''Supermen Against the Orient'' ( it, Crash! Che botte... Strippo strappo stroppio) is a 1973 Italian-Hongkongese superhero film directed by

Bitto Albertini Adalberto "Bitto" Albertini (1924–1999) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Career He began his film career as a camera operator and as a cinematographer. In 1974 Albertini directed ''Black Emanuelle'' starring the then almost unk ...

. It is a sequel of Gianfranco Parolini's 1967 film ''

The Three Fantastic Supermen ''The Three Fantastic Supermen'' ( it, I fantastici tre supermen) is a 1967 superhero film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. The film was the first in a series of Three Supermen films. Cast * Luciano Stella as Tony * Brad Harris as Brad McCallum * ...

''. It was a commercial success in Italy and also in Hong Kong.

Plot

FBI agent Robert Wallace has orders to find six Americans who have gone missing in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

. The trace leads to Hong Kong. During his investigation Wallace makes new friends, who stand by his side when he is attacked by members of a criminal gang.

Cast

* Robert Malcolm as Robert Wallace *

Antonio Cantafora Antonio Cantafora (born 2 February 1944), also known professionally as Michael Coby, is an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Crotone (Calabria) Cantafora studied acting with Alessandro Fersen, then he made his film debu ...

as Max * Salvatore Borgese as Jerry * Lo Lieh as Master Tang * Shih Szu as mysterious young lady * Tung Lin as Chen-Loh * Alberto Farnese as Colonel Roger *

Jacques Dufilho Jacques Dufilho (19 February 1914 – 28 August 2005) was a French actor. He was born at Bègles (Gironde) and he died at Ponsampère (Gers). Life and career Dufilho appeared in 65 French productions. Moreover, he was frequently seen in Italian ...

as American ambassador *

Isabella Biagini Isabella Biagini, born Concetta Biagini, (8 December 1940 – 14 April 2018) was an Italian actress and showgirl. Life and career Biagini was born in Rome on 8 December 1940. She debuted in childhood as a radio actress and advertising model. ...

as the ambassador's wife

Production

''Supermen Against the Orient'' was an Italian and Hong Kong co-production. After the death of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

, the market for Hong Kong film productions became more restricted. Censorship in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and a quota system for local films in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

meant that there was a smaller demand for products from large Hong Kong studios like

Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

and Golden Harvest. This led to both companies seeking respite in overseas productions such as the hybrids between the British

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

(''

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires ''The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires'' () is a 1974 martial arts horror film. The film opens in 1804, when seven vampires clad in gold masks are resurrected by Count Dracula, played by John Forbes-Robertson. A century later, Peter Cushing as P ...

''), Rapid Films with their German co-production '' Enter the Seven Virgins'' (1974) and Italy's I.N.D.I.E.F. for ''Supermen Against the Orient''. The film differs from other entries in the ''Three Supermen'' series as Italo Martinenghi's company Cinesecolo had nothing to do with the production.

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

is credited among the choreographers in the film.

Release

''Supermen Against the Orient'' was released in Italy in 1973.

Reception

Kevin Lyons from ''The EOFFTV Review'' stated the film presented "lots of very silly" moments and an "embarrassing collection of worn-out gags". However, he considered it amusing for

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

fans. Andrew Pragasam from ''The Spinning Image'' described the film as a "lively, if meandering romp" with a "memorably silly theme song".

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* * * {{rotten-tomatoes, crash_che_botte_strippo_strappo_stroppio, Supermen Against the Orient 1973 films Italian superhero films Hong Kong superhero films Film superheroes Films directed by Bitto Albertini 1970s superhero films Films scored by Nico Fidenco 1970s Italian films 1970s Hong Kong films