They Call Her Cleopatra Wong

They Call Her Cleopatra Wong
Movie poster
Directed by	Bobby A. Suarez
Written by	Romeo N. Galang Bobby A. Suarez
Produced by	Bobby A. Suarez
Starring	Marrie Lee George Estregan
Cinematography	David Hung
Music by	Romeo N. Galang
Distributed by	BAS Film Productions
Release date	1978
Running time	111 minutes
Countries	Singapore Philippines
Language	English

They Call Her... Cleopatra Wong (also known as Cleopatra Wong and Female Big Boss) is a 1978 film, featuring 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 of the era as well as the James Bond and superspy craze, details the adventures of the first and only Singaporean female Interpol agent. The movie is directed by Bobby A. Suarez and is written by Romeo N. Galang as well as himself. The film is reported listed by cult director Quentin Tarantino as among those that inspired him.

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.

Plot

Cleopatra Wong is a deadly female Interpol agent, with the title sequence displaying her prowess at marksmanship, archery and unarmed combat. She is interrupted while on holiday in Manila by the Chief in Singapore, asking her to see the local Chief, in the Philippines. On the way to meeting the Interpol Chief, she was ambushed by three bizarre-looking clowns who each possess a skill that she excels in. Unable to outfight them together, she disappears by using the teleportation device that her boss gave her, bringing her to see Manila Interpol Chief right away.

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 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. The boss stated that Intelligence has discovered that the conspiracy is headed by three men whose identities were not revealed yet.

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 island. At last, the gang is defeated and is taken for interrogation. Cleopatra also found a Circuit Jamming device in the pockets of one gang member, and decided to take it with her, having the foresight that it would be useful.

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. Then she realised that her friend Marcus was the boss of the factory of this blueberry jam!

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. Cleopatra assembles a team of four trusted female agents to accompany her on a raid of the monastery. She gave her team a name: The Super Sirens.

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. Suddenly, three monks threw back their capes to reveal fiendish faces of circus clowns. The three bosses have revealed themselves. The three bosses had a final showdown with the five agents, and just when Cleopatra and her team were getting the upper hand, the bosses went into fighting frenzy. They turned out to be cyborgs, but Cleopatra simply used the Circuit Jamming device she gotten earlier to deactivate the cyborgs, thus saving the day.

External links

• They Call Her Cleopatra Wong at IMDb
• Southeast Asia Cinematheque – Information on BAS Film Productions Inc