Fang is a famous fighter because he handles the whip so well. He had to hide many years because he was falsely accused of robbery of jewels and murder of a whole family, while he actually just rescued the young daughter from the attackers. Many years later, he has raised the girl anonymously in his hiding-place like she was his daughter and trained her in the art of fighting with a whip, so then they can finally start searching for the real murderer together. Solid action movie by Lo Wei with interesting fight scenes - whips against swords! Cheng Pei-Pei has a great role as Yang, the courageous female fighter... who looks cute with a white fur cap in this winter scenery. The serious revenge story leaves little room for comedy, the only character who could serve as a funny sidekick gets killed early.

THE SHADOW WHIP is another Shaw Brothers vehicle for Cheng Pei-Pei, the studio's most famous female fighter and classic swordswoman actress of COME DRINK WITH ME and many others. This somewhat unfamiliar outing is one of the actress's lesser works, although it's not without interest for fans of the veteran studio. The story is a little more mystery focused rather than offering all-out action, bringing it in line with the works of Chor Yuen who would later dominate the studio in the late 1970s. The actual director is Lo Wei, well known in the west for his direction of many early Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films, and he does a pretty good job here. As with nearly all Shaw films, THE SHADOW WHIP is a very visual experience that offers fantastic scenery and sets throughout. I did like the change of setting to a snowbound location which gives it a fine and distinctive look.

There isn't a great deal of story here and that which does exist is very obvious; you'll be able to guess the ending a mile off. Still, there's plenty of action, as is usual for the genre, and some good actors playing central parts. Pei-Pei cuts a swathe through the bad guys while Ku Feng and Tien Feng add dignified support. Sammo is listed as an extra but I didn't spot him, although Lo Wei himself does appear in a cameo. Yueh Hua gets a lot of screen time playing his usual supporting stand alone fighter with mystery motives. THE SHADOW WHIP is a little inept in places, with clear joins in some of the background sky and quite laughable wire work that randomly jolts the characters up into the air rather than making them look like they're really defying gravity, but Shaw fans will enjoy it regardless.

Another feather in Lo Wei's cap, THE SHADOW WHIP boasts a bit of martial artsy-fartsy outdoor cinematography intercut fairly well with some soundstage work. In this one, everybody's out to get "Uncle Fang," the infamous Shadow Whip, whose whereabouts are accidentally divulged to Wang (Hua Yueh) by Fang's "niece," Kai Yun (Pei-Pei Cheng). The secretive Fang, who's been laying low for the past fifteen years, raised Yun after the death of her parents (for which Fang was subsequently blamed, by the actual killer). Yun tricks the killer into revealing himself in a well done (if clichéd) confrontation. The fight scenes are often marred by some rudimentary wirework (when the combatants suddenly launch themselves through the air like missiles) and at least one early morning fight is inexplicably shot in "fast motion" (the camera apparently undercranked),but the action overall is very well done- especially the whip work.