Kung Fu (1972) (TV)

Director:

Jerry Thorpe

Writers:

Howard Friedlander (writer)
Ed Spielman (story)

Release Date:

22 February 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Action

Plot:

After avenging the death of his teacher, a Shaolin monk flees China to the American West and helps people while being pursued by bounty hunters.

Plot Keywords:

Shaolin | Shaolin Monk | Kung Fu | Caucasian Actor Playing Asian Character | Shaolin Temple

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

David Carradine	...	Caine
Barry Sullivan	...	Dillon
Albert Salmi	...	Raif
Wayne Maunder	...	McKay
Benson Fong	...	Han Fei
Richard Loo	...	Master Sun
Keye Luke	...	Master Po
Philip Ahn	...	Master Kan
Victor Sen Yung	...	Chuen
Robert Ito	...	Fong
James Hong	...	Hsiang
Radames Pera	...	Young Caine
Roy Jenson	...	Fuller
John Leoning	...	Master Teh
David Chow	...	Little Monk

Also Known As:

The Warrior (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Television

Trivia:

According to Bruce Lee's wife, Linda Lee Cadwell, the concept of the Kung Fu series was conceived by Bruce, and met with the producers for countless hours to shape the show. But the producers did not offer the role to Bruce Lee since they did not feel that the American audience (at that time) would accept a Chinese actor as a lead, therefore looked for a Caucasian actor to fill the role.

Quotes:

Master Kan: Quickly as you can, snatch the pebble from my hand.
[Young Caine tries to do so and fails]
Master Kan: When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Tale of Two Titans (2004) (V)

A towering moment in American TV history

A watershed moment in the history of American television. All who fondly remember the TV series should make a point of seeing the pilot, which is a beautifully crafted, lovingly executed piece of work.

It marks, also, the first of Kwai Chang Caine's many adventures in the Wild West; Caine takes up a job laying railroad tracks as part of a gang of cruelly mistreated Chinese immigrant workers. Extensive flashbacks tell the story of Caine's childhood in China, joining the Shao Lin temple after being orphaned, and partaking of a rigorous program of intellectual and physical development.

Thus the pilot combines a fairly conventional Western narrative with a dazzlingly innovative Eastern sequence, which is very much the heart of this movie. The producers did their homework, took infinite pains, and the results speak for themselves. Magical sets, moody photography, and meticulous research create an unforgettable impression; to give but one example, observe the moment when the two Kung Fu masters demonstrate their long choreographed sequences of moves on the temple grounds. Most heartwarming of all are the performances (as Masters Kan and Po) by Philip Ahn and Keye Luke, superb actors who had slogged through two lifetimes of unrewarding ethnic parts in cinema and on TV until each at last achieved the role of a lifetime.

Good work in the American half of the story by Hollywood pros Albert Salmi and Barry Sullivan, plus a stalwart Asian-American cast who went on to lend distinction to the regular episodes in the 3 seasons of KF that followed (Benson Fong, James Hong, many others). And spare a thought for David Carradine, who combined a mix of decorousness and stubbornness and turned this into one of the most unusual characterizations in the history of television.