Connie chan Po-chu: her movies

[dleedlee]

I haven't seen all of Connie's movies but I think I do favor her comedies over her dramas. Though, I didn't dislike her in either First Love or Glorious Christmas Night. I associate her more closely with the comedies.

When I think of Lui Kei I always associate him Connie. It's a total shock to see him in smaller serious roles such as A Mad Woman and The Sinner. As goofy as he seems, I think he has the kind of screen charm that grows on you. For awhile, I was growing tired of him and preferred Wu Fung but I appreciate Lui Kei more now.

BTW, I'm relatively new to these old b/w films from the sixties, only catching up to them some forty years after the fact.

[dleedlee]

re: Wu Fung, for awhile I was tired of Lui Kei and liked Wu Fung more, but now I feel otherwise. Wu Fung is fine in romantic comedies but lacks dramatic range. He's certainly more handsome than Lui Kei.

Wu Fung recommendations I don't all my notes with me but:
Gimmicky World - a romance comedy
I Will Always Remember You - he plays a earnest teacher trying to salvage his students Connie and Nancy Sit who work as bar girls at night !
I Am Murderer - a crime film
Rich and Prosperous/Forturne House - comedy with Leung Sing Bo
Silly Detective/Blundering Detective - comedy with Leung Sing Bo

Usually, in the straight melo/dramas, he seems to have lesser roles, more as supporting actor, e.g. Mrs Kum, Big Revenge (plays 2 roles)

Violet Girl is quite odd isn't it?

[dleedlee]

Did you ever see A Purple Stormy night dleedlee? It´s in colour, and it stars Patrick Tse Yin, Josephine Siao and Nam Hung in a minor role. It´s such a beautiful melodrama that it takes your breath away, leaves you desperate and grown up all of a sudden...

Talking about Wu Fung instead, I also liked An Ocean of love, a long (maybe too long) but enjoyable comedy in which he stars together with Nam Hung (she spends the whole movie making funny faces...). It´s a love story, he´s poor and she´s spoiled and rich, but pretending to be poor too, having problems even with eating a bowl of rice bought from a HK street vendor, just because it´s clear he didn´t wash his hands while preparing the dish...

As far as I know (correct me if I´m wrong...) Nancy Sit should be still alive, Connie Chan too... What happened to Nam Hung? Strange how cantonese actresses seem to be more "resistent" than mandarin ones.. one does not find so many suicides among them...

thanks for your reccomandations dleedlee

wf

I had to read my own review to remember Ocean of Love (which is mainly why I write them). Yes, I quite enjoyed it. Law Lan was quite good as the maid accomplice, too.

re: Nancy Sit, have you heard she is currently making a new movie with her new protege William Hung from the American Idol?

I like Nancy Sit a lot but I don't think she is very good in the leading roles. She was better as Connie or Josephine's girlfriend or little sister. Such a scamp. Earlier this week, I was just watching her in Every Girl a Romantic Dreamer. She and Lydia Shum were vying for Lydia's cousin Kenneth Tsang Kong. Lot's of go-go music, too!

re: Purple Night, sounds like you're a Chor Yuen fan. Me, too (except for the Mandarin/Shaw films). If he directed it, I will watch it.

Last night I watched A Frightened Bird, probably what you'd call a 7-day wonder. But still quite enjoyable, due to the cast of Cheung Ying, Lam Fung,Keung Chung Ping and Sai Gwa Pau (at his most unusual).

Not sure why the Mandarin stars took such a heavy toll. Perhaps being too far from home? Back to an earlier post, I'm not a huge fan of Lin Dai though I did enjoy Kingdom and the Beauty and The Blue and The Black. I was a bit disappointed in Les Belles. I wish Panorama would start reissueing the old Cathay films again, though they probably already released the best (Mambo Girl, Wild,Wild Rose,Our Sister Hedy). Have you seen Splendor of Youth? Talk about a dark film!

[dleedlee]

I didn't care much for Hong Kong 73 either. Maybe if recognized more of the actors.

You were speaking about old Cahtay films issued by Panorama. Do you know exactly why they stopped selling them?
One thing I read was that they masters they were getting were poor. Remember one of the releases had the reels out of order! And in Air Hostess the blue color was pulsing. However, I read elsewhere they might start up again.

Yes, I´ve seen Splendour of Youth, what a super dark movie, really! But what´s the name of that sinister guy with little moustaches, that helps the girl to feel confident with the night life and wants to be paid for that by the evil mother? I noticed him also in many other movies, cantonese too. But I can´t figure his name out (I can´t read chinese characters)...

Johnny Tan! That's Cheung Ying. He is great. Usually he is the lead type but he can play evil too. And when his does, he's even better. See The Sinner, pt 1 and 2, or Death of a Beauty

Talking about An Ocean of love, instead... you made me think about something: I´m not sure if one of the two maids was Law Lan. I would say they´re some actresses, sure, but none of them is Law Lan. Now you make me doubt... I´m quite sure about this, ´cos´I saw this movie only a few days ago, and I thought the maid that helps Connie, the younger one, was acting in quite a good way, but she´s definetely not Law Lan. Maybe the other one, but seems strange to me, since she has really a few scenes. I´m used to recognize Law Lan around, and when I watched the movie, no special "Law Lan bells" were ringing for me...
But If I remember correctly, In Young, pregnant and unamarried, Law lan plays the part of the young maid...
Heh, I love to play Spot Law Lan, too. I will recheck, let me know what you think. Amazing how sometimes she's a maid then turn around and she's a hoochie mama.

Going back to Wu Fung for a moment: is Family Doctrine worth watching? It seems to be the only possibility to watch Wu Fung young and in colour

F
Family Doctrine is a remake of the Family/Spring/Autumn trilogy. Skip the former, but you _must_ see the trilogy. It's a true classic and I doubt you will be disappointed. Made in 1953 with a super cast, Family was the inaugural production of Zhongliang/Union Film Enterprises. Their goal was to make good, high quality and socially conscious films. And they did. Cheung Ying is in the first and third films and he's also one of the founding members. If you like feudal melodramas, this is the granddaddy. As good as it is, it's hard to watch it's so heartbreaking. Back to Family Doctrine, it cannot compare and the story shortened to fit two parts. And the audio is poor too.

[dleedlee]

I agree with you concearning Law Lan, sometimes she´s a cute maid, and sometimes she turns into a sort of evil fox (In Opposite Love for example... she glimpses in a real evil way, I was so surprised!).

I scanned through Ocean of Love last night and I think you might be correct as to whether it's Law Lan or not. I have my doubts now after I compared with another 1965 film Triple Romance (where she also happens to play a maid) and it doesn't match. Thanks for pointing it out.

Since you helped me figuring out the name of Cheung Ying, maybe I can also ask you about somebody else: he´s contemporary of Wu Fung, often in comedy roles, he likes to make lots of faces. I saw him in A Blundering wife, Violet Girl and Opposite Love, where he plays for once the serious and undecided young rich man. What´s his name?

I think you are referring to Cheung Ching. Typically, he plays the young and naive type. I haven't seen Blundering Wife (in my next order, though) but he is the fellow operator in Violet Girl and the club mgr in Opposite Love.

[dleedlee]

For example, another very familiar face is that woman that in An Ocean of Love plays the wife of the big house in which Connie Chan Po-chu is stayng... name: unknown (maybe she´s Lee Heung Kam, but I wouldn´t bet on it... she´s also in A blundering wife, which is anyway a movie

Yep, that's Lee Heung Kam. Typically, she's plays the B!tch type.

Another unknown name is the guy that plays her husband, very thin and nervous and with glasses; he´s also very familiar and funny too (I noticed him for the first time in Romance of a teenage girl, where he´s a messy fotographer ).

That'd be Yue Ming. You'll see him a lot, mostly in comedies.

Another face, which I keep on finding everywhere without distinction among movies made by MP & GI, Shaw or independent cantonese companies, is that one of the old woman, often a maid, sometimes a mom, usually a very wise but gossiping female character, not tall at all and with a large mouth. Last time I "met" her, she was playng the maid that doesn´t want to pose for a portrait in Shaw Bros´Rose, be my Love (a movie which is, by the way, very very similar to Chor Yuen´s Tear Laden Rose, and it´s infact directed by Chun Kim... Chor Yuen started his career ad Chun Kim´s assistant director, right? Hope I remember correctly...). What´s the name of this old, funny, expressive woman?

Not sure, here, I haven't see either film. I do like Chun Kim's films. He directed Autumn from the trilogy I recommended. I'd also recommend his Autumn Comes to Crepe Myrtle Garden and Guiding Light (from the Bruce Lee box, w/subs). Both are melodramas, in the good sense. And both were made under the Union banner. I can't remember if he was one of the founders or not.

[dleedlee]

You were mentioning before Triple romance, which you should have seen in the China Art release: is it cut??? I mean: do you have the feeling that something is missing? There are many movies that I would like to watch and they´re issued by China art, that seems to be infamous for chopping movies...

I don't think this one is cut, I couldn't notice anything. The vcd runs over 100 minutes. More consistently a problem with the China Art vcds is the sound quality. Usually the audio is muffled, not clear like the Pearl City releases. Most of the time not terrible, just not good. I have trouble enough understanding Cantonese dialog without this extra problem.
Last night's viewing Grand View Garden (part 1 of a remake of Dream of the Red Chamber) was definitely cut, though. One song missing and only ran 80 minutes. The second and last song on the video was over 7 seven minutes, so if the one cut was as long...then that's a lot.

On the other hand, the China Art vcds are only $4.99 (on sale now) and it's not like there are any other options for now or the forseeable future. If one turns out to be a dud, so be it, there are enough gems in the lot to make it worthwhile for me. And my standards are pretty low anyway


Lee Heung Kam stars with Wu Fung in a movie called Fu Huo Mei Gui (I have no idea about the english name): I´m curious about this one. Have you seen it?
The Revived Rose. No, I saw it at yesasia but the review didn't look good and I had too many other to buy. I love Cheung Ying and Pak Yin though, so, eventually I probably will. I've tried to write warning reviews about the quality of the discs over there but lately they never get posted, so I gave up. Oddly, other negative reviews seem to make the cut.

[dleedlee]

Re: Romance of a Teenage Girl

There are two films with that English title. One directed by Chan Wan (1966) and the other by Chor Yuen (1967). And both feature Josephine Siao Fong Fong. The Chinese titles are similar but not the same. The one available on vcd is the former. As far as I know, the Chor Yuen title isn't available...yet.

[stooges0]

looking thru hkmdb.com movie 191x-2000 was a interest and started me noising into the old classic movie, although it expected to be in poor quality due to age but I am glad many company brought them out in vcd or dvd but I also find many movie contain major problem and chop off making the story hard to understand sometimes.


I read here many people watch the old classic from the 60's
1 of the company that brought out many of them is 'china arts fe video production' (refer to china art from now on), I notice also from other message board discussion on classic movie many people complain about china art movie especially those brought out for connie chan. I think china art is the same people as century video.

a> dick ching opera box set mandarin and cantonese version 4 vcd, the cantonese version pieces of the song is chop , as you are listening to cantonese audio randomly it changes to mandarin and back and forth

b> gu non 18 1 flower bw missing song phrases

c> love with malaysia girl between vcd 1 and vcd 2 there is a about 15-20 scecond movie scene chop and it is a important part

d> diamond thief (don't know why the name was changed when vcd came out it should be 'dou ching miu chak' ) the whole 1st song is missing

e> mui lan kock juk (there is 2 version) both by china art. this is the worst
the original is missing at least 4 dance scene, I am guessing it is about where the school performance is. I never saw the movie so I cannot tell the original film I found this being posted in the interenet message board somewhere. china art later came out with a revised version and unfortunate those who bought the original got stuck, I did hear rumour some people in hk was successful getting the movie exchange..

f> (this one by hkwinson.com not china art) bick lok red chan a 3 movie brought out into dvd as 2 movie....tons of chop

g> 6 finger piano devil (by tien seng) contain chop

h> (by www.hkwinson.com) flower moon kai kay terrible video/audio quality I think the film got damaged on this one

i> title: yuk girl sun kim (jade girl magic sword) connie and fong fong I hear this one was supposed to be 2 movie merged into 1 movie vcd by china art fe vp

j? thunder lighting sky sin sword connie chan by china art people have experience problem in watching disk 2.

k> give me a kiss by tien seng (mandarin version) or hkwinson.com cantonese version

l? color wu buy quay ton of chop off in lyric throughout

m> yam/bak princess cheung ping (tai girl fa) by hkwinson.com 2 version is available don't know why , both are still selling version 1 90 min version 2 107 min that is 17 min different.

n> there is talk that there are high % of connie chan movie out with problem (chop or other problem) & high % is brought out by china arts.

it is seen in the interent that people all over is complaining about movie by china art fe vp. the problem is the box only show their name as distributor and no other information you can contact them.

any additional comment welcome.
we need support on the people who is experiencing problem with china art fe movies.

thanks

[dleedlee]

Here we go: this is the old woman I was talking about: what´s her name??




wf[/img]

The picture is a little dark, but it looks like Ma Siu Ying. Yeah, she's usually the crabby wife, often paired with Ko Lo Chuen as her husband (he's the tall skinny guy with glasses).


I finally had a chance to look at your site. Nicely done. You should contribute some pictures to the db. We need them, especially for those oldies.

[dleedlee]

Whoever posted about the tear jerker is called Spoony Girl - at least that is the English title on the yesasia and layoyo website. About a young orphan who grows up with Wu Feng and later falls in love with Chang Ching. The theme song she sang twice, at the end while crying - boy!

Yeah, I bought under that title, too, but the HKFA lists it as Oppoiste Love.
And as I said elsewhere, sometimes yesasia and loyoyo will list the same film under different English titles..and dummy that I am, I've bought them both. $$$

There will never be another Chan Bo Chu that is for sure. She can sing modern and Cantonese opera, dance, act in opera, swordsplay, kung-fu, drama and comedies. I love her in swordsplay the best. She has not done too many comedies but Young Pregnant and Unmarried is excellent.

Agreed, do you know why she stopped making any more films after 1972?

In as far as what to recommend - Infernal Gate is pretty intact and is great calaboration of Chan and Siao Fong Fong.

Don't recognize that title. Is it known under another name?

In as far as kung fu- I like Black Killer or Hak Sat Sing - she plays two roles, twin brother sister who goes saves the uncle. THe fighting is well done and you can tell she does all her own fight scene. I would say she is the 60's queen of kung fu followed by Cheng Pei Pei in the 70's and followed by Michelle Yeoh of the 80's but Chan can do it all. Black Rose is good too and Black Cat. Of course, if Lady Killer was out - that would be number 1

Yeah, Black Killer and both Black Roses are good. Last night, I watched The Lizard, her last film made for Shaw Brothers. Quite good even though it's in Mandarin.

As far as drama, see Lady in the Midst, Fan Princess, First Love, Girl 18 Flowers, My daughter zhu zhu.

Comedy is Young Pregnant and UnMarried

Cantonese opera: Plum Blossoms with Nam Hung and Cannot Return with Siao Fong - this is my favorite

I've seen fewer of her martial arts films and none of her operas because they are a lot harder for me to follow. But I will check those two out if you say they are good ones. I couldn't find Cannot Return listed at yesasia.

BTW, how is The All Powerful Flute I,II with Cheung Ying Choi?


I think her movies withstand the times because they got good storylines and are so pure.

Absolutely true!

[dleedlee]

>>who is HKFA and is there a website? There was a favorite Chan >>swordsplay movie that I loved Banner Of Twin Phoenix

I don't recognize Banner, is it on video or did you see elsewhere?
HKFA is the Hong Kong Film Archives. If you haven't seen their publications, you should check them out. They are great resources. They also have a new online film catalog, in Chinese: http://webpac.hkfa.lcsd.gov.hk/webpac/wgbroker.exe?200408062336590849356+1+search
HKIFF and HKFA publications:
http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/publications/archive.html

>>Different rumors which we do not how true - Romance, stress of >>work...From what I read, she has been in film training even since age >>9 and did her first cantonese opera at age 12 - It is unfortunate that >>she left at her prime. She recently did a concert in Hong Kong and she >>has a CD out and also VCD of the actual performance.

I have a few of her CD collections but didn't buy the recent concert. How is it, worth picking up? I was afraid her voice would not be the same as her younger days. This was true of a Rebecca Pan concert I bought last year. Very disappointing compared to her old CDs.

BTW, does Connie have a sister? I noticed that there is a Chan Bo Yee frequently in her films? Any relation?

In as far as what to recommend - Infernal Gate is pretty intact and is great calaboration of Chan and Siao Fong Fong.

Don't recognize that title. Is it known under another name?
>>Mmm, let's see - Yesasia lists it as Jie Huo Hong Lian

Ah, see it now. Thanks.


..Well, Cannot Return is sold as a boxset - Bao Dian Ming ZHu - it is a ..blue box with her in short haircut - there are 4 in that box set.

I have that set. I know it as Eternal Love. When I watched it, it seemed like parts had been cut and the color badly faded. I liked the other 3 films better but maybe I should watch again.

BTW, how is The All Powerful Flute I,II with Cheung Ying Choi?
>>yes got that one too; Cheung Ying Choi , at least i like him better than >>TO Dat Wah -he was in Budda's Palm. I guess in those days the hero don't have to be handsome just can fight - Cheung always has that dumb look on his face
My favorite is WaterMelon Pow Sai Gar Po - great comic relief

Isn't it amazing how they made Tso Tat-Wah heroic looking considering how short he really is? I thought he was very good in The Supreme Sword though.

Yep, Sai Gwa Pau is great.
http://www.hkmdb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=38141[/i][/url]

[dleedlee]

Sookjen,

I saw this in the theatre in NYC Chinatown when I was kid when all her movies were popular. IT is a swordplay movie ,part 1 and 2 - Chan and Siao are lovers to be married but circumstances arises where Siao thought Chan's family killed her family and the plot is to find the villian. And each time you think you know the villian, the plot thickens. I was a kid at the time but it impressed me a lot that I wish I can watch it again.

It sounds good from your description. Hopefully, it will come out some day so old and new fans can see it.

THe HKFA website - I need to take a look - I thought it was for reference only not a place where you can purchase anything.

Check the second link above (for hkiff.org) for publications for purchase.

>I have a few of her CD collections but didn't buy the recent concert. >How is it, worth picking up? I was afraid her voice would not be the >same as her younger days. This was true of a Rebecca Pan concert I >bought last year. Very disappointing compared to her old CDs.

It was worth the money spent for the 2 cd set of her songs. The only disappointing part is that she did cantonese opera and those were not included. Cantonese opera is her forte and she sings really well. Her son sings some songs in the concert so I hope fans of Chan don;t shoot me- he did not impress me - his mother is a hard act to follow. Though almost 60, her voice is still strong. Does she sing well? I would say you would not be disappointed. She sings more mature and pitch is lower - unlike when she was young and her voice of a little girl.

Thanks, I will keep that in mind, if I need further temptation.


I see that name too and she could be her sister, but may not be blood sister. Chan was adopted by Chan Fei Lung and Kung Fung Hong when she was young so Chan Bo yee could be the same. I am only guessing.
I know she was in a movie with Chan called Yuk Nui Sum Pretty Girl Hear are the chinese characters.
>I have that set. I know it as Eternal Love. When I watched it, it seemed >like parts had been cut and the color badly faded. I liked the other 3 >films better but maybe I should watch again.

I still lots to learn about Connie. I haven't figured out which one her sister is, but I'll start looking for her now.


I think I watched 3 out of 4 of the movies in that box set, still have not watch the B&W one - how is that? The swordplay with Tao Dat Wah is pretty - looks like he lost weight in there. Eternal Love - ok - I was translating the characters. It's good - I never seen this one when I was a kid but I seem to remember my mother who loves Cantonese opera and sings along with Yam/Bak movies said Chan is one of kid that she can sing both modern and traditional - excellent she said.

The b/w film is The Wedding Gown. It's quite a fun movie with a good cast, however, it seems they reduced the widescreen to full screen so parts of the picture is cut off. It's well worth watching, in any case.

I quite like the Yam/Bak films but lean more towards Yam's romance/comedies as I can understand them better.

[dleedlee]

You asked if Connie has a sister. Yes, she has one, and she´s called with the name you already mentioned. She stars in some hong kong tv series.

Spoony girl (what a title, very unfair!) I have it under the name of Opposite Love, and it´s listed in all the Chor Yuen´s filmographies under the Opposite Love title.

Dleedlee, during the weekend I finally watched The Sinner and our friend Johnnie Tan really has a role which impressed me a lot. I found the first part of the movie very well done, the second part was clearly derivative from the first one, as to make the whole lenght of the movie grow bigger and bigger without really adding much in terms of depth (a bit like Chor Yuen´s Shaw Bros Sorrow of the gentry, absolutely the most horribile Chor Yuen´s movie, gosh!). Nam Hung gives also a great performance in The Sinner. Lui Kei stands in the background and doesn´t even have lots of dialogues. Bowie Wu is superb, but doesn´t appear so often. By the way, also The Sinner is a China Art offer.

But I have a question: in The Sinner, like in many other Chor Yuen´s movies, there is at the beginning the logo of the movie company, and it displays something very similar to the olimpic games entangled circles (i hope I made myself clear...). What company is it?

wf

Yes, Cheung Ying can play evil very well. I'm getting ready to watch him in the Shaw's Two Con Men and Carry On Con Men. I don't know how evil he'll be in those but I'm looking forward to them.

The studio is Chi Luen. Sometimes, on the old films they cut off the openings and credits, but I like to see all the old logos, too.