More Than Kung Fu

Like Francis Ford Coppola directing a musical, or James Cameron directing a romance, directors often strike off in directions unfathomable, exploring genres that previously seemed antithetical.

Sometimes, as in the case of Titanic, the switch is a hit; or, as with One From The Heart, it isn’t. Regardless, audiences have come to expect their directors to work familiar themes and settings throughout their careers.

Of course, we only developed this idea after the collapse of the studio system, a shift in power that allowed directors—previously commoditized and controlled as much as, if not more than, actors—to have a say in what project they directed.

But in Hong Kong, especially at Shaw Brothers, the studio system continued to thrive. Actors and directors were held under contract and worked where they were assigned. Still, I can’t quite grasp the logic that led to Chang Cheh directing The Singing Thief, a modern-day fashion-drenched “action musical’ about Diamond Poon (Jimmy Lin Chung), an ex-con club singer pulled back into the world of crime.

Sexy girls, sly heroes, pop songs, mini-skirts, Nehru jackets to high heaven, garish clubs and hot cars. And…Chang Cheh? No one was more suited to this film than Shaw director Inoue Umetsugu. Indeed, Umetsugu directed The Singing Escort, also starring Jimmy Lin Chung and released 6 months after The Singing Thief.

But assuming that Shaw’s simply assigned their #1 director to a pop-fluff film doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like Cheh had much free time, he directed 5 films that were released the same year as Thief.

My guess is this: someone at Shaw Studios saw the Taiwanese pop singer as a possible star. Attractive (indeed, he’s almost the spitting image of a young Chow Yun Fat), fashionable and charming, Jimmy Lin Chung could have been an excellent replacement for Peter Chen Ho (then aging and ailing, he would die in 1970) in Shaw’s glamorous musicals. So the bosses decided to give the kid a shot and try to build a star.

Thus, 1969 was the year of Jimmy Lin Chung. In January, he appeared in Tropicana Interlude (aka, Tropical Interlude), a romance/melodrama. In September, The Singing Escort, a musical. And stuck in the middle is Chang’s The Singing Thief—part musical, part thriller, part bloody action. In three movies, Shaw tried sticking Lin Chung in all of their major genres, seeing what would stick. Nothing worked. Lin Chung was awful, grating and overly precious. He made no more movies with Shaw Brothers.

Of the three films, Chang got the hardest one to pull off successfully. Maybe he requested it; maybe he, the studio’s most reliable director, was assigned the job. Either way, Chang never tamed the beast and the result shifts genres willy-nilly, a wandering Franken-movie in search of a home.

For most of the film, the plot goes nowhere, waiting for the stars to try out a variety of sexy costumes or swan about while singing. Then Chang kicks everything in to high gear with an almost never-ending series of brutal fights featuring fists, shovels and guns. Then they sing again. Confusing.

Obviously not a good movie, The Singing Thief remains interesting for two reasons. First, the schadenfreude of watching a studio trying, and failing, to catch the next big thing. Second, just like One From The Heart or Titanic, the fun of a seeing a director trying to sail in unfamiliar seas.

The Singing Thief
Dir: Chang Cheh
Released: February 14, 1969