Chuk Tai-ming elopes to Hong Kong with Shum Tsui-hung in defiance of his father but soon succumbs to harsh conditions and ill health. Shum becomes a courtesan to fulfil Tai-ming's last wish of funding his younger brother Chi-ming's studies in Australia, while creating the false impression that she is a rich widow. Chi-ming returns in summer and a chance encounter in the nightclub evolves into a budding romance. Tormented by a love doomed from the start, Shum pretends to despise the poor suitor. The rejection is taken hard by Chi-ming, who snubs the woman in public. Shum plunges into despair, taking gravely ill. Her lawyer Lee Chung-ling finally breaks the silence, making Chi-ming attuned to the woman's unspoken suffering after she's been laid to rest.
Jul 1965
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.
Mar 1959
An avid fan of film star Patsy Kar Ling, Tse Sing falls head over heels for his new colleague Cheung Wai-ling who is a spitting image of the star, not knowing that she is the mistress of Manager Chow. When his wife comes to check the new secretary out, Chow lies that she is Tse's wife. When the truth dawns on the eager suitor, he heaps scorn on her. The distressed Cheung becomes suicidal and before taking the fatal pills, opens her heart to Mrs Chow. She is saved in time and, touched by her words, Tse professes his love for her and wins her heart.
Jan 1961
HK drama film.
Dec 1957
Gangster Pang Tin-tak runs an underground casino operated under the guise of the Blue Nightclub. The fearless and cagey Fung Kim-ching and the adept professional To Yuet-hung strut their stuff on the poker table and catch the eye of the boss. Enlisted as his trusted aide, To the undercover officer carefully cloaks her identity to conduct a criminal investigation but has to stop in the light of Pang’s growing suspicion. The raid led by Detective Chan is successfully foiled by the sly gangster, who unmasks the spy and holds her captive together with Chan. Fung frees the captives before he joins Pang for his transactions by the sea. Pointing a pistol at the gangster, Fung identifies himself as the leader of the Interpol anti-drugs squad as the gang members are handcuffed and led away by To and her team.
May 1967
A young Patrick Tse Yin, in one of his breakout roles, shines as a suave jewellery thief who targets wealthy women, stealing both their valuables and affections with effortless charm. After a high-stakes heist in Thailand, he flees to Hong Kong, pursued by a relentless police inspector (Sima Wah-lung). But everything changes when he falls in love with a terminally ill girl (Patsy Kar Ling), igniting a desire to turn his life around. As the story unfolds, an unlikely friendship also develops between the outlaw and the lawman. The film showcases Tse at his most magnetic, in a role seemingly tailor-made for his talent and charm.
Oct 1958
