Secret Rivals (1976)

"One man alone can't fight injustice"

Don Wong, John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee all harbor secrets and are deadly Secret Rivals. This was a Hong Kong movie filmed in the RoK and used a number of Korean stuntmen and actors. The scenery was all in Korea as well.

John and Don wander into the Prince’s city with different reasons for being there. The Prince is having a contest to hire the best fighter for his bodyguard. The fights are to the death. What the fighters don’t know is that the Prince and the Silver Fox stole a shipment of gold three years ago from the Chinese. They hope to pin the theft and a murder on the new bodyguard. Both John and Don fall for the lovely Ching Chin Chin who is the daughter of the inn’s owner.

The story was thin and the camera work not so great. What was good? If Hwang Jang Lee, Don Wong and John Liu are in a film there will be plenty of high-flying kicks which rarely used wires or undercranking. The Silver Fox had two of the best legs in the business. I didn’t really care much about the story, HJL flying without the use of wires, kicking high, hooking, and twisting, is always fun to watch. Of course, the stuntmen were called upon to do a few flips and somersaults here and there but the fights were largely au naturale.

The film was badly faded with white pock marks and green streaks. The only copy I could find was dubbed in English with grainy tin can sound. It’s the same guy who does all the male voice with a female actor doing all the women’s voices. No subtitles available. I tried to not let any of these things affect my review…too much.

If you like old kung fu flicks with creative kicks, this is one to try. Graded on a curve. Really missed HJL’s mom hair and 70’s stache.

8 March 2026
Trigger warnings: Lots of bodies, but no spewing blood

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