Reviewed by: Stephe Date: 01/27/2011 Cathay's 1964 film The Magic Lamp is Cathay's version of the Shaw Brothers' 1965 film The Lotus Lamp, which starred Linda Lin Dai (in two roles) and Cheng Pei-pei (in her first role -- as a man!). Although The Magic Lamp pre-dates Cathay's first wuxia pian The First Sword, it is in the Huangmei Opera genre, so while there are some martial arts, they are not the main aspect of the film. The naturally athletic Jeanette Lin Cui performs impressive swordplay in one climactic scene. I have seen The Lotus Lamp and there are battles therein, but they are more overtly dance-oriented than Chinese Opera pieces tend to be. Instead of Linda Lin Dai, Grace Chang plays the goddess, and instead of Cheng Pei-pei, Lucilla You Min plays the scholar. Jeanette Lin Cui plays the son, which was Linda Lin Dai's second role in The Lotus Lamp. Grace Chang's tearful portrayal is a bit overplayed, but Lucilla You Min does a good job with the material, as does Jeanette Lin Cui. Reviewer Score: 5