THE LADY PROFESSIONAL (1971)

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny* 
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*

I don't know what the status of "stylish lady assassin films" was in 1971, but LADY PROFESSIONAL seems like it was made by people who never saw a good movie in this subgenre. I mean, even screening 1967's DEADLIER THAN THE MALE might have given them a clue.       

PROFESSIONAL looks good but proves a labor to get through thanks to a surfeit of talking-head scenes. Ge Tianli (Lily Ho), former assassin gone straight, is forced by gangsters to take on one more assignment. But once the job's done, the head gangster decides to save some money by knocking off Ge. This sounds like it ought to lead to a fair helping of lively action-scenes as Ge fends off assassins, but the film's two directors-- one Japanese, one Chinese-- weren't equal to this task. Only one scene is slightly memorable. Three assassins corner Ge in a construction yard, one killer being an acrobat who uses knives, while the other two are big muscular guys (one played by Bolo Yeung). Ge tries a few striking moves on the big guys, and they just ignore her blows. I think the writer meant to imply that Ge could fight well enough when not overmatched, so I still judge the film to be combative, even though the fights are underwhelming. Ge does manage to slay all three killers by fleeing and tricking them into "death by construction implements."

Characterization is nonexistent, and the only uncanny metaphenomenon is that Ge sometimes kills her victims with darts fired from her compact. Lily Ho's stunning good looks are the only ammunition this PROFESSIONAL can offer.