Fist of Fear, Touch of Death 1980

Outside Madison Square Garden, TV reporter Adolph Caesar is on the scene as a martial arts tournament looms, framed as the event that could crown bruce Lee’s official successor. Promoter Aaron Banks speaks about Lee’s supposed death at the hands of a kung fu move called “The Touch of Death,” insisting the move can be deadly in three to four weeks. The segment includes flashbacks that purport to show Bruce Lee backing Banks’ assertion.

Inside MSG, Caesar surveys the lineup and shows what he calls “interview footage” with Bruce Lee shortly before his death. The program then shifts to earlier in the day, where action star Fred Williamson negotiates a gauntlet of obstacles, only to be repeatedly mistaken for Harry Belafonte. The profile continues with Ron Van Clief, who is later seen rescuing a woman from four assailants in a New York park.

The film’s middle segment is devoted to The Bruce Lee Story, a retelling of Lee’s youth in China, where he is depicted as “karate crazy.” The footage, some of it drawn from the 1957 film Thunderstorm and redubbed, presents Lee as striving to live up to his great-grandfather, described as “one of China’s greatest Samurai masters” — a note that China did not have Samurai (they were Japanese). The life of Lee’s grandfather also appears in this act, with scenes borrowed from Invincible Super Chan. Lee’s journey continues as he leaves home and begins an acting career.

This section leads to a standout moment featuring Bill Louie, dressed as Kato from The Green Hornet, who intervenes to save two female joggers from a gang near Battery Park in broad daylight, culminating in the apparent murder of the last conscious gang member with a throwing star.

After Caesar announces the conclusion of The Bruce Lee Story, the action returns to Madison Square Garden, where Fred Williamson is again interviewed and dismisses the idea of a contest to decide a Bruce Lee successor.

The finale is a two-round kickboxing match, with Louis Neglia prevailing. The film closes as Caesar offers a final reflection.

“The Touch of Death” is described as a move that can kill in three to four weeks.