Golden Needles (1974)

A priceless ancient Chinese statue that has the power to give health and vigor if used properly with acupuncture needles (if used improperly, it causes death) is pursued by two ruthless men, an American (Burgess Meredith) and a Chinese (Roy Chiao) who will stop at nothing to attain it. Directed by Robert Clouse (ENTER THE DRAGON), this martial arts action movie is a bit of a mess. The action sequences never amount to anything more than okay, the karate sequences are a bit livelier but I've seen better. But its near incoherent plot never makes much sense which leaves its characters up a creek without a paddle. Joe Don Baker had scored a sleeper hit the year before in WALKING TALL so someone thought it might be a feasible idea to make him a movie star and this movie is the result. It didn't and by the 1980s he was back doing character parts. As Baker's romantic interest, Elizabeth Ashley is overqualified for stuff like this and can only assume a paid trip to Hong Kong was an incentive. With Ann Sothern, Jim Kelly and Frances Fong.