Lo LIeh and his Five Fingers of Death

WHEN a friend told me that one of my favourite Hong Kong movie stars was
actually an Indonesian, he could have floored me with his little finger. It
turned out to be true. Lo Lieh was born in Indonesia in 1939.


Apparently, his parents felt that young Lo needed to be more Chinese and was in
urgent need of a "fuller" education, so they sent him back to China. So his
memories of his country of birth is mired in the murky waters of a very distant
past. I am just guess but Lo was probably under 10 years old. He later lamented
to friends that he missed having a more wholesome family experience.


Lo Lieh was one of those Hong Kong actors who was neither very famous nor very
forgettable. I honestly remember him as one of those guys who played a villain
very well. Perhaps it was because he had the kind of face that seems to be quite
suitable on a Wanted poster.


In the 1960s and 1970s, Lo Lieh held sway in the Chinese movie cinemas. Between
1965 and 1979, Lo acted in about 90 movies. That averaged about eight and a half
movie every year. With that kind of a record, it must be assumed that the actor
is either very hardworking or slightly insane.


However, back in those days of the Shaw Brothers Film Production, such a hectic
acting schedule was quite common.

This actor of no remarkable looks had a fine reputation among his peers. It
seemed that his fellow actor friends and movie directors liked him very much.
His popularity helped to put him in the good books of directors like Liu Char
Liang and Chang Cheh.


I remember Lo Lieh vividly in the lead role of King Boxer. It was produced in
1971, at a time when Bruce Lee was the rage of the Eastern and Western cinema
worlds.

Over in the West, King Boxer was re-titled as The Five Fingers of Death.


For a while back then, Lo Lieh was THE villain.

Most of youngsters (those who could afford to see a cheap matinee) loved hating
Lo Lieh. He was often cast as a villain. Like I said, this guy really has got
the persona of a criminal.


But when he played the role of a good guy, he wasn't that bad either. Move goers
tended to feel his "pain" that Lo convincingly put across on the screen. Some of
his contemporaries were Cheng Pei Pei, Angela Mao, Chow Yun-Fatt, Gordon Liu, Ti
Lung, David Chiang and Wang Yu.


It must have been tough during those days when every young actor wanted to be
No. 1 on the screen, so Lo Lieh had to act in multiple films during a tight time
frame. It was said that Lo had boasted once to someone that he could do with
just four hours of sleep every night because that would allow him 16 hours more
to make more movies and earn more money!


Recently, I watched King Boxer again. It struck me how unpolished those kung fu
moves were then but still at that time in the 1970s, there was no basis for
comparison, so Lo Lieh's martial marts moves were really great.


Not much is said about Lo Lieh these days but some of my friends who have seen
his movies and had enjoyed them very much, have only good things to say about Lo
Lieh.


Lo died on Nov 2, 2002 in Hong Kong, apparently of a heart attack. He was 63.
Altogether Lo Lieh starred in about 214 movies from 1965 to 2001.

He directed nine movies and a producer of three movies. That's one long and
memorable movie career. I doubt there are many Hong Kong actors out there who
can brag of such a record.