It is a social-realist parody contrasting the family life of a rich businessman with a poor car mechanic who earns an honest living, getting comfortable in his family. He plays the role of a kind son before getting replaced halfway through the film by an older actor. Although it apparently would’ve been nice if they hadn’t, as it’s really only half a Bruce Lee movie. It is a family drama that was once deemed one of Lee’s missing films until the Hong Kong Film Archives finally located a scratchy print. In the movie, Lee appears only briefly as the idle landlord’s son, regularly slicking back his oiled hair with a comb-like Elvis. In this especially serious melodrama, a poor mother and father give away their infant daughter to a childless middle-class couple, only to lament their decision. In 1953, Lee entered a socialist collective of filmmakers and actors called Union Films, directing him to appear in a string of ethically informed, message-driven movies. That lived experience directed to a sharp performance in an oppositely dull film. In real life, Lee and his classmates had made an actual gang that would walk around in alleys looking for fights. In another close-up, a kindly wrapped baby Lee weeps inconsolably, eyes squeezed shut, mouth agape, arms swinging, chubby cheeks and double chin echoing.īruce Lee plays a poor kid who runs away to become a street urchin and small thief. His mother was embarrassed to see her sensitive child so changed for the camera. In one small appearance, two-month-old Lee is rocked to sleep in a wicker bassinet, donning a lacy bonnet and girl’s blouse. While shooting Golden Gate Girl, she wanted a newborn girl for several scenes and asked Lee’s father if she could use his son. See also 25+ Best Jennifer Aniston Movies Of All Time Golden Gate Girl (1941)Įsther Eng was a pioneering female film director who made patriotic war movies. Critics criticized the movie, singling out his performance as “rigid,” “artificial,” and “over-eager.” As a result, this ended up being his only attempt to play the refined gentleman. His character in the movie is decent, naïve, respectful, and wealthy, and in love with his family’s housemaid. He tried to play against type and expand his range with mixed results. Thunderstorm (1957)Įven though this movie brought a change in Bruce Lee’s career, it was a tricky transition. The newspapers accompanied, naming him “Wonder Kid.” The son went on to spend the rest of his life determined to outshine his old man.
Wealth Is Like A Dream (1948)īruce Lee’s father co-starred in the film and the promoters, trying to play off the family connection, provided Lee with a new stage name: Little Hoi-Chuen. The movie flopped at the box office and is only notable for typecasting young Lee as a cunning street urchin with a heart of gold. One of the directors saw his relentless energy when he visited the set with his father and offered him a part in this Cantonese tearjerker about a fugitive who becomes a pickpocket and, gets run over by a truck. This was the movie in which 6-year old Bruce Lee faced the camera for the very first time. The whole movie is an undesirable confusion. After five years, Golden Harvest studios found the footage, trim it down to seven minutes, and attached it to the end of a creaky plot about a Chinese stuntman who gets shot in the face, takes reconstructive surgery, and seeks revenge from beyond the grave. Lee died before he completed the project.
In 1972, Lee shot 30 minutes of fight scenes for a movie about a yellow-jumpsuited hero who battles his way up a five-story pagoda to reclaim a secret treasure. Game of Death is the most hated Bruce Lee picture, even by his fans. Worst Bruce Lee Movies Game of Death (1978)