Sun-Ma Sze-Tsang
The film is adapted from Chinese classic comic series Mr Wong, with Tang Bik-wan joining hands with the magnificent Sun Ma Si-tsang and Tam Lan-hing to give a dazzling performance. Wong (Sun Ma Si-tsang) passes off as the company's manager to pursue the beauty Hui (Tang Bik-wan) behind his fearsome wife's (Tam Lan-hing) back. Unbeknown to him, Hui is actually the fiancée of his nephew (Sima Wah-lung), to whom he has refused to lend money. Scenes in which Hui plays pranks on him and tricks him into providing funds for her are spiced up by the lively acting of Sun Ma as a wife-fearing perv and Tang as a sassy girl with a sharp tongue. The film ends with Wong making excuses to meet Hui at a hotel but getting caught by his feisty wife. Whilst both are acclaimed comedians in their own right, brassy Tam and composed Tang together pull Sun Ma's leg in an unmissable classic slapstick.
Mr Wong falls head over heels for Lan, a beautiful waitress. He bugs her constantly to ask for her hand, and even goes as far as lying about his wife being dead and secretly planing to marry his wife off to a friend. Lan decides to play a prank on him to teach him a lesson.
The town is rumoured to be haunted. Cheung Siu-chen pretends to be possessed so that her lover Lau Tin and his friend Lee Luk may heroically exorcise the ghost and curry favour with her father. Driven by greed and lust, the attendant of the ancestral temple and his underlings cast an enticing spell on Cheung and claim that Cheung is possessed with a fierce ghost. Lau and Lee expose the hoax and redeem Cheung. Cheung's father happily gives his consent to the marriage between his daughter and Lau.
Lai-ying (Cheng Bik-ying) is a wealthy socialite who travels globally. Tired of her lifestyle, she sends her secretary Kiu (Tam Lan-hing) to stand in for her in a social function in Hong Kong. Local rich playboy Chung (Sun Ma Si-tsang) is forced by his father (Lee Hoi-chuen) to court the fake Lai-ying in order to save the family from financial distress. But Chung is in love with the real Lai-ying, who pretends to be a poor girl from a working class background. Naturally, the father is unhappy about this mismatch. Typically cast for feisty roles, Tam Lan-hing here plays a marriage-hungry woman, eager to be seduced who knows flirtatiousness can be so hilarious!
This rare gem features the extraordinary stellar cast of two comedy giants on the same screen and the two Ma's (Ma Si-tsang and Sun Ma Si-tsang) performing together. Leung Sing-por as the wealth-feigning Au and Ma Si-tsang as penny pincher Ma already set the stage for laughter. Ma Si-tsang dons a hilarious moustache and adds panache to the character whenever he complacently twists his moustache, making his greediness almost lovable. The film features a zany plot 'twist' when the two Ma's, as father and son, try to attend a charity gala by having Sun Ma Si-tsang teach Ma Si-tsang to sing ‘Yu Hap-wan Expresses His Inner Feelings', one of the elder Ma's most popular repertoire. Ma Si-tsang gives a commanding seven-minute solo performance that captures the heart of the audience now and forever.
This is a film that celebrates the moral function of art. Sun Ma Si-tsang, at once a master Cantonese opera actor and a talented comedian, showcases an oft-overlooked style of singing, presenting it as an inspirational force that saves life and betters relationships. He plays the titled character, who doesn't operate a boat and is nowhere near bodies of water, but an artist specialising in the Dragon Boat style of music. Forced to perform on the streets to make a living, he ventures into situations manifesting the many societal problems that plague Hong Kong, inspiring and elevating common folks with his artistry. He stars alongside Leung Sing-por in a classic animation of comedy partnership, generating laughter from the interactions between players of contrasting body types.
The sophistication of 1950s Hong Kong cinema is vividly illustrated in this film of limited budget and resources. Cantonese opera star Sun Ma Si-tsang plays a country boy who looks exactly like Sun Ma and is asked by a rich girl to impersonate the star, to help her stage an opera. The self-reflexive humour generated by the absurd situation not only provides delicious parody of celebrity culture but also comments subtly on class inequality and the perils of urbanisation. Sun Ma, who also appears as himself in a stage performance, is complemented beautifully by the brilliant comedian Yee Chau-shui as his sidekick and Hung Sin Nui, another opera superstar, as the spoiled and precocious rich girl.
Part one of a two part feature serial following the folk hero Fong Sai-yuk. Both parts are now considered lost films.
The Song Dynasty is in danger after being invaded by Jin soldiers. The geisha Liang Hongyu encourages her lover Han Shizhong to join the army and fight against Jin Zhong's superior, Wei Liangchen.
