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Films with theme "Martial arts films", sorted by production date

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The Big Timer
The Big Timer (1932)
, 1h14
Directed by Edward Buzzell
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films
Actors Ben Lyon, Constance Cummings, Thelma Todd, Tom Dugan, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Charley Grapewin

Cooky Bradford wants to make enough money to buy a lunch wagon. He ends up falling for, and fighting for, boxing manager Pop Baldwin's daughter, Honey.
Winner Take All
Winner Take All (1932)
, 1h6
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films
Actors James Cagney, Marian Nixon, Guy Kibbee, Dickie Moore, Virginia Bruce, Alan Mowbray

Rising boxer Jimmy Kane is sent from New York City to the Rosario Ranch and Hot Springs in New Mexico to regain his health after spending too much time with women and drink. There he meets young widow Peggy Harmon and her son Dickie. She eventually falls in love with him, and he likes her too. When Jimmy finds out that she will have to cut short her son's treatment because she will not receive an insurance payout, Jimmy takes on a tough fight in Tijuana to raise the $600 she needs. The marks on his face show Peggy where the money came from.
The Champ
The Champ (1931)
, 1h25
Directed by King Vidor
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Melodrama
Themes Films about alcoholism, Films about families, Medical-themed films, Films about drugs, Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Le boxe anglaise
Actors Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates, Edward Brophy, Marcia Mae Jones

Andy "Champ" Purcell (Wallace Beery) is the former world heavyweight champion, now down on his luck and living in squalid conditions with his eight-year-old son "Dink" in Tijuana, Mexico. Champ attempts to train and to convince promoters to set up a fight for him, but his efforts are consistently stymied by his alcoholism. Dink is repeatedly disappointed and let down by his father's irresponsible actions and frequent broken promises to quit drinking, but his utter devotion to his father nonetheless never wavers.
Hold Everything
Hold Everything (1930)
, 1h14
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Musical films
Actors Winnie Lightner, Joe E. Brown, Sally O'Neil, Edmund Breese, Bert Roach, Dorothy Revier

Brown plays Gink Schiner, a third-rate fighter who is at the same training camp as Georges La Verne (played by Georges Carpentier), a contender for the heavyweight championship. Although he needs to be concentrating all of his energies on the upcoming bout, Georges keeps getting distracted: Norine Lloyd, a society dame, has a distinct interest in him, but the interest is strictly one-sided. Georges prefers Sue, an old buddy and confidante. Gink has woman trouble of his own, as his flirtations do not sit at all well with Toots (played by Winnie Lightner), his erstwhile girlfriend. More trouble arrives when Larkin, manager of current heavyweight champ Bob Morgan, appears at the camp with the goal of fixing the fight. He is sent packing, after which he attempts to slip a Mickey Finn to the challenger—a plan which goes awry when Gink switches the drinks. Meanwhile, Gink, who is fighting in a preliminary in advance of the big fight, actually wins. Things don't look so bright for Georges, who initially gets the worst of it in his encounter with Morgan, but who eventually comes out on top.
The Swordswoman of Huangjiang
The Swordswoman of Huangjiang (1930)
, 1h12
Genres Action, Adventure
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Wuxia films
Actors Chin Tsi-ang

The character Fang Yuqing, accompanied by her "martial brother" Yue Jianqui travels the Jiang Hu providing what assistance they can offer to those in need. Early in the film two men are attacked by a giant golden bird (played by a man in costume) but escape when the bird is attacked by another large but darker bird (created with special effects). However, the latter bird carries a child away. The men escape to their village, and subsequently the two main characters arrive. They offer their help, but after defeating the bird and saving the child, Fang's donkey is stolen by another swordswoman. She pursues her and they engage in a fight scene. The thief afterwards reveals that her village of origin is under siege by outlaws. She has heard of Fang's reputation and has baited her in order to test her skills before requesting her help in saving her hometown. (That event takes place in one of the later films which no longer exists.) The two make peace and the party continues onwards, eventually stopping to rest for the night at the titular temple. However, what initially appeared to be Buddhist monks are actually disguised villains in the service of one of Fang's enemies, who attempt to ambush the heroes while they sleep by sneaking in via a hidden corridor. This is when the film's climactic fight scene takes place, in which Fang battles the temple's "monks" using double swords. The film ends abruptly at this point due to lost footage.
Red Heroine
Red Heroine (1929)
, 1h34
Origin Chine
Genres Martial arts, Action, Martial arts
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Wuxia films

Des soldats enlèvent une jeune fille et tuent sa grand-mère. Elle est sauvée par un mystérieux ermite qui la forme aux arts martiaux pour qu’elle puisse se venger.
Night Parade
Night Parade (1929)
, 1h11
Directed by Malcolm St. Clair
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Films based on plays
Actors Aileen Pringle, Robert Ellis, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Gulliver, Ann Pennington, Lloyd Ingraham

Bobby Murray is the middleweight champion, managed by his father, Tom. He is expected to lose an upcoming fight in defense of his title. A local sportswriter, Sid Durham, also thinks he will lose, but he has high regard for Tom. A gangster, John Zelli, also feels that Murray will lose, but wants to ensure that fact. Zelli enlists the talents of sultry Paula Vernoff to seduce Bobby, and get him to agree to throw the fight.
The Ring
The Ring (1927)
, 1h26
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Le boxe anglaise
Actors Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davis, Ian Hunter, Donald Calthrop, Forrester Harvey, Anne Grey

The film's title refers not only to the boxing arena, but also to the wedding ring – and to a suggestive snake bracelet which becomes a symbol of the love triangle at the center of the film. The story revolves around a love triangle between a fairground boxer (Jack "One Round" Sander – Carl Brisson) whose lover (Mabel – Lillian Hall-Davis) falls for the charms of a professional boxer (Bob Corby – Ian Hunter).
The Battle of the Century
The Battle of the Century (1927)
, 19minutes
Directed by Clyde Bruckman
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Buddy films
Actors Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Noah Young, Eugene Pallette, Charlie Hall, Sam Lufkin

Hardy enrolls Laurel at a boxing competition. Laurel, however, is too weak, and unfortunately loses. Hardy then seeks advice from an insurer on how to easily earn a lot of money: Laurel has to have an injury, so that Hardy can then pocket the insurance money. Hardy places a banana peel on a sidewalk, bringing Laurel there. But a pastry chef stumbles on the peel, and gets angry with Hardy, throwing a pie in his face. Hardy responds to the provocation, and soon the entire city block is involved in an epic battle of pies.
Chuji's Travel Diary: The Chuji Patrol Episode
Chuji's Travel Diary: The Chuji Patrol Episode (1927)
, 1h36
Directed by Daisuke Itō
Origin Japon
Genres Drama, Action
Themes Seafaring films, Sports films, Transport films, Martial arts films, Samurai films, Yakuza films, Political films, Gangster films
Actors Denjirō Ōkōchi, Ranko Sawa

The three films focus on the travels of the kindly yakuza boss Kunisada Chūji. The existing print begins with Chuji on the road, fleeing the law while taking care of Kantaro, the son of a dead friend. He leaves Kantaro with Kabe Yasuemon, an honorable local boss, but is shocked to find out that his own men have been committing robberies using his own name. Angry, Chuji hits the road and eventually settles in another town, assuming another name and working as a clerk for a sake brewery. Okuma, the daughter of the brewer, falls in love with Chuji, but he ignores her. When he saves her brother from trouble with the Otozo gang, his identity is revealed and the police close in. Okume kills herself and Chuji flees, but the palsy he had been suffering from worsens and he is finally caught. His henchmen, however, succeed in rescuing him and bring him back to his home village. Unable to walk and confined to bed, Chuji is hidden in a storehouse. His woman, Oshina, discovers that one of his men has betrayed him, but it is too late. Despite the valiant efforts of his men to hold off the police, Chuji is finally arrested by the authorities.
Sword of Penitence
Sword of Penitence (1927)
, 1h10
Directed by Yasujirō Ozu, Torajirō Saitō
Origin Japon
Genres Drama, Swashbuckler
Themes Seafaring films, Sports films, Transport films, Martial arts films
Actors Chōko Iida

Sakichi, who has just been released after five years in prison, is telling his younger brother Ishimatsu that he intends to turn his back on crime when an acquaintance of theirs, Genshichi, bursts in. Genshichi is in flight from officers of the law, having been disturbed in the course of a burglary. Sakichi and Ishimatsu allow him to hide with them, but Sakichi urges him to give up his life of crime. Genshichi laughs derisively and disappears. Sakichi apprentices himself to a rice-merchant and by his diligence and honesty earns his employer's trust. Ishimatsu steals a valuable hair ornament from Oyae, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. As he flees, pursued by the constable Manabe, he happens to meet Sakichi on the road. Without warning, he presses the ornament into Sakichi's hand and runs off.
Blarney
Blarney (1926)
, 50minutes
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films
Actors Ralph Graves, Renée Adorée, Paulette Duval, Malcolm Waite, Margaret Seddon

James (Ralph Graves), an Irish prizefighter, becomes involved with two New York girls.