In 1973 director Robert Clouse was given the job by Warner Brothers to direct a martial arts movie. At the time this genre of film was being imported and playing in grindhouses on the famed 42nd Street of NYC. No one thought that this film would do much. Then again they always had a way of underestimating the star of the film. The movie was ENTER THE DRAGON and its star was Bruce Lee.
Clouse only had a few titles that he’d directed and after this one he was suddenly the go to guy for martial arts movies in the US. Among his credits are BLACK BELT JONES, FORCE FIVE, BATTLE CREEK BRAWL, GUMKATA and GAME OF DEATH, the film Lee died on during its making. But two films after his biggest hit Clouse directed a movie that should have been a hit. It had martial arts, a star who was coming off a hit movie himself and a few other name stars as well. Sadly GOLDEN NEEDLES never took off. But it’s available now from Kino Lorber.
The film opens with a narrator explaining what the needles are. Held in place in an ancient Buddha statue, the needles have the ability to sexually invigorate the person they are being inserted into if placed correctly. If done wrong, they bring about an excruciating death. The human pincushion here survives but just as he’s about to have his way with several women two bad guys break in torching the place and all within while stealing the statue and the needles.
Fast forward to the current situation where a woman named Felicity (Elizabeth Ashley) is trying to acquire the statue. As she is about to pay for it the owner raises the price on her. Sent by a mysterious backer she’ll do anything to get the statue. Talking to her representative in China he suggest they use the assistance of his partner, a man who not only knows his way around town but how to burgle as well. Enter Dan (Joe Don Baker).
Dan is the stereotypical American in the orient. He stands above everyone around him, he’s loud and he’s always looking for a good time. He takes on the job and handles the burglary with ease. But then things get out of hand. His partner sets the statue up to be mailed to the buyer in the US but is killed by the men who had the statue. Unsure of which package had the actual statue, Dan and Felicity now return to the states to make sure the package arrived.
It turns out the buyer was an eccentric millionaire named Winters (Burgess Meredith). The statue did arrive but unfortunately it was the wrong one. Angry at this problem he gives the pair the chance to redeem themselves. They only have an allotted time to recover the statue and bring it to him or face death.
If all of this wasn’t enough the story tosses in some Chinese police, marital arts star Jim Kelly as Baker’s friend and a number of chase and fight sequences that will keep action fans happy. Through it all Baker seems like he’s having the time of his life. Ashley gives a believable performance here although her golden days were behind her as a star. The truly odd thing is thinking of Meredith as the one trying to locate the needles. Just imagining him using them for their intended purpose can make one cringe.
It’s easy to see that this film is no ENTER THE DRAGON. Most of the films Clouse followed that one with never were. It’s hard to replace someone like Bruce Lee. But it is and entertaining action flick that will keep fans of 70s movies happy and Baker fans pleased that they can fill out their collection of his films.
Here again Kino Lorber is showing their willingness to give
life to a movie many probably thought would never see the light of day again.
They’re offering it on blu-ray with a brand new 2k transfer. In addition to
that they’re including extras like a new audio commentary track by film
historians Howard S. Berger and Chris Poggiali, newly commissioned art for the
cover by Vince Evans, radio spots for the film, TV spots for the film and image
gallery and a collection of trailers. Congratulations for Kino Lorber for
stepping up on this one.
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