Sable Cicada

Dir/Scr: Bu Wancang (alias Richard Poh)
Cast: Gu Lanjun, Jin Shan, Gu Eryi, Wei Heling
1938 | B&W | D.Beta | Mandarin | 90min

Sable Cicada is the first Mandarin film of Hong Kong. Production started initially in Shanghai but was completed in the then colony when the war against Japan intensified. The historical drama is based on the cherished story of Sable Cicada, a Han Dynasty maiden who uses her beauty to foil the wicked schemes of powerful and treacherous minister Tung Cho by seducing him and also his physically mighty adopted son Lu Pu. Produced by the resourceful Zhang Shankun, the film boasted in ads of "a budget of over 500,000 dollars... a cast of thousands" and "a shooting period of 16 months".

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