bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Richard James Havis

Alexander Fu Sheng, who died in a car crash in 1983 aged 28, is best remembered for his Shaolin kung fu films, such as 1974’s Heroes Two.
But the martial arts star, born Cheung Fu-sheng, also expanded his range through his short career, performing in modern-day actioners like Chinatown Kid and kung fu comedies.
Here, we look at a few of Fu’s more unusual later works.
Chinatown Kid (1977)
A hit with fans abroad, Fu’s rare foray into modern-day action was a good fit for his cheeky persona and athletic martial arts skills.
Although the film was directed with characteristic roughness by the legendary Chang Cheh, Fu’s charisma shines through, and it is easy to spot the attributes that led to his success.


Fu was a star in Asia by 1977, but Chinatown Kid launched him internationally, especially in the US. The film was shown on American television via the influential “Black Belt Theatre” slot, and Fu became well known among American martial arts aficionados.
The story is an updated take on the popular trope of martial arts schools fighting each other for territorial supremacy.
Fu plays a skilled martial artist who is framed for a crime in Hong Kong and escapes to San Francisco. Arriving in the US, he takes a job in a restaurant, but is fired by the owner for protecting the business from a shakedown by two gangs.
Broke, Fu joins one of the gangs and rises through the ranks to become a cigarette-chomping senior lieutenant.
The crux of the plot is Fu’s relationship with a young Taiwanese student (played by Sun Chien) whom he befriends. In a nod to director Chang’s social dramas, when Fu’s friend starts taking the drugs his gang is pushing, it inspires a moral revelation in Fu, who orders the gang to stop selling drugs.

Fu excels in the role of a moralistic gangster. The script gives him the opportunity to ham it up as a Scarface type, and he exudes cool in various garish suits.
Chinatown Kid was custom-written for Fu in 1975, but his busy schedule meant production was delayed for two years. It is often said that the film was completely shot on a backlot of Shaw studios dressed up to look like San Francisco, but Chang clarified that he actually filmed some of it on location.
“The director felt a lurking danger in [San Francisco] Chinatown, and didn’t want to draw too much attention to what he was shooting,” Terrence J. Brady wrote in Alexander Fu Sheng: Biography of the Chinatown Kid.
“His aim was to get in and out before any of the locals questioned his intent. A bloodbath sequence had been planned for the film, but in the final week of production, Chang reshot it to put the spotlight on real-life tragedy.”

There had been a notorious gangland shooting in a restaurant in the district in 1977, called the Golden Dragon Murders, and Chang felt that if he filmed anything that resembled it, it might invite trouble.
Ultimately, one version was released with the tragic ending – which was still bloody, of course – while another version saw Fu’s character arrested.
The martial arts scenes are hard-hitting but very acrobatic, and it is no surprise to learn that the actors who went on to star in Chang’s outré Venoms films appear on screen here. Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng, Philip Kwok Chun-fung and Lo Mang all feature, though they do not yet fight as a team.
The Deadly Breaking Sword (1979)
Sun Chung was an idiosyncratic Shaw Brothers director, and his films often focused as much on dramatic scenarios as on martial arts.


The Deadly Breaking Sword was Sun’s second pairing of Fu and Ti Lung, following the dramatic The Avenging Eagle. Where Eagle was serious-minded, this follow-up is light and flamboyant, with bursts of humour coming from Fu’s scenes and a campy darkness emanating from Ti’s grim duellist.
The sight of the cheerful Fu playing opposite the stern old-school martial arts star was emblematic of the changes that were taking place in the genre at the end of the 1970s: kung fu comedies were displacing the serious competition-style martial arts of the earlier part of the decade.
Fu is a happy-go-lucky gambler who has to sell himself to a casino owner (Lily Li Li-li) to pay his debts. Ti plays a gloomy swordsman who brings coffins for his opponents to every duel. The two are manipulated by a courtesan (Shih Szu in a non-martial arts role) to kill the corrupt doctor who imprisoned her lover.

Fu is in fine form, opening with an entertaining display of Shaolin monkey kung fu and appearing brattish throughout. While Ti brings his usual sublime power to a moody, dour role, Fu holds his own, displaying a broad acting range that ensures the glory is shared.
Treasure Hunters (1981)
Designed as a debut vehicle for Fu’s brother Cheung Chin-pang, this light action drama grants the newcomer equal screen time. Cheung delivers a spirited performance but lacks Fu’s charisma, and their similarities stifle their chemistry – unlike the distinct personas of the Hui brothers.
The story is merely a framework for gags and action. It is surprisingly talky, and Fu and Cheung banter endlessly. Wong Jing, who had just been “discovered” by Shaw Brothers, wrote the script, and this “Fu Brothers” vehicle was one of his first successes.


The plot focuses on a few bands of fighters who are trying to find some lost gold. Gordon Liu Chia-hui plays an abbot who may hold the secret to its location. Fu and Cheung play a couple of good-natured adventurers who want in on the gold rush.
Director-choreographer Lau Kar-wing delivers superlative action, blending butterfly swords, spears and fists into a seamless mix of lethal violence and physical comedy where the humour arises from missteps rather than crudeness.
Cheung gave up acting soon after his brother’s death.
In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook.


The Snowball on a Sunny Day movie review: family comedy doubles as a love letter to cinema

10 Asian movies about winning the lottery and why the jackpot is never enough

Hong Kong Film Awards 2026 nominations in full: Sons of the Neon Night leads disputed race

A beginner’s guide to watching Hong Kong martial arts movies, and why realism doesn’t matter

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

3 of Hong Kong martial arts legend Alexander Fu Sheng’s more unusual movies

Alexander Fu Sheng in a still from Chinatown Kid (1977), one of the films that saw the Hong Kong martial arts star take on projects outside his usual Shaolin kung fu genre. 

Alexander Fu pictured in 1974. Photo: SCMP

Alexander Fu Sheng (right) starred opposite his wife Jenny Tseng in Chinatown Kid.

A collage of film stills from The Deadly Breaking Sword (1979), featuring Alexander Fu Sheng (in black).

Why Ronny Yu’s The Postman Fights Back, starring Leung Kar-yan, is an unusual wuxia gem

Leung Kar-yan in a still from “The Postman Fights Back”, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ronny Yu. The film features Leung as a courier in Republican China tasked with delivering a mysterious cargo to a violent mountain bandit, whose motley crew of associates includes a young Chow Yun-fat.

Fan Mei-sheng in a still from “The Postman Fights Back”.

Cherie Chung in a still from “The Postman Fights Back”.

A still from “The Postman Fights Back”.

Chow Yun-fat in a still from “The Postman Fights Back”.

Leung Kar-yan in a still from “The Postman Fights Back”.

Ronny Yu at an interview with the Post in 1995. Photo: Jon Hargest

3 times Gong Li surprised in Hong Kong films, including Flirting Scholar with Stephen Chow

Gong Li and Stephen Chow attend a promotional event for Flirting Scholar in 1993. Gong rose to fame as the muse of China’s Fifth Generation directors, starring in art-house classics such as Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine, but found time during the 1990s to make a batch of lesser-known commercial films in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

Gong Li and Stephen Chow in a still from Flirting Scholar (1993).

Gong Li (left) and Brigitte Lin in a still from The Dragon Chronicles – The Heavenly Maidens (1994).

Brigitte Lin (left) and Gong Li on the set of The Dragon Chronicles – The Heavenly Maidens.

(From left) Rosamund Kwan, Ray Lui and Gong Li in a still from The Great Conqueror’s Concubine (1994). Photo: Sil-Metropole Organisation

Why Jet Li and Wong Jing’s 1994 martial arts movie The New Legend of Shaolin is underrated

Jet Li in a still from The New Legend of Shaolin, which married lighthearted comedy and above-average action in an underrated gem of a film.

A still from The New Legend of Shaolin, starring Jet Li Lianjie.

A promotional poster for The New Legend of Shaolin.

Xie Miao in a still from The New Legend of Shaolin.

Film director Wong Jing pictured in 1998. Photo: SCMP

Xie Miao (left) and Jet Li in a still from The New Legend of Shaolin

Cecilia Cheung: Hong Kong actress, sex scandal victim and Chinese social media star

Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

Cheung and Nicholas Tse in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Cheung in a still from Lost in Time (2003), for which she won best actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Cheung and Tse at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, the year they filed for divorce. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cheung and Stephen Chow in a still from King of Comedy (1999). Her feature-film debut remains one of her most memorable roles. Photo: The Star Overseas

Cheung and her three sons. Photo: Weibo

Cheung in a photo she posted on her Weibo account in 2023. Photo: Weibo

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Chinatown Kid, The Deadly Breaking Sword and Treasure Hunters saw Fu taking on more varied projects than his usual Shaolin kung fu films


Chinatown Kid, The Deadly Breaking Sword and Treasure Hunters saw Fu taking on more varied projects than his usual Shaolin kung fu films.


3 of Hong Kong martial arts legend Alexander Fu Sheng’s more unusual movies

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinatown Kid, The Deadly Breaking Sword and Treasure Hunters saw Fu taking on more varied projects than his usual Shaolin kung fu films

Chinatown Kid (1977)

Chinatown Kid, The Deadly Breaking Sword and Treasure Hunters saw Fu taking on more varied projects than his usual Shaolin kung fu films