youtu.be/Rncx__hU2XQ
Thank you for reading! -Carl Piggee