KUNG FU: THE WAY OF THE TIGER, THE SIGN OF THE DRAGON {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The premiere film of this stylized western series about Kwai Chang Caine, a peace-loving Shaolin monk of American and Chinese parentage who flees China for the American West after killing a member of the Chinese royal family.
Kwai Chang Caine wanders aimlessly through the desert. He recalls scenes from his training as a Shaolin monk: in flashbacks, Caine is accepted into the Shaolin monastery via his determination and good manners. He is the son of an American man and a Chinese woman, although his parents are both dead; the monastery usually does not accept those of mixed descent but makes an exception in his case. Master Kan, leader of the monastery, issues a test to the young Caine, asking him to snatch a pebble from his outstretched hand. Caine is unable to do so; Master Kan proclaims that when he is able to take the pebble from him, he will be ready to leave the monastery. In the present, Caine wanders into a town and stops in a saloon to get some water. He fends off an attack by a belligerent saloon patron. This earns the attention of Han Fei, a Chinese cart driver working for a nearby railroad construction site. He gets Caine a job working on the railroad and takes him to the worker's camp.
McKay, the railroad engineer, expresses concerns to Dillon, the camp's boss, about the proposed rail route. He has determined that a hill which is to be blasted with dynamite to make a tunnel likely contains pockets of natural gas, which could be highly volatile and dangerous if disturbed. He asks that they plan an alternate route, setting back construction several months. Dillon balks at this suggestion and wants the tunnel to proceed as planned, unconcerned with endangering the lives of his workers. Caine is hired as a worker and soon learns from the other workers about the appalling conditions under which they work. Soon the workers discover that Caine is a Shaolin monk and treat him with an air of reverence. In flashbacks, a young Caine meets Master Po, an old blind monk at the monastery. Master Po demonstrates that despite his blindness, he is far from helpless and can perceive much that Caine cannot.
As Caine grows older he learns other techniques from the monks, such as the use of throwing stars. Caine is asked to walk across a roll of rice paper without tearing it, but he is unable to do so. He also learns various fighting styles and how they represent balance and harmony with nature. In the present, the workers grow more discontented with their leadership. A rumor spreads that Caine is in America because he is wanted for murder in China. One of the workers secretly passes on this knowledge to Dillon and his assistant Raif in exchange for food. Dillon goes forward with blasting the hills despite McKay's warnings. McKay decides to report this action to the railroad headquarters in order to enact disciplinary action against Dillon. In a flashback, Caine spars with Master Po and learns that the best way to deal with force is either to run or to "redirect" it. Later, McKay is brought back to the camp dead; Raif claims that he perished in an accident. Caine and several of the workers bury McKay's body, and Raif indicates that he wants to kill Caine.
The blasting causes a cave-in in the hills, trapping many workers inside. The workers are fed up and one tries to incite the others into rebellion despite Caine's warnings that he must be patient. The man is shot to death and Caine tells the others not to throw their lives away for no reason. Dillon captures Caine, revealing that he knows about Caine being wanted for murder, and wants to turn him in to collect the price on his head. As he is captured and tied up, Caine recalls more of his training. After many years he tries to walk on the rice paper without tearing it, and this time succeeds. However, he is still unable to sneak up on Master Po. He learns that Master Po has only one wish in life: to visit the forbidden city on a specific day in a few years, when a festival will be held.
Caine escapes from his bonds and flees into the desert. Dillon and Raif send search parties to look for him. In a flashback, Master Kan again administers the pebble test to Caine, and this time Caine is able to take it from him. This marks the time for Caine's departure, and he proceeds to the entrance and bids farewell to Master Po. Before leaving he plunges his forearms into burning brands on the side of a cauldron to mark himself as a Shaolin before stepping out onto the snowy landscape outside the monastery. In the present, Caine digs a burrow to hide from Raif's search parties. In secret, Caine prematurely detonates a shipment of dynamite meant for the hill in order to gain Dillon's attention. Raif goes to hunt for Caine personally, and Caine ambushes and defeats him. Dillon captures Han Fei and threatens to kill him unless Caine surrenders himself, and Caine comes back into the camp.
He is chained up along with Han Fei, and told that if either tries to escape that they will both be killed. In a flashback, Caine meets Master Po after several years away from the monastery, and both are happy to see each other. He accompanies Master Po on his pilgrimage to the forbidden city, but along the way Master Po is accosted by guards of the emperor's nephew. The nephew shoots Master Po and an enraged Caine kills the nephew in revenge by skewering him with a spear. In his dying breaths, Master Po tells Caine that what he did is necessary and that he must flee to avoid capture. He gives Caine a pouch of his possessions before dying. In the present, Han Fei tries to escape but is shot. Caine escapes and defeats his captors, and Han Fei dies in his arms.
Outside, Dillon is surrounded by the workers and Caine. Dillon surrenders and is captured as the workers avail themselves of the camp's food stores. Chinese bounty hunters arrive searching for Caine, and one reveals himself to be a Shaolin monk as well. Caine is disgusted that a monk would sell his services for money. The bounty hunter says that the Chinese have been aware that Caine escaped to America for some time now. The two of them hold a kung fu fight and Caine emerges as the victor. Realizing that the emperor will continue to send bounty hunters to kill him, Caine decides to continue wandering through the desert in the hopes that one day he may find some measure of rest. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 22, 1972 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:13:23
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:50309
- GENRE: Drama, western
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, western; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1972-1975
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jerry Thorpe … Producer, Director
- Alex Beaton … Associate Producer
- Ed Spielman … Writer
- Howard Friedlander … Writer
- Jim Helms … Music by
- David Carradine … Cast, Kwai Chang Caine
- Barry Sullivan … Cast, Dillon
- Albert Salmi … Cast, Raif
- Wayne Maunder … Cast, McKay
- Benson Fong … Cast, Han Fei
- Richard Loo … Cast, Master Sun
- Keye Luke … Cast, Master Po
- Philip Ahn … Cast, Master Kan
- Victor Sen Yung … Cast, Chuen
- Robert Ito … Cast, Fong
- James Hong … Cast, Hsiang
- Radames Pera … Cast, Young Caine
- Roy Jenson … Cast, Fuller
- John Leoning … Cast, Master Teh
- David Chow … Cast, Little Monk