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     The Hong Kong Film Archive of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (HKFA) will present “One-Man Entertainment Machine: Chan Cheuk-sang and His United Film” as the launch of the “Hidden Treasures” series, which will recognise neglected forerunners of Hong Kong cinema. Six films that are significant in Chan Cheuk-sang’s career as the owner of United Film will be screened on September 1, 8 and 9 at the HKFA Cinema. Post-screening talks will also be arranged for all the screenings.

     Chan entered the film industry by accident. He first landed a job at the World Theatre through his elder brother, and then later, by starting a restaurant business, Chan got to know the Kwan Family, who owned several important theatre chains. He then began distributing films for second runs. Chan was active in the 1950s and ’60s and owned his film companies United Film and Ngai Sing, producing films financed by the theatre chains. He even took up numerous roles himself, including producing, directing, scriptwriting and shooting film stills, to save on expenses. Chan and his wife Wong May-yee worked closely to operate their film business, which produced and distributed over 200 titles across different film genres. Chan died in 2017 at the age of 95.

     The Chinese New Year film “As You Desire” (1952) was Chan’s first foray into filmmaking and starred the biggest draws of Cantonese cinema. The film was a blockbuster in Hong Kong and Macao at the time, bringing about a good start for Chan’s over 20-year-career in producing. In the story, a miser (Ma Si-tsang) plans to arrange a marriage between his son (Sun Ma Si-tsang) and a rich girl, while an heir (Leung Sing-por) forces her younger sister (Hung Sin Nui) to marry a tycoon. The film is the only existing narrative film starring both Ma and Sun Ma, which makes it a rare gem to witness these two geniuses playing off each other.

     Sing-song films were very popular in the ’50s, and the genre was a major one produced by United. The contemporary sing-song comedy “Sing Her a Love Song” (1955) features three operatic giants – Sun Ma Si-tsang, Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin – who sing about the struggles in living and love of ordinary folks. Yam and Pak are a lovesick pair in the film and Sun Ma is Yam’s ex-schoolmate who entertains the audience with his messiness.

     “Ms Chan’s Boat Chase” (1955) was made to commemorate the third anniversary of United, and was billed as an “All-Singing Story of the People”, enabling the leads Yam and Pak as well as Leung Sing-por to unleash their respective signature operatic skills. The story was adapted from Zhang Henshui’s novel “Autumn River” and takes reference to the opera favourite “The Jade Hairpin”. Pak falls pregnant with Yam’s baby but the duo are forced to separate, leaving Pak to perform on the street with Leung for a living.

     The “Headless Empress” series was a remarkable work of United, and also a milestone in the acting career of Yu Lai-zhen. “The Headless Empress Bears a Son, Part 1” (1957) follows the pregnant Empress of East Palace (Yu) who is sent to the guillotine because of the scheming of the evil Empress of West Palace (Fung Wong Nui). Yu gives birth to a baby boy before she dies, and luckily the baby is rescued by a fairy and Yu becomes a ghost to look after her son.

     Effects-driven martial arts fantasy surged in the ’50s and ’60s, but Chan faced constraints in technology and budget. As a result, he drew animation effects himself in “Monkey Saint Raids the Monastery” (1965) to fulfil audiences’ expectations for excitement and novelty. The film tells of the schemes of the Spider Demon (Lee Hong-kum), who seduces the Dragon King to steal treasure and teams up with another demon (Yuen Siu-fai) to capture a monk – an action that puts the life of the powerful Money King (Yu Kai) at risk.

     Sun Ma Si-tsang starred in Chan’s first production, and Sun Ma’s last film as the lead, “The Scores” (1969), was directed by Chan. With Tina Ti as the female lead, the film seems to be an erotic work but, by nature, is not lascivious. The story uncovers offences associated with pornography and money in society through the characters’ experiences in job seeking and romance.

     All films are in Cantonese and without subtitles.

     Tickets priced at $45 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries, please call 2739 2139 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/HKFA/en_US/web/hkfa/programmesandexhibitions/2018ht-ccs/index.html.

      

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 is 104 (up 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more

     A ginseng and dried seafood shop and a manager were convicted and fined $8,000 and $4,000 respectively today (August 1) at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts for supplying Korean ginseng to which a false trade description was applied, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Hong Kong Customs earlier received information and conducted a test-buy operation at a ginseng and dried seafood shop in Sham Shui Po where a box of a Korean brand of Korean ginseng valued at $2,800 was purchased.

     The product was confirmed after examination as not being the brand of ginseng produced by the Korean manufacturer.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure products at reputable shops.

     Under the TDO, any person who supplies goods with a false trade description in the course of trade or business, or is in possession of any goods for sale with a false trade description, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (August 1) investigating a food poisoning outbreak related to the consumption of wild mushrooms, and urged the public not to pick and eat wild mushrooms.
 
     The patients are two women aged 49 and 21 who developed abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea two to three hours after consuming wild mushrooms at home on July 23. Both were admitted to Yan Chai Hospital on the same day. They remained in a stable condition and have been discharged.

     Initial investigations revealed that the wild mushrooms consumed by the patients were picked near Butterfly Beach in Tuen Mun on July 21. The CHP’s investigation is ongoing.
 
     “Members of the public should not pick wild mushrooms for consumption as it is difficult to distinguish edible mushroom species from inedible ones,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     “Mushroom poisoning is generally acute. Common presentations include gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain appearing shortly after ingestion. Depending on the mushroom species, patients may also have other symptoms like profuse sweating, hallucination, coma or other neurological symptoms, as well as liver failure. Death may result in severe cases,” he added.
 
     “If mushroom poisoning is suspected, the patient should seek immediate medical attention and bring along any available remnant for identification,” the spokesman said. read more

     A total of 70 photographs showing buildings and the streetscape of Nathan Road in the mid-1970s have been uploaded to the website of the Government Records Service (GRS) today (August 1). Members of the Hong Kong community are invited to view the pictures and take a walk down memory lane.
 
     “This set of photos brings back the collective memories of Nathan Road in the mid-1970s. We hope they can promote the appreciation of archival records,” a GRS spokesman said.
 
     The photographs were taken for recording the road conditions of the construction sites of the Mass Transit Railway from Prince Edward Station to Tsim Sha Tsui Station in the 1970s. They were transferred from the Lands Department. Some landmark buildings and household names, such as the Astor Theatre, Tai Lin and Bargain, which have faded out now reappear in these photographs. One can compare today’s economic vibrancy of Nathan Road with that in the 1970s.
 
     Members of the public can view these photographs at the Educational Resources Portal (www.grs.gov.hk/en/educational_resource_portal.html) under the GRS’ website. 
 
     The Educational Resources Portal contains topical guides, digitised holdings, online exhibitions and other resources for learning and teaching. It provides a resource-rich and easily accessible platform for web users to get to know the development of Hong Kong.