For those familiar with only a small number of Shaw Brothers titles it is easy to overlook just how incredibly prolific and diverse both the studio and their primary stars were. Case in point: Gordon Liu. Liu will always be best known for his very serious role in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin but the man played a huge range in characters, time periods and genres. In Liu Shih-yu's The Young Vagabond he takes on the role of legendary Ching Dynasty hero Beggar Su. An origin story of sorts the film plays dominantly as slapstick - complete with rampant undercranking, pratfalls, and a soundtrack that could easily have been lifted from the Keystone Kops in places. As is often the case in Shaw films the tone takes a dramatic shift before the end but The Young Vagabond is an excellent chance for fans of Liu to see the legend in an unfamiliar context.
Liu is Su Chan, the eldest son of a wealthy winery owner. Though he is the eldest son, and therefore first in line to inherit, Chan has fallen out of favor due to his constant drinking and disheveled appearance both of which have no doubt been brought on in part by his antagonistic relationship with the step mother who would like him out of the way so her own son can inherit. And speaking of the step mother, she's busily siphoning funds out of the family business and splitting the cash with her crooked brother while the pair dream up other schemes to get themselves rich with minimal effort. But problems with mom aside Chan and his half brother Jiaogao get on well, both doing everything in their power to take care of the other. The two are inseperable until Chan takes responsibility for a fight caused by some school bullies to save his brother from expulsion and is forced to attend a different school as a result.
But the punishment turns out to be a blessing for Chan. His teacher is fond of the wine Chan can provide and while under its influence Chan discovers his humble literature teacher is a martial arts master in disguise, hoping his teacherly ways will prevent anyone discovering he was part of a notorious gang of robbers in the past. He reluctantly agrees to take Chan on as a pupil and ... well, you can guess the rest from here. Master is found out, master goes down, tragedy strikes and pupil is forced to step up in vengeance.
The Young Vagabond isn't really a film to look to for high end martial arts. Sure, there are some good fights included - particularly the end battle - but for the most part the action is played purely for laughs. The tempo is light and airy until the last possible moment and Liu's job isn't to impress with his martial arts mastery but simply to keep the audience laughing. And Liu proves a perfectly capable comedian. He bumbles and stumbles his way through scene after scene and manages to be believable playing a character significantly younger than he was in real life. For the martial arts fans there's also the chance to see him use a form of drunken boxing - Drunken Tiger - which is somewhat rare for him. The end of the film turns decidedly dark - the final shot is a true shocker - but for the most part is is pure, light, frothy entertainment. It's not really in the Shaw Brothers A-list but it is a prime example of the studio at its peak doing whatever it took to keep audiences entertained.
The new remaster from Celestial Pictures in Hong Kong is crisp and clean with no marks on the print whatsoever. As with all of the new Shaw discs things have been buffed up nicely and the transfer is presented in its proper ratio with very strong English subtitles. Extras include a selection of Shaw Brothers trailers - also remastered - along with a gallery of artwork and background information on the film and its stars.