Reviewed by: dleedlee Date: 09/22/2004 Finally, a sample of the detective/crime genre from the ‘60s. And a fine one this is, too. I hope more come out soon. * SPOILERS throughout * The first thirty minutes plays like a straight noir thriller. Kar Fei is given a letter to hold and told by his manager Chan to wait for his return later in the evening, thus spoiling his plans for a date with his girlfriend, Wei Yee. Instead, that evening, Chan’s wife shows up and demands that he escort her out to dinner and dancing. When Kar Fei finally ends the evening by taking home a drunken Chan tai, Kar Fei finds a dead man, Chan, in his closet. A panicked Kar Fei goes to his girlfriend’s and together they go to Chan’s house to investigate. There they discover a dead Chan’s wife! From there on, the pair are on the lam from the police as Kar Fei becomes the main suspect. What follows is one red herring after another, trickery and traps and a whole lot of fun. The film is spiced up with, essentially, throw away scenes that just make it a joy to watch. Ko Lo Chuen, as Wei Yee’s, nosy neighbor (or perhaps, Peeping Tom) and his wife (Ma Siu Ying) bring back memories of Gladys and Abner Kravits from the old Bewitched TV series with a gender twist. The soup scene in the restaurant with the two stupid detectives is an unexpected delight for its pure senselessness. The bar girl Bai Lily who doesn’t want money but Kar Fei’s body for her information is quite memorable. That so many character wear sunglasses at night lends an additional air of daffiness to the whole affair. Nam Hung has a couple scenes that are detective genre staples where she thinks aloud in voiceover as contemplates her surroundings: Is he a cop? Or, is he a cop? Is she the one I’m looking for, could it be her? Cheung Ying Tsoi and Nam Hung pair up nicely as Kar Fei and his girlfriend. Lee Heung Kam as manager Chan’s wife is at turns the lusty wife then gun-toting moll. Law Lan also wields a mean pistol here, too, in a couple of guises. Lok Kung plays the police inspector. The film sets are also worth noting (I especially liked the rundown mansion the duo follow Law Lan to). Also, the music is very nicely chosen to support the scenes. There is one particularly ripping jazz piece that plays at the Chan house at the beginning of the film.. The cars – one of the secondary joys for me in watching these old films is to see the old automobiles from the ‘60s. In I WILL REMEMBER ALWAYS, for instance, MGs and Triumph roadsters were featured. Here, besides spotting a Ford Falcon, a Jaguar, a BMW 2002 and maybe a Rambler, the featured auto is Wei Yee’s BMW (I think). It’s a mini-car, really, a one-door job where you enter from the front, where normally the hood would be. In fact, the steering wheel swings with the door when you open it! One negative note. The video seems excised of a couple critical shots. One, when Kar Fei discovers Chan in his closet. There are awkward jump cuts that indicate that perhaps some closeups have been shorn. *SPOILER => The other is similar and almost crucial when Kar Fei and Wei Yee discover the body of Chan’s wife. The point is practically obscured, you hear water running, they enter the bathroom, then cut to the pair outside of the house. Obviously, a closeup of Chan tai drowned in a tub has been clipped. Later, Nam Hung mentions her expression, but it’s possible to totally miss the fact that Chan tai is thought to be dead. My guess is that this version is a for-television one. Pfffftt, I say, ppphhhfffft. Reviewer Score: 7