Before Danny Lee made it big in The Killer, he played Johnny Feng
in... The Mighty Peking Man!
Beginning with an earthquake & an initial attack by the ape man,
the film becomes a jungle fantasy for a while, with an elephant
stampede, death by quicksand, Samantha the blond jungle girl, a
romantic flashback, and a battle between a leopard and a cobra
(as Johnny sucks poison from Samantha's inner thigh!) When Johnny, Samantha and Utam the giant ape go to Hong Kong
the film switches to King Kong mode, with Utam becoming a
sideshow act, taking part in a tug-of-war with what look like Tonka
Toy trucks (as the locals throw fruit and prod him with sticks.) Utam finally runs amok when he sees Samantha being molested,
and the film culminates with Johnny, Samantha and the Peking
Man atop a high-rise building, getting buzzed by army helicopters.
This movie is hampered by shoddy process shots, and a sub-par
ape costume, though close-ups of Utam's face are more successful, but the film more than makes up for this with the
inclusion of Samantha (who seems constantly to be on the verge
of popping out of her animal skin costume), impressively-made,
large-scale model shots of downtown Hong Kong, and one of the
best endings of a giant ape movie.
*Spoilers* In this particular tale, the girl DOESN'T leave the shot-up primate's
side and dies, the creature's final, fur-in-flames moments are
more violent than Kong's many demises, and the movie finishes in
a downbeat fashion.
in... The Mighty Peking Man!
Beginning with an earthquake & an initial attack by the ape man,
the film becomes a jungle fantasy for a while, with an elephant
stampede, death by quicksand, Samantha the blond jungle girl, a
romantic flashback, and a battle between a leopard and a cobra
(as Johnny sucks poison from Samantha's inner thigh!) When Johnny, Samantha and Utam the giant ape go to Hong Kong
the film switches to King Kong mode, with Utam becoming a
sideshow act, taking part in a tug-of-war with what look like Tonka
Toy trucks (as the locals throw fruit and prod him with sticks.) Utam finally runs amok when he sees Samantha being molested,
and the film culminates with Johnny, Samantha and the Peking
Man atop a high-rise building, getting buzzed by army helicopters.
This movie is hampered by shoddy process shots, and a sub-par
ape costume, though close-ups of Utam's face are more successful, but the film more than makes up for this with the
inclusion of Samantha (who seems constantly to be on the verge
of popping out of her animal skin costume), impressively-made,
large-scale model shots of downtown Hong Kong, and one of the
best endings of a giant ape movie.
*Spoilers* In this particular tale, the girl DOESN'T leave the shot-up primate's
side and dies, the creature's final, fur-in-flames moments are
more violent than Kong's many demises, and the movie finishes in
a downbeat fashion.