Run Run Shaw and director Ho Moon-hwa took a huge risk in casting King Hu as the lead of a comedy. Fortunately, their bet paid off handsomely as Hu – who acted in nearly 40 films before becoming a filmmaker – was hilariously over-the-top in his best performance since The Deformed (1960). Hu stars as the owner of a failed silk factory who has to create inventive ways to fend off his debtors, find his missing wife (Betty Loh Ti) and escape torture by a group of thieves. Each set piece in Ho's script is funnier than the last, tickling audiences from beginning to end. In the film's funniest set piece, our hero stumbles to try all possible ways to commit suicide, creating a morbidly hilarious scene that echoes the physical comedy style of Charlie Chaplin.

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.