The year is
1938 and in a prologue, the narrator states that Nazi Germany has invented
the hydrogen bomb, but a Jewish scientist has escaped with the formula and
has ended up in Hong Kong to contact an American. The scene then shifts to
George Lam lying in bed with a woman and there is a knock on the door. They
jump out of bed and in an inspired sequence quickly turns the boudoir into
his office and the woman into his secretary. Then a minute later the opening
credits roll and during them Lam pours an entire container of milk into a
small cup. And it never overflows. In fact, there is nothing in the cup.
Probably a simple trick, but I liked it.
At any rate these were the best comic bits
in the film. Lam (think Bogart) it turns out is a mercenary Chinese spy and
he is ordered to help the scientist contact the American. The chief of police
(Paul Chun Pui) though is a Japanese sympathizer and he finds the formula
first and plans to hand it over to the their emissary. Lam turns to his friend,
a police inspector – Teddy Robin Kwan (think Claude Rains) – to help him find
it. Another twist is that Lam’s old girlfriend is now Paul’s fiancée.
This though is the wonderful Brigitte Lin (think Ingrid Bergman) and she too
is of course a Chinese patriot. In fact she makes a lovely Mata Hari and
wears many chic outfits in the film. She turns out to be quite handy with
a whip and kung fu.
