Also known as Iron Chain Assassin and Iron Chain Fighter, this Chor Yuen-directed revenge movie about Teng Piao (Ti Lung), who has been released from jail after 15 years for a crime he didn't commit. He wants revenge on the person who sent him behind bars, Black Leopard and his seven killers, and teams with Shang Lin (Li Ching), a widow who lost her husband to the same killer, to find him.

A modern Shaw Brothers film - set in the early 20th century, but there are even guns - this has a true bad ass hero in Teng Piao, a man in a black hat who has taken the chain that kept him stuck in his cell all these years and now uses it as a weapon. He has no idea who the Black Leopard is, other than he has a tattoo on his chest of a jungle cat. There's also a knife thrower named Mr. Du (Liu Yung) who may or may not be on the side of our hero and Zhou Bai (Jason Piao Pai), the boss of the town who may be one of the seven killers along with his six brothers.

This feels close to a hardboiled detective story as much as a martial arts movie. I'd love to see more with this style; there are some that feel this has too much exposition and not enough combat, but I enjoyed every moment.

IRON CHAIN FIGHTER/THE CONVICT KILLER begins with criminal Teng Piao (Ti Lung) gunning down the man who betrayed him; he's imprisoned for fifteen years, thanks to another informant, Lan Fei, "The Black Leopard." When Piao is released, the first order of business is to track down The Black Leopard (identifiable by a black leopard tattoo on his chest). This brings him into conflict with Zhou, the big boss of Flying Eagle Town, and his infamous Seven Killers. Early on, Piao confronts Mei, "The Cold-faced Plum Blossom" killer. Her weapon of choice- in this instance- is a pair of scissors. She escapes, but Piao runs into a dart-throwing marksman named Du Guo (Liu Yung), whose "Flying Daggers" are unerring. Du is offered amnesty for a pair of murders by Zhou if Du will kill Piao. Gung fu is mixed with gun fu as things heat up, building to the climactic battle (in the snow, a la SANSHIRO SUGATA II). At one point in the action, Ti Lung uses a crossed-ankles scissors lock to trap and redirect the knife hand of an attacker. Overall, a nice mix of action and suspense.