The Rescue (C-Movie) (HK-Movie) (1971)

THE RESCUE (1971) is a Hong Kong-produced martial arts adventure about a group of Song Dynasty loyalists opposing Tartar Rule in 13th century China. Their aim in the film is to rescue Prime Minister Wen (Fang Mien) from a Tartar prison and spirit him to safety in the south of China. The one female fighter in the group, Bai Yaerh (Shih Szu), attracts the attentions of Le Heru (Lo Lieh), a skilled knife fighter and all-around martial arts expert who begins tagging along with the group, less to serve any cause than to try and woo Miss Bai. When the loyalists manage to get themselves arrested and held in the same prison that’s holding the Prime Minister, Le Heru gets himself arrested and sent there too, all so he can be close to Miss Bai, who’s more concerned with freeing the P.M. and getting out of there. It’s all for naught, however, when they discover what the audience knew all along–that the real P.M. had been moved and replaced with an impostor. So, it’s back to square one for our intrepid heroes.