The Ape Girl (1979)

A girl raised by apes falls for a prince who is secretly using her kungfu for his personal gain.

Director:

Chi-Hwa Chen

Writer:

Cheng Hou (screenplay)

Stars:

Fung-Ling Chin, Sing Chen, Lieh Lo

Cast

Credited cast:
Fung-Ling Chin	...	Ming Ling Shur
Sing Chen
Lieh Lo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shu Lin Chang
Shen-Lin Chen
Pin Chin
Po Chin
Yun-Kin Chow
Kang Ho
Wei-Hsiung Ho
Han-Chang Hu
Chang-An Li
Wen-Tai Li
Chao-Hsiung Lin
Ying Lung

Storyline

This film tells the story of Ming Ling Shur, a girl raised by apes who is discovered by a kungfu master, who sees that she has a knack for monkey kungfu. When she grows up, her adventuring spirit lands her as a guard for a Prince, who she falls in love with. However, looks are deceiving as he exploits her kungfu prowess to gain him a seat as emperor. And so, the tension rises as Ming Ling Shur begins to learn the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

girl | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Did You Know?

Soundtracks

The Moog and Me
by Dick Hyman

User Reviews

A forgotten hong kong gem

One of Chen Chi Hwa's early works, this film is a rare hong kong film that ive only seen commercially under the title "Lady Iron Monkey." It tells the story of Ming Ling Shur, a girl who was raised by apes and thus has a natural ability with monkey kung fu. She also resembles a monkey for most of the film (not really explained why). She grows up and falls for a prince who is really an evil kung fu master, who exploits her abilities for his own gain. Now here's why the film works; Kam Fung does an excellent job as the Ape Girl, being very excentric at times with the actions of a monkey. Also, we see early performances by Lo Lieh as an assassin, and Chen Sing as the prince. The martial arts sequences in this film are well choreographed, and the films story is very unique compared to other films. One of my top 3 favorite Hong Kong films, and definately worth the watch.

Details

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

1979 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

Lady Iron Monkey

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1