The Pioneers of Martial Arts On-Screen
By Jay de Leon

Originally Published in WorldBlackBelt, 2005

     The two people generally credited with legitimizing and popularizing martial arts movies on-screen in the U.S. are Bruce Lee and James Bond—one a real-life martial arts legend and the other a fictional character.  Bruce Lee’s final movie, Enter the Dragon (1974), elevated the genre’ from the chop-fooey back lots of Hong Kong to the klieg lights of Hollywood.
     After the phenomenal success of their first James Bond movie, Dr. No (1962), producers Saltzman and Broccoli continued their formula for success of gadgetry, Bond girls, exotic locales, and of course, despicable villains and suspenseful action helped along with heavy doses of martial arts.  This movie inspired a whole genre’ of super spies, secret agents as well as spoofs for generations to come, to the present day.
     But way before Messrs. Lee and Bond came to the public eye, several actors and their screen persona gave us a glimmer of martial arts in their work, either on the big screen or the small screen (TV).  I remember how excited I would get seeing judo or karate techniques on screen.  Here are some actors and shows I personally remember.

RICK JASON (1960)

Rick Jason as Lt. Gil Hanley (left) and Vic Morrow as Sgt. Chip Saunders in the TV series “Combat.”

     Rick Jason is unofficially credited with being the first to use martial arts (karate) on TV with the series The Case of the Dangerous Robin (1960), where he portrayed an insurance investigator.  I remember at least one scene where they showed him in a karate workout, complete with a gi and a white belt.  Of course, the climax of each episode was him subduing the miscreants with karate.  Rick Jason studied kenpo with founder Ed Parker, earning a brown belt after three years.  A few years later, he hit prime time and became a household name as Lt. Gil Hanley in the hit series Combat along with the late actor Vic Morrow.

JAMES CAGNEY (1945)

     This movie starring James Cagney, Blood on the Sun (1945), is generally acknowledged to be the first American film to show martial arts, in this case, judo.  In this movie, James Cagney is shown wearing a judo gi and black beltand effortlessly executing his judo throws (seoinage or shoulder throw).  In this movie, he plays Nick Condon, American journalist and newspaper editor living in Japan who uncovers a Japanese militarist plot to take over the world .And of course, he gets to use his judo as he battles for his life in the climactic end.

TOSHIRO MIFUNE (1961)

Toshiro Mifune as “Yojimbo”

Movie poster of  “Yojimbo” starring ToshiroMifune.

     During the 60’s and 70’s, the so-called Japanese sword-play or samurai movies became almost as popular as the Hong Kong movies.  The most famous of these movies were the result of collaboration between the acclaimed director Akiro Kurosawa and his favorite leading man, Toshiro Mifune, including The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Yojimbo.  You can still catch reruns of these classic movies nowadays on Saturday screenings. You may also remember Toshiro Mifune in the TV mini-series Shogun with Richard Chamberlain.

FRANK SINATRA (1962)

A poster for the original “Manchurian Candidate” starring, from left to right, Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey andAngela Lansbury.

     For those of you too young to remember, Frank Sinatra was also a bona fide action star.  His action film credits include From Here to Eternity, Seventh Dawn and Tony Rome, all very watchable movies even today.  The original Manchurian Candidate (1962) was one of the first Hollywood films to use martial arts in a major fight sequence, with Frank Sinatra going mano y mano with Henry Silva, one of my favorite all-time villains.  In the protracted fight, Frank uses patently karate techniques, actually breaking part of a table, and his little finger, in the process.  Just lately, there was a remake of this movie with Denzel Washington.

SEAN CONNERY (1962)

     The dossier on James Bond reveals him to be a hand-to-hand combat expert, with training in judo, among other skills.  James Bond is of course Agent 007, an operative of the British secret service, member of an elite “Double O” club with license to kill.  In Dr. No, the first movie, James Bond, portrayed by Sean Connery, shows his judo expertise executing a throw on a would-be assassin masquerading as his driver.  My favorite James Bond movie is From Russia, With Love, whose opening scene includes SPECTRE agents training in martial arts.  The climactic fight scene in the train compartment of the Orient Express between Sean Connery and Robert Shaw as the SPECTRE killer Red Grant ranks as one of the best cinematic fights ever.   For me, Sean Connery will always be the definitive James Bond as Ian Fleming described him—suave, hard-living, tough, cold-blooded and resourceful.

Sean Connery (right) as “James Bond” welcomes Robert Shaw, SPECTRE killer “Red Grant” masquerading as a British agent before their brutal fight aboard the Orient Express in the movie “From Russia, With Love.”

BRUCE LEE (1966)

Actors Van Williams (left) and Bruce Leeof the TV series “The Green Hornet.”

     The TV series The Green Hornet is memorable to Bruce Lee fans as giving him his first public exposure in U.S. television.  In the series, Van Williams starred as Britt Reid, the editor and publisher of The Daily Sentinel newspaper.  As the Green Hornet, Reid fought crime with the help of his faithful manservant, Kato (Bruce Lee).  This series never got off the ground and was cancelled after one season, but not before propelling Bruce Lee and his kung-fu into the public eye.

“The Green Hornet” and “Kato”
in the TV series
“The Green Hornet.”

PETER SELLERS / BURT KWOUK (1964)

Peter Sellers as “InspectorClouseau.”

Burt Kwouk

     In his Pink Panther movies, Peter Sellers plays Inspector Clouseau, the most bumbling detective on planet Earth.  Inspector Clouseau purports to be a deadly karate expert, and orders his Oriental man-servant Kato (Burt Kwouk) to attack him unexpectedly at any time as part of his training.  This of course leads to many hilarious scenes of Burt Kwouk attacking Peter Sellers in the shower, in bed in a pleasurable encounter, etc.  From A Shot in the Dark (1964) on, bothmen kept this running gag for years, keeping karate in the public mind, albeit subliminally and comedically.

“Kato” unexpectedly attacks “Inspector
Clouseau”, who readies a karate chop.

ROBERT CONRAD (1965)

Robert Conrad (right) as “James West” with Ross Martin as sidekick “Artemus Gordon”in the TV series “Wild Wild West.”

     The TV series Wild Wild West was definitely one of my favorite Western TV series.  The plots were imaginative, the villains were unforgettable and Robert Conrad as James West provided a lot of action and gadgetry.   James West and his sidekick Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) portray agents in the service of President Grant, investigating mayhem in the West.  Unforgettable villains include the notorious Dr. Miguelito Loveless (played by Michael Dunn, a little man) and giant actor Richard Kiel.  The icing on the cake was of course the karate moves that Robert Conrad incorporated in his fight scenes.  The recent movie version Wild Wild West starring Will Smith was a sad parody of this TV series.

MICKEY SPILLANE (1953)

Mickey Spillane’s book “I, The Jury.” Note the price of the book. 35 cents

     If I were to mention the fictional character Mike Hammer, you will probably remember actor Stacy Keach, who portrayed the hard-boiled private eye on television from 1984-1987.  But the original Mike Hammer who first appeared on the big screen was none other than its bigger-than-life creator, best-selling author Mickey Spillane, who started out as a comic-book writer.  Published in 1947, I, the Jury wasMickey Spillane’s first Mike Hammer book and Spillane himself starred in its movie version in 1953.  Mike Hammer was the epitome of the hard-living, heavy-drinking, chain-smoking private eye, quick with his fists as well as his trigger finger, and even quicker with his charm with the ladies.  He was judge and executioner as well as jury, and enforced martial law more than practiced martial arts.  But his legacy to the genre’ in print as well as on screen is indelible.  You may also remember Mickey Spillane portraying himself in beer commercials.

     I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me.  From dapper secret agents to high-kicking kung fu fighters to hard-boiled private eyes, these characters ushered in the current spate of martial arts and action movies.  Just like today, they thrilled many audiences with their spectacular fights, physical feats, unbelievable gadgetry and seductive women.  Today, we can only say, Awesome and thank you.