The Worst Martial Arts Movie Ever Made? by Dave Goode

I'm a huge fan of martial arts in American popular culture pre-Kung Fu Mania.That usually means judo or jiu jitsu. But sometimes you can find some mention of karate. For instance there were the Burns Bannion books written by Earl Norman (real name Norman Thompson) and published by Berkley Books. There were nine books in all. The original series began in 1958 with the novel KILL ME IN TOKYO and ended in 1967 with KILL ME IN ROPPONGI. The books were about Burns Bannon , an ex-G.I. who stays in Japan after the war to study karate and ends up becoming a private investigator. He actually becomes a private eye when a drunken American businessman hires him because he thinks Bannon looks like a private eye. Or at least the one he was expecting to meet. These books were most likely the first books from an American publisher to feature a hero using karate.

  

Which leads us to the 1961 movie KARATE, THE HAND OF DEATH. This 80 minute flick was produced by Joe Holt who also directed and starred in it. This was probably the first American-made movie with the word " karate " in the title. Holt had also directed the exploitation movies THE SHAMELESS (1962) , ALL OF ME (1963) and THE WILD WILD WORLD OF JAYNE MANSFIELD. The story for KARATE , THE HAND OF DEATH has Holt playing Matt Carver , a former American soldier who served in the Pacific during World War Two returning to Japan where he was raised and trained in karate and gets involved in a mystery involving the murder of a Nazi war criminal. What makes this flick arguably the " worst martial arts movie ever made " is the almost total lack of karate action in it.

It's obvious from the get go that the director/star had no martial arts training whatsoever. It had me wishing for what has come to be called television-karate. You know the " karate " we saw on early 1960s television. Which was more or less a few judo throws with some shuto blows and reverse punches added. The movie was made with the cooperation of the Japanese Karate Federation. And the only real karate in the film is provided by members of this organization. There is a tameshiwari exhibition and members of the group demonstrate some self-defense techniques. But the climatic battle between the hero and the villain is laughable. You would think that if you were going to star in a movie about karate that you might take a lesson or two. Or at least hire a real martial artist to star in it. Maybe someone like Bruce Tegner.

If you were a martial arts practitioner back in the 1970s the name Bruce Tegner is as familiar to you as Bruce Lee. Odds are you probably owned at least one of his books on self-defense. Both his parents were well known experts in jiu jitsu and judo. Tegner began his judo training at age two. He would win a number of judo competitions and over the years he studied a number of other martial arts including karate and aikido. He appeared in the movies GIRLS TOWN (1959) , THE MARRIAGE-GO-ROUND (1961) and GOOD TIMES (1967). And on television in an episode of THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE & HARRIETT he portrays Ricky Nelson's karate instructor. Do you remember the " karate fight " between Frank Sinatra and Henry Silva in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) ? Well that was choreographed by Tegner. And though it may not be the best martial arts fight you'll see in a movie it was revolutionary for it's time. And far better than anything you'll see in KARATE, THE HAND OF DEATH.

Speaking of far better than Karate, Hand of Death, we recommend JUDO COMICS by Dave Goode and illustrated by Vance Capley. It's available here:

HERE

But before you go, enjoy El Tigre!! 

 by Dave Goode & Vance Capley