Ironside 426 (1977) Movie Review

Proving that the Hong Kong film industry’s obsession with tales of undercover cops infiltrating the triads is by no means a wholly modern phenomenon is “Ironside 426″. Certainly, the film’s plot could be mistaken for that of a great many similarly themed recent releases, covering much of the same tricky moral ground, and as such it stands as an interesting and potentially influential forerunner to the current trend. Originally released back in 1977 and now reissued on DVD by Fortune Star, “Ironside” was directed by Lam Kwok Cheng, who was also responsible for “The Hellfire Angel”, and who worked as a cinematographer for the Shaw Brothers studio on the likes of “The Fourteen Amazons”, “Cave of the Silken Web” and others. It features action direction from the talented Zheng Qi Ying, who also worked on the police thriller “Vice Squad 633″ around the same time.

The undercover cop in question is Damon (played by Jason Pai, who starred in a number of Shaw Brothers productions such as the excellent “Bloody Parrot” and “Shaolin Rescuers”), who is sent to work his way into the gangs in an attempt to help stem the rising crime rate. Starting off at the very, very bottom, he works an illegal food stall with his friend Doggie (Han Guo Cai, also in “Vice Squad 633″) selling ducks of dubious quality. Unfortunately, they run into trouble with a local thug called Big Head, and after refusing to pay protection money, find themselves badly beaten and their business ruined. They are taken in by Brother Sing (the prolific actor Cheung Chok Chow), leader of the Tongs and rival to Big Head’s boss, the awesomely named Satan Hong (played by Zheng Qi Ying himself), who puts them in charge of his gambling dens. From here, Damon rises through the ranks, falling in with porn and prostitution queen Charmange (Michelle Yim, another former Shaw star and television actress, who still acts, recently turning up in the likes of “Playboy Cops” and “Naraka 19″ in small roles) and winning the respect of his fellow gang members, if not his police superiors. Inevitably, duty eventually calls, and he has to decide which side of the line he stands on.

The key strength of “Ironside 426″ is the fact that it is considerably more action packed than other similar films released around the same time, or indeed than most of its modern peers. Lam Kwok Cheng’s direction is energetic and lively, with plenty of crazy sudden camera zooms in true 1970s style, and he throws in lots of mass brawls and martial arts battles to keep things moving along at a fast pace. Interestingly, there is very little in the way of shootouts or police action, with most of the film concentrating instead on gangs fighting and scheming against other gangs. As such, it’s quite easy to forget that Damon is supposed to be a policeman, and the film plays out more as a typical triad drama. However, although somewhat simplistic, making the usual Good Triad/Bad Triad distinction without too much justification, it does get morally quite complex during the final act when Damon has to choose between his job and his criminal brothers. Pleasingly, Lam manages to pull this off without any of the melodrama or wet eared soul searching with which the subject tends to be treated in modern times, and the film maintains a gritty feel through to the end.

Zheng Qi Ying’s choreography is dynamic and benefits from a sense of gritty realism, giving the frequent scuffles a certain edge. Jason Pai acquits himself well in the lead role and gets several chances to show off his skills in smashing his way through hordes of unwashed villains, though it does seem a little unfair that he appears to be the only one with any martial arts ability. Zheng Qi Ying is similarly effective as Satan Hong – though one his henchmen called Robert Redford does rival him in terms of having an outrageous name. The film is quite brutal in places, especially during some triad punishment scenes, though since most of the violence is directed against criminals it never seems particularly nasty. Predictably, the film also features a lot of nudity, more so even than other films of the time. Unfortunately, it has a rather misogynistic streak, with most of the female characters being sleazy prostitutes and getting a pretty rough ride, including one bizarre scene when poor Charmange is stripped and tied to a table, then has a couple of cockroaches placed on her skin as part of some odd betting game. This having been said, the male supporting cast also suffer their fair share of indignities, with one poor man having a pole shoved where the sun definitely does not shine during one of the many brawls.

As a result, “Ironside 426″ stands as a great piece of 1970s exploitation cinema and viewers who like their cop thrillers tough and sleazy should be thoroughly entertained. Action packed and fast moving, the film is arguably far more enjoyable than most recent genre efforts, and is certainly a lot less pretentious.

Lin Guo Xiang (director) / Yung-Chan Li (screenplay)
CAST: Li Jen Ho, Kwok Choi Hon, Kei Ying Jeng, Tan Lau, Michelle Mee, Jason Pai Piao, Pat Phian, Gwa-pau Sai, Choh Lam Tsang