Hong Kong has been co-producing films with Thailand since the 1950s. One of the most active companies was China United (Hong Kong) headed by Hu Jinkang, having co-produced three films with Thailand between 1957 and 1962, including this suspense/ cops-and-robbers film. The plot: during the war against the Japanese, an ethnic Chinese banker was murdered under strange circumstances. The killer soon also perished. The whole series of events was very confusing. The police suspected that a syndicate posing as a patriotic organisation, the Green Fingernail Gang, was involved. Diana Chang Chung-wen, played a member of the gang. Her character, at once good and evil, her sensuality emphasised by tight-fitting cheongsam, expresses the mysterious, sultry charm of a Chinese woman. The film is laden with physical combat and gunfights. Numerous traps and a tense general atmosphere stimulated the senses. The entire film was shot on Eastman Colour film. All exterior and interior locations were shot in Thailand, making it a rare Hong Kong film that recorded 1950s Bangkok scenery. In addition to the three prestigious awards from Thailand, the film played for twenty-one continuous days in Hong Kong, and set a new box-office record for a Mandarin film.

# Post-screening talk with Joyce Yang

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