By Hook Or By Crook (1980) July 20, 2008
Posted by Cal in : Comedy, 1980s films , trackbackDirector: Karl Maka Main Cast: Sammo Hung; Dean Shek; Wu Ma; Karl Maka Territory: Hong Kong
Another post, another obscure Sammo Hung film! In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s likely only the hardcore Sammo fans would have seen this one as the focus is most definitely on comedy. The plot (such as it is) centres on a mysterious Robin Hood-esque thief called the Flower Kid, who the authorities want to capture. The Sheriff (Karl Maka – also the film’s director) enlists the help of Skinny Gee (Dean Shek) to track him down. In the course of his travels, he comes upon Fatso (Hung, obviously) who is masquerading as the Flower Kid. They strike up a friendship of sorts and together go in search of the real Flower Kid to help rid the town of a nasty villain in the form of the Golden Killer (Chung Faat) and his gang.
By Hook Or By Crook doesn’t start too promisingly and it gets a lot worse before it gets better. The comedy is extremely broad, crude and base, not to mention dated and basically unfunny. This goes on for quite a while and it is pretty much an endurance test to get through it. At various times I was sorely tempted to reach for the “off” button, but I’m kind of glad I didn’t now.
Although it never really redeems itself, the movie gets significantly better with the introduction of Wu Ma’s character about halfway through. I don’t think I’ll be accused of giving too much away if I reveal he’s the real Flower Kid – an old hero who’s given up robbing the rich and giving to the poor and is more than a little cowardly these days. I’m not really a Wu Ma fan – he tends to play slimy unsympathetic characters (and I’ve never forgiven him for making fun of Sammo in Heart of the Dragon or directing the God-awful Circus Kids) but there’s some mileage to be got out of a rusty old hero coming out of retirement. He’s made up as old man, but when he comes out of retirement, Sammo and Shek make him up to hide his advancing years, so you end up having a fairly young man playing an old man made up like a young man…well, it made me laugh, anyway. There are also some wacky costumes that made me smile and a good cameo by Eric Tsang as an unbeatable gunman (cue The Good, the Bad and the Ugly theme!).
The mark of a good comedy is when you’re still laughing after the movie’s over and in that respect By Hook Or By Crook is a winner - I was belly laughing for hours after the movie ended. Trouble is, I was laughing at the one moment in the whole movie that was supposed to be serious. A man stumbles into a family’s garden, whips out a knife and stabs a young woman in the back, killing her instantly. The family are understandably distraught at the killer, who sticks around after the event while the grief-stricken father admonishes him with an emotional tirade translated in the subtitles as: “You are too rude!”
The more physical side of the movie doesn’t impress too much either. Everyone who has watched Warriors Two will remember the movie was nearly ruined with some ill-placed slapstick humour right at the end with the Dean Shek character, and that’s the tone that’s used throughout this film. The end fight is handled in pure cartoon style – Sammo gets beaten to a pulp and regurgitates a battery and a table is pulled from under Dean Shek, who remains floating in the air until he realises there’s nothing underneath him and then comes crashing down to earth. Funny when it happens to a cartoon cat and mouse, less so in a live-action environment.
So while By Hook Or By Crook is not the complete write-off it appears to be at first, it is far from being a classic movie and I can’t honestly see the point of ever watching it again. One thing that bothered me was the fact that there was a lot of “borrowed” music for this film and I know I’ve heard it in its original setting but can’t quite place it. It sounds a lot like Morricone to me, but if anyone can clear this up, I’d be very grateful.
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