Second Pair

Princess Iron Fan

Dir: Ho Moon-hwa
Scr: Cheng Kang
Prod Co: Shaw Brothers
Cast: Elliot Yueh Hua, Pat Ting Hung, Cheng Pei-pei, Lily Ho, Ho Fan
1966 | Colour | DCP | Mandarin | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 93min

The allure of female demons has always been the soul of Journey to the West on the big screen. In this second instalment of the Shaw Brothers series, the celebrated "Borrowing Thrice the Plantain Fan" and "Beating Thrice the White Bone Demons" sequences are boldly rolled into one. The former highlights the Fiery Mountains, whose flames can only be put out by Princess Iron Fan’s magical fan, and thus the demons’ relentless attempts to trick Monkey King into borrowing the fan. The latter is about the White Bone Demons who pass themselves off as humans in their futile attempt to seduce Monk Tripitaka. Upon defeat at the hands of Monkey King, the demons leave behind human corpses, misleading the monk into believing that Monkey has committed murder before he sends his disciple away.

Shaw Brothers knows how to make the best use of its bankable female stars. The first half features big-name actress Pat Ting Hung in the title role, whereas the latter half introduces up-and-comers Cheng Pei-pei and Lily Ho as the White Bone Demons, who quickly make their presence felt with their acrobatic, singing and dancing skills. The film is the perfect example of how a literary classic was reimagined as an intriguing fantasy sing-song film in the 1960s.

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