Men of the Dragon (1974)

[Jimbo]

This was the very first KF movie I ever saw as a kid; it was an ABC movie of the week in 1974. I remember watching it mainly because I'd never before seen a movie specifically centered on MA. Seeing it now, it's an unabashed attempt to cash in on Enter the Dragon, and is full of embarrassing fortune cookie cultural stereotypes. It starred Jared Martin, Katie Saylor and Robert Ito as the protagonists.

Interestingly, some of the extras/bit part players already were, or later became, familiar faces/performers in the Hong Kong KF movie industry; Chu Tiet-Wo (Mandarin: Chu Tieh-ho), Lau Hok-Nin (Mandarin: Liu Ho-nien), and others. They could only go up from here.

[mickey]

Greetings Jimbo

There are scenes missing from this movie. I checked the imdb and found that there is @ 5 minutes missing. I do remember seeing seeing Bill Ryusaki extinguishing candles with his kicks, a man doing a series of backflips before doing a jumping sidekick (could have been a board break), a man throwing coins at a wooden head of a dragon (I think); basically, the entire temple training sequence of missing. There was also the scene of the sister, seemingly in trance, disrobing for some reason. Of the three protagonists, I was most impressed with the performance of Katie Saylor, even though it is definitely not much to talk about by today's standards.


mickey

[Jimbo]

You're absolutely right; I remember those scenes, including the candles being extinguished with kicks at the beginning. I hadn't known the guy doing the kicks was Bill Ryusaki. I did catch a rerun of this movie once in around 1979, which is why I remember the cut scenes.

I do remember thinking, as an 11 year-old, that the scene where Katie Saylor throws Lau Hok-Nin in the china shop would have been far less impressive-looking had it taken place in an empty field. A budding KF movie critic, I suppose.

[mickey]

Hi,

I overlooked the disrobe scene. It is there.

I did a double check on Bill Ryusaki. There is no credit for him with this movie. Yet, he did have an uncredited stunt presence in Golden Needles (1974), suggesting that it was indeed he in Men of the Dragon.


mickey

[Jimbo]

Bill Ryusaki was an extra in Force: Five (1981), that starred Joe Lewis, Benny Urquidez and Bong Soo Han. However, I didn't see that listed in his entertainment profile. He's one of two henchmen that Joe Lewis kicked around in an elevator.

[mickey]

I had a chuckle when you mentioned Force Five. I was going to share that the way Katie Saylor dove into the choreography reminded me of Benny Urquidez in Force Five. Let's just hope that Benny is okay.


mickey