Gems of Cantonese Opera

Luring the Girls On

Dir: Luk Bong
Orig Story/Scr/Librettist: Poon Yat-fan
Music: Wan Chi-chung (Western), Wong Kei-ho (Chinese)
Prod Co: Guohua
Co-starring: Sun Ma Si-tsang, Chan Kam-tong, Tam Lan-hing, Chan Ho-kau
1959 | B&W | Digital File | Cantonese | Chinese Lyrics | 109min

Luring the Girls On is adapted from a Cantonese opera of the same title, which had been written and tailored by Poon Yat-fan for Fung Wong Nui’s debut as the troupe’s female lead. The film is divided into four acts. In the first act, Fung (Fung Wong Nui), the daughter of a rich family, picks her future husband by pretending to be a maidservant. Yet she gives her token of love to the wrong person by mistake. In the second act, Fung refuses to marry into the ‘wrong’ family due to the misunderstanding. The wilful young woman meets her match in the form of her domineering mother-in-law (Tam Lan-hing). Tragedy strikes in the third act when Fung is reunited with her maidservant (Chan Ho-kau), but becomes implicated in a murder case involving a headless corpse. Falsely accused of murdering her husband, Fung is condemned to prison in the fourth act. Fortunately, a brilliant judge (Sun Ma Si-tsang) reopens the case and clears her name.

The role of Fung gave Fung Wong Nui the perfect opportunity to showcase her versatility, as she transforms from a gentle and well-mannered young lady at the start of the film into a wilful, sharp-tongued daughter-in-law, and finally, a pitiful, downtrodden figure at her trial. It was also an early indication of how Fung Wong Nui would later excel at playing sharp-tongued, shrewish characters—for which she became known.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to view Luring the Girls On, which is being screened at the Archive for the first time. Please note that the image quality of parts of the film is short of ideal. We appreciate your understanding.

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.