Cheng Chao-an (Bruce Lee) travels to Thailand with his uncle in search of work. Apparently Cheng was a tearaway at home, but he has told his mother he will stay out of trouble. She has given him a necklace to remind him of his promise. Despite facing provocation from local thugs Cheng keeps his word. It helps that his cousin Hsiu Chien (James Tien) is a capable fighter and more than willing to defend those around him he feels are being mistreated.
Hsiu gets Cheng a job in an ice factory, but things go awry when two of their fellow workers go missing. The two men are summoned to the home of Hsiao Mi, The Big Boss after accidently breaking a block of ice and finding it contains a package of white powder. They never return. Hsiu goes to confront Hsiao who denies any wrongdoing and claims the men probably ran off to the city to spend their money. Aware Hsiu may pose a problem Hsiao has his men ambush him as he leaves. Despite fighting bravely, Hsiu is unarmed and outnumbered.
James Tien Does Most of the Early Fighting in The Big Boss
Audiences seeing the film for the first time in 1971 may well have thought James Tien was the star of The Big Boss. It is Hsiu who intervenes when thugs steal food from a young boy and beats them. Hsiu also helps a woman upset over her husband’s gambling and is regarded by workers at the factory as being their leader. Lee is held in reserve, although there are hints at his prowess especially when he lays two men out cold without Hsiu even noticing.
Bruce Lee Reveals his Martial Arts Skills in The Big Boss
When the foreman tries to persuade the workers Hsiu went to the city to gamble and whore a fight breaks out at the factory. They know Hsu was a righteous man and incapable of wrongdoing. Still Cheng holds back, keeping his promise until his mother’s necklace is ripped from his neck. Only then does he spring into action laying out multiple opponents and ending the brawl. Lee’s economical fighting style, a display of his self-designed Jeet Kun Do philosophy, must have been a shock for audiences used to the more elaborate Kung-Fu sequences popular at the time.
The Big Boss Makes Bruce Lee a Star after Struggling in Hollywood
Bruce Lee was best known in the US for playing Kato, the sidekick in The Green Hornet television show. However, finding work was tough for an Asian actor in 70’s Hollywood. There was a brief, but memorable appearance as a Kung-Fu kicking thug in Marlowe (1969), Paul Bogart’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s ‘The Little Sister’ The leading role in the television series Kung-Fu eluded though, as the producers cast David Carradine instead.
In many ways The Big Boss may have been a last throw of the dice for Bruce Lee. Although he started out as a child actor in Hong Kong returning there from Hollywood seemed like a backward step for ‘The Little Dragon,’ but it proved to be the making of him. Lo Wei directed The Big Boss and Fist of Fury (1972), although the two men never quite hit it off. Bruce directed Way of the Dragon (1972), which contains arguably his most famous fight sequence, against a young Chuck Norris. By the time Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse 1973) made him a star in the West Bruce Lee was already dead, leaving only a slew of imitators and lookalikes to cash in on his success.
- The Big Boss aka Fists of Fury (US title)
- Starring Bruce Lee
- Written by Lo Wei
- Directed by Lo Wei
- Running Time 96 minutes
 |
