''The Fighting Fist of Shanghai Joe'' (
Italian: ''Il mio nome è Shanghai Joe'', lit. "My name is Shanghai Joe") is a 1973
Spaghetti Western
The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
kung fu film directed by
Mario Caiano and starring Chen Lee as Shanghai Joe. The film was released in a number of alternate titles in the
United States, including ''To Kill or to Die'' and ''The Dragon Strikes Back''.
Plot
A
Chinese immigrant skilled in martial arts arrives in
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and travels to
Texas looking for honest work. Wherever he goes he encounters
racism. He soon impinges on the interests of a slave trader called Spencer, which results in a price being put on his head. "Shanghai Joe" uses his
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
expertise to free the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
s from their cruel master. Spencer and his friends then hire the four most terrifying bounty hunters of the West, among them a
cannibal, a scalp hunter, a killer who skins his victims, and another martial arts champion, his old friend Mikuja.
Cast
* Chen Lee (Myoshin Hayakawa) - Shanghai Joe
*
Carla Romanelli - Cristina
*
Gordon Mitchell - Buryin' Sam
*
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
- Scalper Jack
* Katsutoshi Mikuriya - Mikuja
*
Robert Hundar
Claudio Undari (12 January 1935 – 12 May 2008), known professionally as Robert Hundar, was an Italian film actor and stage actor, best known for his roles of "Bad Guy" in Spaghetti Western and "Poliziottesco" movies. He starred in about 40 movi ...
- Pedro, the Cannibal
*
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart - Triky, the gamber
*
Piero Lulli - Spencer
*
Carla Mancini - Conchita
*
George Wang - Yang
*
Rick Boyd - Slim
*
Umberto D'Orsi - Poker player
*
Dante Maggio - Doctor
*
Francisco Sanz - Cristina's Father
DVD release
On May 26, 2009, a
Region 0 DVD of the movie was released by
Alpha Video
Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...
.
''Euro-Western Double Feature: The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe (1972) / Any Gun Can Play (1967)'' DVD info, Oldies.com
/ref>
References
External links
*
1973 films
1970s Italian-language films
Spaghetti Western films
Films directed by Mario Caiano
Films scored by Bruno Nicolai
1973 Western (genre) films
Films shot in Almería
1970s Italian films
{{1970s-Italy-film-stub