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One of the most popular and most unusual TV series of the early
seventies, Kung Fu was an "Eastern-Western" about Kwai Chang
Caine(David Carridine), a half-Chinese Shaolin monk who is a fugitive
from the law in the old American West. Extensively trained in the
martial arts in China, Caine eschews violence but does defend himself
and defend those who are oppressed, whereever in his travels he finds
them. In The Cenotaph, Caine encounters a madman
McBurney(Stefan Giersach), who is hijacking a stagecoach in order to
transport his dying wife. The incident prompts Caine to recall his
days as a young priest in China, when he happens upon the Imperial
consort May Li Ho(Nancy Kwan), who is being pursued by the Chinese
warlord Kai Tong. The naive Caine falls in love with the beautiful
but arrogant May Li, battling Kai Tong to defend her. Meanwhile, back
in the West, Caine aids McBurney in his mad quest, hauling a large
wooden box that he says contains his wife. The two stories weave back
and forth, until the conclusion of The Cenotaph, when both
Caine and McBurney must accept losing the women they love. Even
though he is not an Asian actor, David Carridine created a very
memorable character in his role as Kwai Chang Caine; his quiet
strength and his Taoist spirituality made him a rare positive Chinese
role model. In The Cenotaph, Nancy Kwan plays perfectly with
him, as her character Mayli both transforms Caine and is transformed
by him.
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Credits
