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King Gambler

Year of release: 1976

Genre: gambling

Director: Cheng Kang

Stars: Tsang Hua, Chen Kuan-Tai, Chen Ping, Wang Chung, Yuan Man-Tzu, Ku Feng

Not rated; contains II-level violence, sexuality and language

Version reviewed: Celestial VCD


picture  picture


No doubt about it -- Hong Kongers sure love gambling films. Regulated to cult status here in the States, gambling pictures in HK are given the same status as big-budget action films. 1976's King Gambler was one of the first of the "modern" Hong Kong gambling movies. It's a fairly entertaining romp in the vein of films like The Sting and Ocean's Eleven (i.e., "the evil conman gets conned by the good conmen"), but there's nothing really special about it.

The plot centers around the Huo family, who (according to the film's prologue) were the ones that invented and perfected gambling techniques. After refusing to work for a shady casino operator (played by Shaw Brothers villian mainstay Chen Kuan-Tai), the family's elder is blinded, and the rest of the clan attempts to get revenge by hatching an elaborate scheme. Of course, this ends in a "winner takes all" gambling match that pits the Huo's best player against Chen.

King Gambler's main problem is that there's really no suspense as to who will win in the end. Everything just falls into place for the Huos, and the plan they execute isn't even all that inventive. Still, I did enjoy the film's visual style (it looks a lot different from other Shaw Brothers pictures of the time), and there is a nice bit of '70's retro charm to the proceedings. Even though King Gambler doesn't have the panache of later entries into the genre, it's still worth a look if you dig this type of movie.

RATING: 6


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