Driver No. 7

Cantonese cinema's top actor Cheung Ying formed his own company Huaqiao and turned director in 1956. This is his second attempt behind the camera. He assembled the crew from that of Union Film Enterprise (of which he's a founding member), including cinematographer Suen Lun and set-designer Chan Ki-yui. For the screenplay, he asked Mok Hong-si to adapt the original story by Lo Duen and novelist Kuk Lau. The first half of the film reminds one of Union's primal work, In the Face of Demolition (1953), particularly with the role played by Ng Cho-fan, one who sticks to the code of loyalty and righteousness. Both he and Cheung fall for the same girl (played by Ha Ping). Mok's screenplay depicts this triangular relationship with wit and humour, plus an unexpected twist. The leftist ideology (for which Lo Duen and Kuk Lau were largely responsible) takes the upper hand in the second half of the film and turns it into another hymn for the united force of the labourers to defeat all evils. That said, Mok's screenplay is well-structured and adept in the characterisation of the three protagonists. The "No. 7" in the title refers to Bus Route 7 which travelled from Tsim Sha Tsui to Kowloon Tong at that time. The film has an abundance of exterior shots which provide us with more than a glimpse of the city of Hong Kong in the late 1950s.

Date	Time	Venue
14/5/2016 (Sat)	7:30pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

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