Gems of Cantonese Opera

Red Shoes Solves the Mystery Case

Dir: Chu Kea
Orig Story: Tong Tik-sang
Scr: Lee Yuen-man
Prod Co: Lap Tat
Co-starring: Law Kim-long, Chan Kam-tong, Au Fung-ming, Poon Yat On
1959 | B&W | Digital File | Cantonese | 105min

Adapted from a Cantonese opera of the same title, Red Shoes Solves the Mystery Case was written by famous Cantonese opera librettist Tong Tik-sang specifically for its leading man and lady, Chan Kam-tong and Fung Wong Nui.

Chun (Poon Yat On) falls in love with the widow Yeung (Fung Wong Nui), and plots to kill his wife so that he could elope with Yeung, while intending to frame Yeung’s sister-in-law and her boyfriend for the crime. He cuts off his wife’s head and uses Yeung’s embroidered shoes to create the illusion that it was Yeung who had been murdered. Yet one of the slippers accidentally gets misplaced. Passing by the murder scene, the county magistrate (Chan Kam-tong) finds the slipper and discovers the head buried under a tree in the backyard. His suspicions are aroused…

The labyrinthine plot of the film reaches its climax when the characters assemble the matching pair of embroidered slippers. Another highlight is Fung Wong Nui’s sensual performance as her character attempts to seduce the magistrate. The upright magistrate plays along with the ruse, pretending to be enamoured by the widow’s flirtatious charms. Watching Fung Wong Nui and Chan Kam-tong engage in this duplicitous, layered ‘battle of the sexes’ is a feast for the senses.

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