From the erudite mind of DeAnna Berger and the peculiar soul of Amy James comes a three part series, Warrior Women of Wuxia, featuring a selection by the very special Edwin Bailey, in celebration of the summer action movie, a genre traditionally dominated by male heroes. But in the early days of Hong Kong action cinema, women played all of the roles. In fact, the first ever HK martial arts action star was the star of Swordswoman of Huangjiang (1930), Xu Qing-Fan.
Come Drink with Me (1966) not only was a defining film of the wuxia genre, but made Pei-Pei Cheng a huge star. As tribute to her importance in the genre, Ang Lee cast her as the Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
From imdb.com
"A ruthless band of thugs kidnaps a young official to exchange for their leader who has been captured. Golden Swallow is sent to take on the thugs and free the prisoner (who is also her brother). Though she is able to handle the overwhelming odds, she is hit by a poison dart and gets help from a beggar who is really a kung-fu master in disguise. With his help, she forms a plan to get her brother back.
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