Movie Ad of the Week: TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN COBRA (1984)

Taking a break from their long run of Shaw Brothers acquisitions, World Northal launched the stateside release of Antonio Margheriti's I CACCIATORI DEL COBRA D'ORO in New York City as THE HUNTERS OF THE GOLDEN COBRA in March 1984. Four months later the movie turned up in Jackson, MS on July 13th, 1984 as TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN COBRA, with the new title pasted onto the existing one-sheet (see below). The second feature was SHOGUN WARLORD, the 1981 re-release of the really weird Shaw Brothers-Wolf C. Hartwig merger VIRGINS OF THE 7 SEAS, which Film Ventures had first released in the U.S. as THE BOD SQUAD and we reviewed here. In theater one, an Italian muscleman pic from Cannon, THE SWORD OF THE BARBARIANS, which has never been released on home video in the U.S.

Before

After

Updating the IMDb: The World Northal Edition

My interest in the World Northal Corporation began on February 20th, 1982, when I saw my first Shaw Brothers kung fu movie, TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG, on WNEW’s “Drive-In Movie.” I didn't know it then, but TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG -- which had been released to theaters the previous August -- was one of the 13 movies that formed World Northal's first trendsetting "Black Belt Theater" TV syndication package. A few years ago I wrote an article about the company for George Reis’ excellent DVD Drive-In, and although subsequent research has revealed a couple of errors in the piece (including one that is now on the IMDb, and I’ll take full responsibility for correcting), it’s otherwise very thorough and includes quotes from a brief interview I did with former company head Mel Maron. For anyone unfamiliar with World Northal and its “Black Belt Theater” packages, I highly recommend reading that article before continuing with this post.

Like most of the independent distribution companies that handled imported martial arts movies (New Line, Aquarius, 21st Century, Transcontinental), World Northal was based in Manhattan, so the nationwide release “track” for their product began in the Times Square-42nd Street area, with additional playdates in the outer boroughs. After its New York debut, it might take weeks or even months for a movie like THE MASTER KILLER to reach other theaters on the track, such as the Colonial in Hartford, the McVickers in Chicago, the Capital in Philadelphia, and the Rialto in Atlanta. After a year on the track, the World Northal releases would be edited for time and content (by Larry Bensky) and sold to TV in the company’s successful syndication packages.

There are three sources responsible for the inaccuracies on the IMDb related to World Northal's kung fu releases. The first and most obvious is the regional release pattern of indepedent movies during the 1970s and '80s, which the ad below nicely illustrates. SATURDAY THE 14TH opened in October 1981, NEIGHBORS was a December '81 release, and REVENGE OF THE SHOGUN WOMEN hit theaters in the New York-New Jersey area in January '82, so one would assume that THE FOUR ASSASSINS and CHALLENGE OF THE NINJA were also late 1981 or early '82 releases -- yet World Northal premiered them both in November 1980.

The second is the MPAA database. For reasons possibly related to the syndication deals, World Northal would submit their movies to the MPAA months after they opened in New York. For example, THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS -- which played on 42nd Street in July 1980 -- is one of several World Northal releases from '80 that the MPAA has on file as being submitted in 1981.

The other source for incorrect information is John Willis' annual Screen World. Willis apparently got a lot of his information from Variety and its city-by-city box-office reports; if THE SPEARMAN OF DEATH was drawing big numbers in Cleveland for a week in January 1984 and Willis had no prior data for it, the movie would appear in the following volume of Screen World as a January 1984 release, even though it had been in circulation since 1982.

To gather the following information, I consulted the New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, and Village Voice movie listings, as well as Boxoffice.
                                                                          -- Chris Poggiali

THE AVENGING EAGLE (1980)
a.k.a. LONG XIE SHI SAN YING (1978)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1980)

THE BLOODY AVENGERS (1980)
a.k.a. BA GUO LIAN JUN / BOXER REBELLION (1976)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1980)

CHALLENGE OF THE NINJA (1980)
a.k.a. ZHONG HUA ZHANG FU / HEROES OF THE EAST (1978)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of 1982, but it first appeared in New York theaters in November 1980

DEATH CHAMBER (1981)
a.k.a. SHAO LIN SI / SHAOLIN TEMPLE (1976)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1981)

DEATH STROKE (1981)
a.k.a. ZHU ROU RONG / BUDO WING (1979)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1981)

DISCIPLES OF DEATH (1983)
a.k.a. SHAOLIN ZI DI / MEN FROM THE MONASTERY (1974)
Under the distributor credit, 1976 is given as the World Northal release date. It’s actually 1983.

DYNASTY OF BLOOD (1983)
a.k.a. CI MA / BLOOD BROTHERS (1973)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1983). Release date is November 9, 1983 (New York)

ENTER THE FAT DRAGON (1983)
a.k.a. FEI LUNG GWOH GONG (1978)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of January 1984, but it played in New York in 1983. This date should also be applied to the company credit.

THE EXECUTIONERS OF DEATH (1980)
a.k.a. HONG XI GUAN / EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN (1977)
In the company credits of the IMDb, New World Pictures is credited with releasing the movie in 1982. It’s possible their sub-distribution office in Atlanta (New World Pictures of Atlanta) handled it in the ATL territory -- and someone who lived in the area at the time added this information -- but New World didn’t release the movie nationally. The company credit should be World Northal (1980).

FISTS OF THE WHITE LOTUS (1982)
a.k.a. HONG WENDING SAN PO BIA LIAN JIAO / CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS (1980)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of 1983, but it played in New York theaters in 1982.

THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS (1980)
a.k.a. WU DU / FIVE VENOMS (1978)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of 1981, but it first appeared in New York theaters in July 1980.

THE FOUR ASSASSINS (1980)
a.k.a. MA KA PO LO / MARCO POLO (1975)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of 1981, but it first appeared in New York theaters in November 1980.

HEROES TWO (1984)
a.k.a. FANG SHIYU YU HONG XIGUAN / BLOODY FISTS (1974)
I couldn’t find a U.S. one-sheet or ad for HEROES TWO, but it opened on 42nd Street in June 1984 on a triple bill with DEATH CHAMBER and FIVE MASTERS OF DEATH. World Northal later changed the title to KUNG FU INVADERS for a TV syndication package.

THE INCREDIBLE KUNG FU MASTER (1980)
a.k.a. XING MU ZI GU HUO ZHAO (1979)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1980)

THE INVINCIBLE KUNG FU BROTHERS (1983)
a.k.a. FANG SHIH YU YU HU HUI CHIEN / THE SHAOLIN AVENGERS (1976)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1983)

THE INVINCIBLE ONE (1983)
a.k.a. HONG QUAN XIAO ZI / DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN (1975)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1983).
Release date is November 16, 1983 (New York)

KARATE EXTERMINATORS (1984)
a.k.a. WAN REN ZAN / KILLER CONSTABLE (1981)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1984). Release date is November 1984.

KILLER ARMY (1982)
a.k.a. DA SHA SI FANG (1980)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1982)

THE KILLER FROM SHANTUNG (1980)
a.k.a. MA YONG ZHEN / BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1980)

THE MASTER AVENGERS (1981)
a.k.a. FEN ZHU CHI LAO HU / MASTER KILLERS (1980)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1981)

MASTER OF DISASTER (1982)
a.k.a. LUNG FU SIU YEH / THE TREASURE HUNTERS (1981)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of 1983, but it played in New York theaters in 1982.

MISSION KISS AND KILL (1980)
a.k.a. LANG DANG JIANG HU (1979) - Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1980)

ROAR OF THE LION (1983)
a.k.a. NAN BEI SHI WANG / LION VS. LION (1981)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1983)

THE SAVAGE FIVE (1980)
a.k.a. WU HU JIANG / FIVE TIGER GENERALS (1974)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of 1981, but it played in New York theaters in 1980.

THE SPEARMAN OF DEATH (1982)
a.k.a. TIE QI MEN / THE FLAG OF IRON (1980)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of February 1984, but it played in New York theaters in 1982.

STONER (1981)
a.k.a. TIE JIN GANG DA PO ZI YANG GUAN / HONG KONG HITMAN (1974)
Distributor info is missing and should be added: World Northal (1981)

THE THREE AVENGERS (1980)
a.k.a. DA CHA TOU (1979)
The IMDb lists a U.S. release date of October 1981, but it played in New York theaters in 1980. Also, "re-release" needs to be removed; THE THREE AVENGERS and ENTER THREE DRAGONS are two different movies, but the person who last updated the company credits seems to think they're one and the same. Therefore, Cinematic Releasing Corporation (1979) needs to be removed from the company credits, since that applies to ENTER THREE DRAGONS and not THE THREE AVENGERS.

Movie Ad of the Week: "Sir Run Run Shaw Kung-Fu Festival" (1983)

In late 1983, World Northal Corp. had so many Shaw Brothers movies on their release schedule that the Movieland theater in Times Square was able to run a five-week "Sir Run Run Shaw Kung-Fu Festival"
(November 9 - December 13) to help clear the slate so the films could be included in the company's latest TV syndication package. Here's what was shown...

DYNASTY OF BLOOD
a.k.a. CI MA / BLOOD BROTHERS (1973)

THE INVINCIBLE ONE
a.k.a. HONG QUAN XIAO ZI / DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN (1975)

KUNG FU WARLORDS PART II
a.k.a. SHE DIAO YING XIONG CHUAN XU JI / BRAVE ARCHER 2 (1978)

THE DEADLY MANTIS
a.k.a. TANG LANG / SHAOLIN MANTIS (1978)

SUPER NINJAS
a.k.a. REN ZNE WU DI / FIVE ELEMENT NINJA (1982)

By the second week, THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR/JIAO TOU (1979) had replaced KUNG FU WARLORDS PART II, which kept its November 23 release date but premiered instead at the Empire Theater on 42nd Street, where it was paired with the first KUNG FU WARLORDS.

Movie Ad of the Week: THE BLACK CAT (1984)

Lucio Fulci's THE BLACK CAT (1981), which received limited theatrical exposure in the U.S. through World Northal, opened in a dozen New York-area theaters (including the RKO Proctors here in New Rochelle) on February 4th, 1984.

One-Sheet of the Week: MISSION KISS AND KILL (1980)

ZHAO JI ZAI DA HENG HANG (1979)

U.S. release in 1980 as MISSION KISS AND KILL

One-Sheet of the Week: CHINATOWN KID (1979)

TANG REN JIE XIAO ZI (1977)

U.S. release in 1979 as CHINATOWN KID

This movie's leading man, the late Alexander Fu Sheng, was recently the subject of a wonderful 3-part post over at the great Cool Ass Cinema blog. Check it out HERE.

One-Sheet of the Week: THE LAST HUNTER (1984)

L'ULTIMO CACCIATORE (1980)

U.S. release in January 1984 as THE LAST HUNTER

One-Sheet of the Week: THE FLYING GUILLOTINE (1980)

XUE DI ZI (1974)

U.S. release in 1980 as THE FLYING GUILLOTINE

One-Sheet of the Week: BLAST OF THE IRON PALM (1984)

SHE DIAO YING XIONG CHUAN SAN JI / BRAVE ARCHER 3 (1981)

U.S. release in 1984 as BLAST OF THE IRON PALM

One-Sheet of the Week: KUNG FU WARLORDS PART II (1983)

SHE DIAO YING XIONG CHUAN XU JI / BRAVE ARCHER 2 (1978)

U.S. release in October 1983 as KUNG FU WARLORDS PART II

One-Sheet of the Week: KUNG FU WARLORDS (1983)

SHE DIAO YING XIONG CHUAN / BRAVE ARCHER (1977)

U.S. release in June 1983 as KUNG FU WARLORDS

One-Sheet of the Week: REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES (1981)

GOU HUN JIANG TOU / BLACK MAGIC II (1976)

U.S. release in 1981 as REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES

One-Sheet of the Week: BLACK MAGIC (1979)

JIANG TOU (1975)

U.S. release in 1979 as BLACK MAGIC

TRIVIA: If you click on the image to enlarge it, you'll notice in the billing block that "Produced by Runme Shaw" is on a strip of paper that has been pasted over another credit. For the record, that previous credit was just as bogus as all the others on this poster: "Produced by Caesar Anton."

One-Sheet of the Week: SCUM (1980)

SCUM (1979)

U.S. release in 1980

One-Sheet of the Week: A SLICE OF DEATH (1982)

SHAO LIN YING XIONG BANG / ABBOT OF SHAOLIN / SHAOLIN ABBOT (1979)

U.S. release in 1982 as A SLICE OF DEATH