Archive for December, 2004
Hong Kong Rhapsody
What a difference a day makes. Or, in this case, what a difference 8 years makes. From Shaw’s early, somewhat clumsy attempts at Western-influenced musicals—like 1960’s Les Belles—the studio’s efforts evolved into accomplished, stylish and entertaining films like 1968’s Hong Kong Rhapsody.
While I’m sure some of the improvement was due to experience, much of the credit belongs to Japanese director Inoue Umetsugu and his style-obsessed crew. Umetsugu’s first picture for Shaw Brothers was 1967’s beauty-fest Hong Kong Nocturne. While this follow-up (released a year to the day after Nocturne) isn’t as enjoyable as its predecessor (mostly thanks to the lack of Lily Ho, Cheng Pei Pei and Chin Ping), it’s still an admirably frothy piece of eye candy.
Playboy magician Chen Tzu-hsin (Peter Chen Ho, or “Romeo” as the trailer calls him) cares for and then falls for the showbiz-inclined orphan Chang Hsiao Ping (“Lovelorn” Li Ching). After a bit of breaking and entering, a lot of partying and a fair amount of lying, Chang finds herself the adopted granddaughter of miserly Lin Chin-fu (Yeung Chi Hing) and the member of an up-and-coming troupe of singers and dancers. Chen, on the other hand, discovers that he loves Chang, but can not have her for fear that his gigolo reputation will bring down her budding career.
There’s quite a bit more to the plot, including a group of blackmailers (Helen Ma, Angela Yu Chien and a guy with a Hitler mustache), a string of celebrity cameos (Lily Ho, Chin Ping and Margaret Hsing Hui) and a scrawny, stuttering villain (Wei Ping-Ou) trying to steal Lin Chin-fu’s fortune. But all of these plot details are given only the briefest attention—they get in the way of the dancing!
Although they lack Nocturne’s color coding, the musical numbers of Rhapsody are still glamorous, fun and slick. Some of the special effects used to clone Li Ching into a dozen dancers are less than effective, but the film’s grand finale more than makes up for earlier defects.
Armed with a better plot, a wider selection of songs (why does Peter Chen Ho only repeat one song throughout the entire film?) and more notable actresses, Nocturne remains a far better film than Rhapsody. But both are grand examples of Shaw Brothers at the top of their musical game.
Hong Kong Rhapsody
Dir: Inoue Umetsugu
Released: February 8, 1968