Film Screenings
Tong was devoted to crafting bespoke personage for a string of huadan (the principal female lead) – Cheang Mang-ha, Yu Lai-zhen and Fong Yim-fun when he was starting out; Pak Suet-sin and Ng Kwan-lai in his latter days. This section features 12 titles starring the Yam (Kim-fai)–Pak (Suet-sin) duo, including Triennial Mourning on the Bridge (aka Crying on the Second Brother's Bridge Once Every Three Years), A Respectable Tutor written for the Do Bou Opera Troupe; The Legend of the Purple Hairpin and Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom for the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe. Six of these 12 titles were released in 1959 and directed by either Chiang Wai-kwong or Lee Tit. Evidently putting her personal stamp on production, costume and set designs, Pak significantly raised the bar for cinematic quality and effect.
Since scripting his first screenplay in 1939, Tong had shown a penchant for rehashing old period repertoires and advancing them into a contemporary context to make them commercially viable. This section kicks off with an original Tong's work that spawned two versions: The Swallows' Return (1953) and Swallows Come Home (1958), the former a contemporary version directed by Chow Sze-luk and the latter a period work directed by Chu Kea, but both starring Fong Yim-fun. Mysterious Murderer (parts I and II) is another case in point: adapted from his Cantonese opera original, Tong took the directorial helm this time and gave it a modern spin, telling the heartrending story of a poor girl married into a rich family. With Lau Tat, Chan Wan and Lo Yu-kei taking over the directorial reins respectively, the other three selected titles also got a modern revamp, embracing the transcendental flair of Tong's work.
The eternal story of star-crossed lovers lies at the heart of the four Cantonese operatic gems selected for this section: Regret from the Spring Lantern and Feather Fan (1956) written for Fong Yim-fun and Chan Kam-tong's San Yim Yeung Opera Troupe; Happy Wedding (1956) written for the Lee Wing Wah Opera Troupe; The Legend of the Purple Hairpin (1957) and Love in the Red Chamber crafted for the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe. Fong Yim-fun and Pak Suet-sin reprised their original roles in Regret and Happy Wedding in their full glory, while Nam Hung and three beloved protégées of Yam-Pak, Connie Chan Po-chu, Lung Kim Sung and Mui Suet-si, played the leading parts in the other two titles.
Tong's ingrained liking for Chinese and Western classics was matched by his love for mysteries and suspense of the West and his ability to adapt them into criminal cases in Chinese folk settings, with themes centring on upholding justice and righting wrongs. He ably navigated the fine line of balancing law and order with humanity and struck a chord with his audience by giving weight to universal values such as ‘justice is blind' and ‘the just is close to the people's heart'.
