aka
Die Hölle von Macao
Les Corrompus
Hell to Macao
The Peking Medallion
Il Sigillo di Pechino
Directed by James Hill and Bill Catching (uncredited). Screenplay by Brian Clemens. Starring Robert Stack, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan, Christian Marquand, Maurizio Arena, Marisa Merlini, Werner Peters.
88 minutes.
The Corrupt Ones is an obscure adventure movie from 1967. Robert Stack stars as Cliff Wilder, intrepid photographer, who gets mixed up with Chinese and American gangsters searching for an ancient Chinese McGuffin.
Before digging into The Corrupt Ones, I smoked about three bowls of Coromandel Red (very fine New Zealand weed).
I watched this one because it's got Elke Sommer in it. I'll watch anything with Elke Sommer in it. The movie gets started right away with a great '60s-style brawl between two guys in a speeding freight train. One of the guy is a big Asian guy, the other looks Australian to me but turns out to be Italian actor Maurizio Arena. Even though no dialogue is spoken in this scene, we can tell that the movie is dubbed - fantastic. Then the opening credits roll and we're treated to a cool title song by Dusty Springfield.
The rest of the movie is pretty tasty, too. There's gunfights, car chases, death by blowtorch, and other goodies. It's full of that great sort of action you only really got in the '60s, with brawling guys throwing each other through doors and tables.
The cast is mostly solid. Stack seems to be having fun as a rogueish tough guy. Christian Marquand makes a stylish American gangster - it's allowed, he's dubbed. Werner Peters does an accaptable imitation of Claude Rains in Casablanca.
The women are the real stars - but aren't they always? Elke Sommer, as Lily, builds what could have been a two-dimensional role into a believable character. Unfortunately, her and Stack have zero chemistry. Elke Sommer in 1967 was one of the finest pieces of woman flesh ever assembled. There should have been some spice in these scenes, and dammit, I blame Stack. He actually doesn't seem to be able to raise a boner for her. I question his manhood.
Ah, but Nancy Kwan is another story. Her scenes with Marquand, her rival and uneasy compatriot, are filled with sexual tension. But then, Marquand is French so you'd expect him to have a better idea of these things than Elliot Ness. Kwan is sensational in a small role, overcoming the fact that, like the other women in the movie, she mostly stands around letting the men do everything.
Another small role bears singling out: veteran Italian actress Marisa Merlini as Madame Vulcano. In one scene, she points one of her girls out to Stack, who she informs him will give him "a very good fucking." Strike three for 1967 - the Year of the Fuck.
The music, by Georges Garvarentz, is pretty choice. Garvarentz also composed the theme song (lyrics by Buddy Kaye), which is a true theme with motifs repeated throughout the movie. I dug it all the way and would buy the soundtrack if I saw it.
Noone takes drugs in The Corrupt Ones; despite the typical racist Chinese villains, there are no tasty opium den scenes. There's a lot of booze and cigarettes, though. By the end of the movie I was in the mood to start drinking bourbon.
Speaking of the racist Chinese villains, you couldn't make The Corrupt Ones nowdays because of this and various other angles, such as the way Stack mistreats the woman characters. For me, this is all part of the fun of watching older movies, though some people will probably find it offensive. Fuck 'em, it's all in fun.
The only thing missing from The Corrupt Ones - apart from some steamy scenes with Ms Kwan and Ms Sommer - is a supernatural element. I like a bit of mumbo jumbo with my adventure, but nothing is even hinted at. But that's just unnecessary bitching.
Favourite bits (no spoilers):
All in all, the unassuming plotline, cool design scheme, fast-paced plot and wicked music make The Corrupt Ones a prime movie for getting stoned with.
I give is a pretty solid seven out of ten.
© 2002 Joey Narcotic.