The Bloody Fists is a Jimmy L. Pascual film released by Goldig Films (H.K.) Ltd. at a time when martial arts films were still big business getting bigger every day, thanks in large part because Bruce Lee was still around to lead the way. In The Bloody Fists Chen Sing plays a brutal robber reluctant to be a hero, Henry Yu Yung plays a young villager who is nobly heroic, and Chen Kuan Tai portrays a villainous Japanese gang leader like nobody’s business. The Bloody Fists is also known as Death Beach and after a showdown between Chan Sing and Chen Kuan Tai both titles are sufficiently earned.

We are first introduced to Chan Wu Ger (Chan Sing / Chen Sing) when he attempts to rob a motorist but discovers it was an elaborate trap set up by a police captain intent on his capture. While we don’t see Chan Wu Ger actually kill any of the officers he does use one as a shield when the police captain fires on him. It seems to fit with the mentality of this criminal character to make a police man kill a police man while trying to kill him. We soon learn that Chan Wu Ger is a notorious sort of folk-bandit that the countryside has nick-named "On The Wing" because he always seems to get away with the most audacious escapes.

Either Chan Sing was hamming it up a bit, or his character as written by Ng See-Yuen really was meant to be as vain about his appearance, or maybe a bit of both. Before Chan Wu Ger gets into a fight he always takes out his comb and very dramatically and smugly combs his hair with a tough guy attitude, then breaks it and throws it away. This kind of thing normally shouldn’t work, but Chan Sing makes it work. It furthers his portrayal of a more complex than usual anti-hero. He does this when fighting with the police officers at the beginning and also when fighting the Japanese at the end.

A no good exile from the village that had fallen in with Japanese and Japanese criminals at that, Pai Chin San (Suen Lam) returns to the village that ran him out years before. He brings with him these Japanese friends who have a plan.

They let it be known that they are setting up a martial arts school, but that is just a ruse for their real intentions. They want to takeover control of the village’s production of Dragon Herb, which is crucial in combating a plague sweeping the country. After which, they will turn over the only fields that can grow this Dragon Herb and set up their opium operation in place.

While there is an attempt to give the film a period feel, the actual time is never really made specific. It is at least turn of the century, but way before World War II. The few gun appearances look World War I era, but some of the vehicles look post World War I. There was Bubonic plague in parts of China from about 1910-1912 and also in1946. At a guess then I would say the film’s events were supposed to be around 1910. As for the "Dragon Herb" that is important to the story that can be a guessing game as well, because there are a lot of things in Chinese herbalism that may be broadly classified as ‘Dragon Herb’ which may actually treat some symptoms of the plague, while some may not.

The leader of these Japanese criminals is Okinagwa (Chen Kuan Tai) who wears a lower-face mask and gloves for much of the movie. When things heat up and it looks like he needs to do what his men can’t he removes his mask and eventually the gloves come off as well. This removal of his lower-face mask and his gloves has a similar sort of self-obsessed narcissistic reveal of his character as does it seems Chan Wu Ger’s combing his hair then breaking his comb.

Chan Wu Ger wanders into the village after his escape and decides to rest there. While there he sees the Japanese putting on an invitation tournament where one of the villager’s is losing his fight to a Japanese opponent. Without anyone seeing he takes one of the coins he has stolen and throws it at the Japanese fighter, ending the fight in some confusion, but saving the villager further beating. He tries to appear as much as he can to be a mere wanderer and stay out of what is going on. He overhears some of the Japanese talking about their eventual plans but is still unmoved. He is satisfied to leave it for the three Yu brothers to handle because he must be on his way before the law picks up his trail.