When a shipment of gold lead by Yang Hu Yun (Sun Chien) is threatened by a group of bandits called the Chi Sha gang, the Imperial Detective known as Officer Hai Tao (Philip Kwok) is sent to help the the Hu Wei Security Bureau’s leader to help protect and guide it to the famine-stricken area. Along with the officer, 4 well known fighters volunteered to assist as well: the Jian-wielding hero Li Chin-Ming (Wei Pei) and his lover Miss Leng Feng (Helen Poon), and the comedic Blood Knight duo known as Long Axe Yang Jiu (Shu-Pei Sun) and Short Axe Fang Shih (Sheng Chiang).
But the Chi Sha gang will stop at nothing to take the gold; The gang's leader, the Golden Arm Kid (Lo Mang) is feared across the martial world for his ruthlessness and his skills in the Golden Arm kung fu, accompanied by his top 3 henchmen; Brass Head (Yang Hsiung), Iron Robe (Wang Lung Wei), and Silver Spear (Lu Feng)...all of them dangerous opponents...and that's not taking into account various other challengers who intend to retrieve the gold for their own selfish reasons.
Has absolutely nothing to do with The Man with the Golden Arm.
Kid with the Golden Arm contains examples of:
- Barehanded Blade Block: The Golden Arm Kid, thanks to his Golden Arm.
- Battle Couple: Deconstructed; Li Chin-Ming and Leng Feng are shown to have a strained relationship due to the former's obsession with his reputation as a hero, to the point that he essentially estranges her by the end of the film and leaves her by herself after his death.
- Bittersweet Ending: More bitter than sweet, given that Leng Feng is the only survivor along with Hai Tao, and the latter leaves her by herself to deliver the gold to the village while he gets drunk.
- Body-Count Competition: A friendly example between the axe brothers, Fang Shih and Yan Jiu. While fighting the Seven Hooks gang, the brothers each kill three, and in order to show that "brothers should share everything", they kill the seventh and last gang member together.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Li Chin-Ming and Leng Feng respectively.
- Characters Dropping Like Flies: The entire cast, save for Hai Tao and Leng Feng, is killed off.
- The Chessmaster: Iron Feet, AKA Yang Hu Yun, is revealed to be this when he reveals he had been manipulating the Hu Wei Security Bureau and the Chi Sha Gang as pawns for his ends, with the intent to dispose of both of them and killing off his double so that he can create his own gang.
- Combat Hand Fan: Iron Robe's preferred weapon is a fan-made of black metal, capable of deflecting even sword attacks.
- Decoy Protagonist: Initially it seems Yang Hu Yun is going to be the protagonist due to his status as a leader and heroic disposition, but Hai Tao pretty much steals the spotlight from him. Once it's revealed that Yang Hu Yun was actually Iron Feet, he solidifies himself as a false protagonist.
- Drunken Master: Hai Tao utilizes this particular skill, and is often seen chugging from a wine bottle before his fights. AND after.
- Dwindling Party: Almost every single member of the Bureau drops dead by end of the movie to the point what's left of them outright stating that they want to quit, leaving the head of the bureau and the 5 volunteers on their own. After that, most of the volunteers are killed off by Golden Arm and Silver Spear, with Yang Jiu being the first, to the point that all who’s left of the Bureau is Leng Feng.
- Evil All Along: "Yang Hu Yun" is revealed have been Iron feet, a former friend-turned-rival of Golden Arm who grew envious of the Chi Sha gang, whose only intent was to manipulate the Chi Sha gang and his entire Bureau into destroying each other so that he could take the gold and create his own gang to rival that of Golden Arm's.
- Eye Scream: In the penultimate battle against the Golden Arm Kid, Hai Tao realize his opponent is completely invincible, save for his sole weakness being his eyes. Befitting his nature as a drunk kung fu expert, Hai Tao then blinds the Golden Arm Kid by spitting wine into his face.
- Faux Action Girl: Downplayed; Leng Feng is a relatively skilled fighter given she was hired along with Chin-Ming, but she barely gets any fight scenes aside from a short one with Iron Robe. She does get to kill Golden Arm, though.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: The Golden Arm Kid is the only character who fights unarmed, and he's among the deadliest characters because his arms are practically indestructible.
- Gorn: Some really gory ones throughout the film, notably when the Golden Arm Kid gets stabbed through his gut.
- Groin Attack: This is the method Hai Tao uses to defeat the otherwise invincible Iron Robe; by launching a nutshot from below as Iron Robe tries jumping over him. A jab through the nuts is more than enough to kill the otherwise infallible Iron Robe.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Despite Golden Arm willing to retire as a hermit at the end, Leng Feng wasn't having any of that after what happened with Li.
- High-Pressure Blood: Plenty throughout the film, notably when the titular character gets stabbed. Seen here
◊. (SPOILER!) - Hooks and Crooks: The Seven Hooks gang uses hooks as their main weapons, although it didn't help them much considering they're killed within minutes.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: At the very end, Hai Tao declares this after everything that transpired.
- The Leader: Yang Hu Yun, though this is subverted in that he was Iron Feet the entire time, and he wasn't leading them so much as he was using them.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Golden Arm is this in that he doesn't treat his own men as pawns for his own ends unlike Iron Feet, under the alter ego of "Yang Hu Yun", who was willing to get everyone killed so as to have the gold all for himself.
- Make Way for the New Villains: Iron Feet does this literally in the final few minutes of the film.
- Mutual Kill: Short Ax vs. Silver Spear ends with both of them inflicting mortal injuries on each other at the same time.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Kung fu masters with high concentrations of chi can deflect and absorb all kinds of damage, notably Iron Robe and the Golden Arm Kid's...arms.
- Noble Demon: The Golden Arm Kid may be ruthless and a dangerous enemy, but he maintains a strong sense of loyalty and righteousness and is disgusted by the actions of much more vile characters like Iron Robe and Iron Feet, aka "Yang Hu Yun".
- Non-Indicative Name: The titular "kid" is played by Lo Meng, who is in his twenties. The film tries justifying it by explaining he trained in the skills of indestructible arms since he was a kid, but still.
- Pet the Dog: Li insists on letting what's left of the Hu Wei go their own way before Yang, Iron Feet's double that is, tries to execute one of them.
- Poison Is Evil: Exaggerated; The Chi Sha gang, or potentially Iron Feet, use poison in every way possible. Poison needles on an area to sit or walk on? Check. Poisoned water supply? Check. Poison gas set off by a rigged torch holder? Check.
- Red Baron: So many of the characters...Golden Arm, Silver Spear, Iron Robe, Brass Head, Iron Feet...
- Retractable Weapon: Silver Spear's weapon can extend for long-range attack.
- The Reveal: At the very end, it's revealed that Yang Hu Yun was just an alter ego for Iron Feet to disguise himself.
- Saved From Their Own Honor: Defied with Li Chin-Ming; Despite Hai Tao's best efforts, Li goes out of his way to fight Golden arm to maintain his reputation as a hero, only to get effortlessly killed afterwards.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The last few members of the Hu wei bid their farewells to Yang after realizing that the Bureau is finished, leaving the 4 volunteers and imperial detective that joined Yang to deliver the gold by themselves.
- Senseless Sacrifice:
- Li Chin Ming needlessly gets himself killed out of sheer hubris in an attempt to take down Golden Arm, leaving Leng Feng by herself in the end.
- An even bigger one is most of the Hu Wei Security Bureau and their volunteer allies; they all fought and died thinking they were helping a ravaged area, when in truth they were nothing but Iron Feet's pawns for his own agenda.
- Sole Survivor: Of all the volunteers that joined Yang Hu Yun, Miss Leng Feng is the only one who lived.
- Those Two Guys: Fang Shih and Yang Jiu, aka Short Axe and Long Axe respectively, qualify as this since any fighting scene involves both of them quipping to each other at the same time
- A minor but villainous example would be The Wang brothers, who don't really do much and get killed just the same.
- Two Aliases, One Character: Yang Hu Yun and Iron Feet are the same person; the former is just a fake identity the latter made to disguise himself.
- Unwitting Pawn: Every single member of the Chi Sha Gang and the Hu Wei Security Bureau, including the volunteers helping them, were this to Iron Feet who had been manipulating them into giving him the resources he needed to form his own gang.
- Use Your Head: Master Brass Head, who fights unarmed but with his primary weapon being his brass helmet. During fights, he tends to bash enemies who got in his way using said helmet, killing at least five opponents by ramming his head into their guts and chests.
- Villain Respect: Silver Spear has this for Hai Tao, so much so that he keeps trying to recruit the Chinese agent into the Chi Sha Gang anytime he runs into him.
- The Worf Effect: Whenever the Golden Arm Kid gets into a battle with any named character, expect the opposing side to be the Worf...unless it's Hai Tao.
- We Can Rule Together: Silver Spear keeps trying to get Hai Tao to join the Chi Sha gang under Golden Arm's request. Hai Tao imposes some truly ludicrous demands, including that he be in charge of the gang and that all the other members have to be killed. Understandably, Silver Spear does not agree to these conditions.
- Will They or Won't They?: While hints of a romance were shown Between Leng Feng and Hai Tao at the trap-ridden village, it's unknown if they ever bothered to pursue one after the entire ordeal.
- Wrecked Weapon: When fighting Yang Hu Yun (Iron Feet's double holding up the ruse, in this case), who wields a BFS of a Dao, to prove the power of his Golden Arms, the Golden Arm Kid snaps the sword into half with his bare hands and crumples the weapon into bits as if it's made of nachos.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Iron Feet disposes of his double after the former reveals his identity and true intent to Hai Tao.
- Wuxia
