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Princess Yang Kwei-fei

In 8th-century China, the Emperor grieves the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their court influence. General An Lushan finds a distant relative working in their kitchen, whom they groom to present to the Emperor. The Emperor falls in love and she becomes the Princess Yang Kwei-fei. The Yangs are then appointed important ministers, though An Lushan is not given the court position he covets.

Princess Yang Kwei-fei

6.7 1955
The Kid

A 10-year-old Bruce Lee stars as Kid Cheung, an orphan boy who sells comics in a little stall in the slums to survive. He and his two siblings are looked after by his Uncle Ho, a teacher. When the wealthy Hung Pak-ho surveys the slums to build a school for orphans, he is robbed by the vicious Blade Lee and his gang. Cheung helps Blade Lee escape and earns his friendship, but Uncle Ho convinces him to return the gold necklace Lee stole. Hung rewards Ho by hiring him as his private secretary.

The Kid

6.0 1950
In the Face of Demolition

This early leftist social drama from Hong Kong offers a panoramic portrait of a crumbling apartment complex and its down-and-out denizens, including a taxi driver, an unemployed teacher, a professional reduced to selling his blood and, of course, a venal landlord. In addition to establishing an omnipresent theme in Hong Kong cinema – the plight of the urban poor – the film is also a prime example of the popular melodramas of the time, which featured displaced Mainland film stars.

In the Face of Demolition

10.0 1953
The Natural Son

Chor Yuen started his directorial career with a bang. From its very first image, The Natural Son establishes Chor as a filmmaker of stylistic flourish, which would be sustained in various forms throughout his long tenure. Adapted from '30 cents' pulp fiction, it is a Kong Ngee melodrama made in the studio's mould, with Westernised characters and trendy middle-class lifestyles. Yet, Chor's first film is not exempt from the social urgency that characterises the Cantonese cinema of his father, Cheung Wood-yau. The film cloaks its entertainment in a moral deliberation on blood ties, its story about the raising of a bastard child a head-on challenge of archaic family values. An ostentatious start for a colourful and eventful career.

The Natural Son

NR 1959
Our Sister Hedy

The Kong family has four daughters. Hilda, the eldest sister, assumes the role of a mother and often lets romance slip by. Third sister Hedy introduces her to Sun Ruhao, an engineer, but Sun is snatched by second sister Helen. The youngest girl Hazel drops out of school in pursuit of love. Hedy shows no interest in romance but is chased by a rich heir, He Yan. Meanwhile, Hilda runs away to meet her true love in a foreign land. As for Hedy, she is at last won over by He.

Our Sister Hedy

6.8 1957
Backyard Adventures

Reporter Yu Mong-yuen is recovering from a leg injury in his fiancee Man-wah's apartment. Bored, he looks out the rear window and observes the life of the neighbouring building. Among the tenants are a sugar-daddy and his mistress, a middle-aged man wants to marry a young girl, but she is in love with his son. Finally, she hatches a plot and makes the man agree to her marrying his son ; a sly fortune-teller ; a lively gym, a rich widow quarrels with the trainer of a gymnasium because his dog has bitten her cat ; and an opera school, a woman signs, leaning on the balcony, and a man tries to strangle her. In fact they are rehearsing an opera…… One evening, Wah is on the night shift, and Yuen watches the opera troupe rehearse to the end. Under the influence of drugs, Yu mistakenly believes that a divorced man has murdered a taxi dancer. He alerts the police, but the whole thing is nothing more than a misunderstanding.

Backyard Adventures

10.0 1955
Happy Wedding

During the Warring States Period, Nung-yuk, the Princess of Qin, denounces the mundane world and dreams of marrying an immortal. This extends to her criteria for choosing a husband: excelling in flute playing. Once, she is captivated by the tune 'Three Melodies of Rainbow Dress' and mistakes the qin player Siu Sze for a fairy. Yuk then persuades Sze to sit the national exam for a better future. Sze's music attracts hundred of birds. Yuk returns to the palace pleading with her father Esquire Muk to agree to their marriage. Despite the Empress Dowager's opposition, Yuk leads a secluded life with Siu afar; a noble breed thus living a hard life. The King lets her go, only granting an annual visit. A year later, Yuk and her husband returns for a visit. The Queen still wants to break them up. Later, Jin State sends people to discover the whereabouts of their Princes. Siu is in fact the Prince of Jin. With Muk’s blessings, Siu marries Yuk in Jin, a marriage which brings peace to both states.

Happy Wedding

NR 1959
Father and Son

After seeing a friend of his boss' son adopted over his promised promotion with connections, Shrimp's father, a minor white-collar worker Ng Kwun-sing, vows to get Shrimp a place in a prestigious school and a chance to make friends with the rich. However, Shrimpy is constantly bullied and discriminated against by his classmates. Ng has not the means to be a social climber and finally realises his mistake. He sends his son to a voluntary school so that he may grow up happily. This poignant father-son drama shows a parents' willingness to carve out a good future for their children by any means necessary.

Father and Son

9.0 1954
Snow White and the Seven Fellows

The Brothers Grimm's Snow White has been adapted into different art forms around the world, including the beloved 1937 animated film by Walt Disney Studios. Similar to that version, Chow Sze-luk and Lo Yu-kei's adaptation is a light-hearted musical romance, but the Cantonese version's stepmother doesn't have a magic mirror, nor does she care if she's the prettiest of them all. The two also adds intentional Chinese touches to the story, even replacing the iconic poisoned apple with a Chinese BBQ pork bun. However, one thing does remain: the heroic prince rides on a white horse to save the day.

Snow White and the Seven Fellows

NR 1955
Human Relationships

Lee Sun-fung is renowned for adapting literary classics for the silver screen. To commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Union Film Enterprise known for producing quality films and co-founded by Lee, Human Relationships is adapted from writer Ba Jin's novel into film. The Yiu family moves into a manor. Mrs Yiu, while frustrated by the way her step-son is spoiled by her husband and mother-in-law, develops a friendship with a kid (Michael Lai) who steals flowers from the mansion's garden. She later learns that he is the son of the place's former owner whose downfall at middle age is the result of being spoiled when young. Lai was only a child but gained a foothold among seasoned veterans like Cheung Wood-yau, Ng Cho-fan and Pak Yin.

Human Relationships

NR 1959
Our Dream Car

A gem in every sense of the word, Our Dream car features popular idols Ge Lan (Grace Chang) and Chang Yang as a couple of newlyweds who struggle hard to acquire the latest symbol of middle class affluence: a motor car, but only find themselves in alienating situations. Yi Wen's script is full of lively and humorous details, his direction affectionate, while the young stars are charming. The film also paints a picture of a bourgeois lifestyle that was yet to occur in the ex-colony. It has also been aptly compared to the genre of hollywood "bedroom" comedy made famous by Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the 1950s.

Our Dream Car

9.0 1959
The Tormented Beauty

Guerrilla member Ting Siu-yuen works as a playwright and Lee, the leader of an opera troupe. They conceal their identities in the troupe in order to gather military intelligence. Yuen gradually falls in love with the lead actress Mui Law-heung. Ting is unsettled to learn that County Chief Fong covets Mui. He sneaks into Fong's residence and is astounded by the sight of his old lover Pak Kuen, now Fong's wife. Fong colludes with the military chief in conducting vicious schemes. With Kuen's help, Yuen is able to get the intelligence. But as Heung is not an insider, she reports to the Governor about the illicit relationship between Yuen and Kuen. Kuen backs Yuen to eliminate the conspirators and bring about the union of Yuen and Heung.

The Tormented Beauty

NR 1958
Modern ‘Red Chamber Dream’

Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the big four of classic Chinese novels, has been adapted for film and television dozens of times over the past decades. Yet this sui generis Great Wall production daringly transposes the setting to modern-day 1950s. The contemporised story revolves nonetheless around the love triangle between Jia Baoyu and his two cousins. Both girls love him but his heart belongs to only one. The ending, however, is remarkably changed to separation of the lovers as a result of war—the war that was surely still haunting the minds of the filmmakers at the time when the film was made. Not only did Great Wall pour money into building extravagant sets just so to recreate down to the smallest detail the grandeur of the legendary Jia mansion, but the film also boasted of its lavish costume designs for the diverse female cast. (From Hong Kong Film Archive)

Modern ‘Red Chamber Dream’

NR 1952
Save Your Water Supply

Pak coek gung's family rents the third floor of a tenement building. Due to the water shortage, Pak's porridge stall is difficult to operate. At that time, Ah Seng, the son of Pak, owed money to Cheung, the fat man downstairs. Cheung saw that the porridge stall could not operate, so he took away the license of the porridge stall. In order to get the license back, Pak's daughter Miuying had to work as a dancer to pay off the debt. Then Pak's neighbors helped the porridge stall reopen and even reported Cheung for wasting water.

Save Your Water Supply

NR 1954
Beauty Raised from the Dead

Lau Mung-mui chances on To Lai-leung and their encounter transcends to a rendezvous in their dreams. They admire each other, but they do not know each other's names and addresses. They keep on thinking of each other and decide to take each other as their future husband and wife. Mui's father wants his son to get married, but he pays no attention to his father's wishes. Mui leaves home to look for Leung. Leung's father forces his daughter to marry her rich and powerful cousin. Leung becomes despondent and dies, following an arranged marriage with her cousin. Mui sought everywhere for Leung for three years, but to no avail. He locates the home of Leung, but the household has moved out. The house is guarded by an old servant. Mui, chasing Leung's spirit, has a brief romance with her. Acknowledging that their union will be hindered by their incompatibility as a mortal and a spirit, Leung reincarnates as a mortal so that their love may be rekindled.

Beauty Raised from the Dead

8.0 1956
A Mother's Tears

This script was adapted from a Rediffusion Radio airwave novel, written by Lang Wun and read on-air by his wife Ngai Mun. Ngai Mun also acted in this film. Wang (Cheung Ying) worked himself to an early death. His wife Ching (Hung Sin Nui) raised their three children all by herself. Eldest son Kei (also played by Cheung Ying) was spoiled and grew up to be a robber. Middle child, daughter Ching-han, is materialistic and vain, and is later killed by Kei. Youngest son Leung (Yeung Fan) is diligent and ambitious, a great comfort to Ching. Hung Sin Nui played Ching from a young to an elderly woman, showing off her practiced, perfect acting skills. Chun Kim’s detailed portrayal of the relationship between the two generations set the stage for his later work Parents’ Hearts (1955).

A Mother's Tears

NR 1953
Road

During the anti-Japanese war, truck driver Lee Sing's secret mission is to transport weapons and supplies for the resistance fighters. Sing has to deliver a signal gun to guerrillas at ten on that night for launching an attack against the Japanese soldiers. He works for the Ko's family and he has to send the gun to the provincial city to prevent it from being bombed. Sing carries on his vehicle a group of passengers including a Chinese traitor, a guerilla, a compassionate nurse, a comfort woman on the run, a teacher and his pregnant wife. Sing is given a hard time by the Japanese troops on the road. The Japanese ransack the vehicle and they find the signal gun. All the males on board are being interrogated with torture, but the passengers pool their efforts to subdue the traitor and accomplish their mission.

Road

10.0 1959
Anna

Though her marriage with rich businessman Chan Hak-lit is crumbling, Anna Poon refuses to accept her childhood sweetheart Wong Kei-shu's courtship. Anna's younger sister Mei-na has a crush on Shu and treats Lee Man coldly. When she sees Anna being with Shu, she taunts Anna with stealing who she likes. Anna is hurt and goes back to Chan's house. Chan holds a house party and invites business celebrities. Shu attends it and when tells Anna he loves her when they dance. Anna rejects him and tells him never to see her again. Chan goes to the racecourse. When Shu falls down from a horse, Anna faints. Chan asks Anna what her relationship with Shu is. He warns her not to have any wrongdoing and ruin his reputation. Shu is fine and asks Anna to meet for the last time. Anna cannot turn down him and goes to meets him. Lit miscomprehends the situation and files a divorce. He even forbids Anna to see their daughter. A distressed Anna becomes a victim of love in a conservative society.

Anna

7.0 1955