Discovering New Stars

Sweet Seventeen

Dir: Chun Kim
Scr: Mok Hong-si
Prods: Wong Cheuk-hon, Yuan Defu
Prod Co: Liberty
Cast: Jeanette Lin Tsui, Huang He, Shi Lei, Ma Xiaonong, Shui Weide, Yue Lin
1954 | B&W | Digital File | Mandarin | Chinese Subtitles | 108min

When Wong Cheuk-hon was managing Liberty Film Company, he worked with Chun Kim to form an actor training school and advertised in the newspapers to recruit new students. Among the graduates, Wong hand-picked one, gave her the stage name Jeanette Lin Tsui, and gave her the starring role in this film. In order to boost awareness of Lin, Wong worked with the press to publish numerous articles on her in the entertainment pages, gave away 10,000 colour photographs of Lin with the purchase of the newspaper and gave her the nickname ‘Student Sweetheart’. He made her the cover girl in numerous major journals, making her a household name even before the film’s release. This film was also Chun Kim’s first attempt at directing a Mandarin film. Mok Hong-si’s script portrayed the life of a middle-class young woman at school and at home. The 17-year-old Cheung (Jeanette Lin Tsui) lives a carefree life, but feels lonesome and bored. After being rejected by her crush, teacher Mr Lee, she almost loses her virginity to a playboy (Yue Lin). This film was released during the summer holidays, and its publicity campaign worked beautifully. Jeanette Lin Tsui was an instant screen success, setting the stage for her becoming the top leading lady in Mandarin films.

Please note the quality of some segments of this film is poor.