Hong Kong Hollywood 1954

[777juneau]

my parents and i were going back to scotland from hongkong.and we got to fly back with the cast of movie actors ,they had filmed slow boat to china .must been 1958 i think..we were going to visit my grand parents for xmas,, boac planes ..great food and real sliver ware ,i even gotmy wings and flying miles in a book.. all kids got one,june .canada now,,

[MichaelRogge]

@777juneau. Must have been a great experience you wouldn't soon forget! I was in Japan in 1958 so wasn't there when Slow boat to China was being filmed. I do have a clip on YouTube 'On a slow boat to China', though, in which I'm the actor!

[pf1962153]

Thank you for all your films, Michael, love it!!!

[kw9999kw]

Hello Michael, It puzzles me that some of your films (50s) were in color while the movie industry were makeing black and white film even in the sixties...

[MichaelRogge]

@kw9999kw . Most of the 16 (and 8)mm films sold were in color. Only the movie industry hesitated because of the high cost of color copies I suppose. Most amateurs filmed in color except when filming indoors where higher speed black and white films were used. I used Kodachrome, the color emulsion that has best withstood time.

[raymondkkng]

SORRY that I have made a mistake that it's Grace Chang appeared in Soldier of Fortune, not Li Lihua. Li should be in another Hollywood film. I got to find it out.

[raymondkkng]

Uncle Mic, did you see Li Lihua in person?

[MichaelRogge]

Yes, otherwise I could not have filmed her.

[raymondkkng]

Uncle Mic, you are so fortunate to have seen her. Today's actress don't have that charisma. Today not many HK people know about her but she was indeed the greatest Manderin female actress from late 40's to early 60's. Not much news is reported about her but I know she is still here, a 85 year-old now. For her contribution to the HK film industry, her handprints were given a firm postion in the now Avenue of Stars at the waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui.

[raymondkkng]

Uncle Mic, you have also ignited my nostagia appetite that I plan to buy all the available films in DVDs of the major 50's and 60's Chinese female actress.

[MichaelRogge]

Thanks for the info. I did not realize at the time that she was such a celebrity.

[raymondkkng]

Uncle Mic, I should thank you instead coz it's your clips that make me become interested in exploring the old Manderin stars and films(a treasure indeed). B4, I only heard of their names and didn't know much about them. I even didn't know the face of Li Lihua b4 coz Manderin stars from that period are less well-remembered by HKers as we speak Cantonese, unlike today we know more Manderin and watch more movies from mainland. From your clips' link, I've explored many other actress beside Li.

[raymondkkng]

Also, maybe because Li Lihua was top-notch at that time, she was chosen to act in Soldier of Fortune with Clark Gable. After the exploration, I "finally" discovered that the old Manderin actress were more attractive than the old Cantonese counterparts which I didn't realized for my life. That's really a great discovery which is not too late. Haha.

[MichaelRogge]

HL Govt. Film Archive have a tremendous collection, including my DVD's!

[tsaishing]

Woh... at 1:39 into your clip, the guy walking around with a twin-lens Rollei-like camera was indeed Michael Rennie, one of the actors in the movie "Soldier Of Fortune" they're making here, but I remember him as the Alien in the original 1951 Sci-Fi classic: "The Day The Earth Stood Still". Precious.

[leefaichai]

uncle michael, thaks a lot!

[benbowDD]

Great! Thanks for sharing!

[HongKongInThe50s]

Wonderful!! Thanks!!

[HongKongInThe50s]

I guess they were shooting a Mandarin film "The Mortal Wind" (風蕭蕭) in the studio... Li Lihua and Yan Jun, who played the leading roles in the film, were among the cast and crew members. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[kowloonbaby08]

你竟然認得！^^

[HongKongInThe50s]

請多多指教! :)