The Man from Hong Kong at 50: how the first ever Australian–Hong Kong co-production became a cult classic
- Written by Gregory Ferris, Senior Lecturer, Media Arts & Production, University of Technology Sydney

A cinematic firecracker of a film exploded onto international screens 50 years ago this week, blending martial arts mayhem, Bond-esque set pieces, casual racism – and a distinctly Australian swagger.
From its audacious visual style; to its complex, life-threatening stunts; to its pioneering status as an international co-production, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s The Man from Hong Kong has solidified its place as a cult classic.
The plot is deceptively simple. A Sydney-based crime lord’s activities come under the scrutiny of a determined Hong Kong detective, Inspector Fang Sing Leng. A fiery East-meets-West martial arts showdown explodes across the Australian landscape, pushing both sides to their limits.
Jimmy Wang Yu (known at the time as Asia’s Steve McQueen) plays Inspector Fang Sing Leng. Fang delivers justice with his fists and uses his wits navigating greater Sydney, with help from the local constabulary and its adoring female population.
The movie is a playful pastiche that confidently combines martial arts action, police procedurals, spy thrillers, and Westerns, all filtered through a distinctly Australian “crash-zoom” lens.
An Australia–Hong Kong co-production
The Man from Hong Kong was the first official Australia–Hong Kong co-production, uniting Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest studio with Australian producer John Fraser.
This model would pave the way for numerous future collaborations – the film demonstrating that Australia was open for international (film) business, albeit with some constraints, such as shooting locales.
In The Man from Hong Kong’s case, the financial arrangement was 50/50. As a result, half of the film had to be shot in Hong Kong, despite 85% of the storyline being set in Australia. Many of the interiors were filmed in Hong Kong studios to meet this production requirement.
An example of this is the interrogation scene, which alternates between its Sydney exteriors and a fight scene taking place in the interior film set shot thousands of miles away at the Golden Harvest studios.
In a genius bit of montage, the scene jumps from a shot of a kick in the crotch to a close-up of pool balls breaking on a table.