''They Call Her... Cleopatra Wong'' (also known as ''Cleopatra Wong'' and ''Female Big Boss'') is a 1978 Philippine-Singaporean

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

film directed by Bobby A. Suarez and co-written by Suarez and Romeo N. Galang. It features the first adventure of Asian Interpol agent Cleopatra Wong, starring Marrie Lee in the title role, together with Franco Guerrero, Dante Varonna and George Estregan. The film, riding on the success of Hong Kong

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression a ...

of the era as well as the Cleopatra Jones,

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

and superspy craze, details the adventures of the first and only Singaporean female

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

agent. The film is reportedly listed by cult director

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

as among those that inspired him. Two sequels were filmed in the Philippines.

Plot

Cleopatra Wong is a deadly female

agent, with the title sequence displaying her prowess at

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper rifle) to shoot ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

and unarmed combat. She is interrupted while on holiday in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

by the Chief in Singapore, asking her to see the local Chief, in the Philippines. Cleopatra is informed of a counterfeit plot, where bogus currency is so realistic that it is being freely distributed by a crime syndicate in five

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

countries, hoping to make the people lose faith in their currencies and consequently throw the region into financial chaos. Following which, they will attempt to buy over various companies and make huge profits. Cleopatra is sent back to Singapore where the currency is already being accepted by the major banks. She teams up with her young friend and fellow junior agent, and attempts to spend the counterfeit money so she is captured by the gang responsible. She is taken to their hideout and encounters menacing wrestlers, whom she easily defeats. A chase around Singapore then ensues, including a fight scene in

Sentosa Sentosa Island ( ), known mononymously as Sentosa, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to ...

island. At last, the gang is defeated and is taken for interrogation. Following a tip gathered from the interrogation, Cleopatra sets off to Hong Kong, where the money is reported coming from. At the harbour, she spots a suspicious-looking shipment of strawberry jam, and discovers that the fake currency is being smuggled inside jars of this jam. A fight scene follows, and Cleopatra calls the chief, teasingly telling him to go into the strawberry jam market. Cleopatra returns to the Philippines, where the jam shipment originated. Posing as a reporter for Asian Weekly, she visits a strawberry plantation. The farmer tells her that the main manufacturers of the jam in the area are nuns in a Catholic monastery on a nearby hill, who have recently taken over Marcus. Thanking him, she goes off to investigate. Cleopatra tries the same trick, but is shooed off by the "nuns". However, she does manage to take a few photographs and spots a helicopter nearby. She requests a warrant to search the monastery from the local Interpol chief, but he argues that the evidence is insufficient. Cleopatra then goes to develop the photographs, only to encounter thugs on the way. The photographs show the nuns carrying automatic machine guns, which is enough evidence for the chief. The "nuns" and "monks" are, in reality, members of the syndicate whilst the real nuns are locked captive in the basement. Cleopatra and the team infiltrate the area, with massive gun battles and explosions as the result. Finally, she corners the escaping syndicate member escaping on his helicopter. Using three explosive arrows, she blows the chopper up. The rest of the impostors are dispatched of by her teammates, and the monastery is saved.

Tagline

''She purrs like a kitten and makes love like a siren. This side of the pacific, she is the meanest, deadliest and sexiest secret agent''.

Sequels

* ''Dynamite Johnson'' (1979) * ''Devil's Angels'' (1980)

Restoration

It had been thought that all prints of the film were lost and that the only surviving copies of the film were videotape. However, in 2021 the film was restored based on two copies from international archives: a 35mm German-dubbed release print from the collection of Filmarchiv Austria, and a 16mm release print with the original sound but burned-in Danish subtitles from the Danish Film Institute.

References

External links

*
Southeast Asia Cinematheque
– Information on BAS Film Productions Inc * {{Cite web, date=October 8, 2021, title=Cleopatra Wong Is the Forgotten Movie Star That Singapore Needs Right Now, url=https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=44783, access-date=October 8, 2021, website=RICE, language=en-GB Interview with Marrie Lee herself, when the restored film was released. 1978 films 1978 martial arts films Philippine martial arts films Singaporean action films Films directed by Bobby A. Suarez Films shot in Singapore 1970s English-language films English-language Singaporean films English-language Philippine films 1970s rediscovered films English-language action films