A Respectable Tutor

May 6, 1959

1h 56m

★ 0.0

Overview

The Prime Minister's daughter, Kong Yeuk-mui, is attracted by the private tutor, Chow Yuk-pui. However, the Prime Minister despises Pui's lowly background and banishes him. Kong disowns her father, hoping to marry Pui when he achieves honours in the imperial exam. Meanwhile, Mui's brother Tak-chu prepares for the exam under Pui's tutorship. Pui and Chu, take the money Mui gives them and head for the capital. Unfortunately, Pui has himself fallen ill. Considering that the examination day is approaching, he gives all the travel expenses to Chu and urges him to set off. Mui resides at Loquat Alley, longing for Pui's honourable return. One day, she comes across a beggar, when she recognises it is Pui, her heart breaks. Chu who has newly been appointed Top Scholar, arrives and tells her sister the whole story. Nevertheless, Pui's sister is chosen to be the imperial concubine. Benefiting from this bond, Pui becomes the Royal Brother and works as the court secretary and weds Mui.

Genres

Romance

Music

Production Companies

Tao Yuen Motion Picture Development Company

A Respectable Tutor Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Chow Yuk-pui

Yam Kim-Fai

Kong Yeuk-mui

Pak Suet-Sin

Kong Chun-hang

Poon Yat-On

Kong Tak-chu

Lai Kam-Sing

Shum Suet-ying

Bing-Yee Yam

Chow Sik-hung

Lee Hong Kum

Cheung Hau-yan

Cheung Sing-Fei

Chun Ngan

Pak Fung-ying

4th brother's wife

Yiu Yee-Wan

Choi Fai-Lam

Taoist Monk

Sun Liu Hap-wai

Songstress

Lau Wing-lam

Centring on the legend of the four ancient Chinese heroines, the film was a novelty for audiences at the time, as the singing performance was in Cantonese and used huangmei operatic rhythms—a popular trend in the 1960s, yet it retained traditional flavours by using operatic luogu percussion in the battle scenes. ‘Movie-fan princess' Connie Chan Po-chu not only sings Cantonese song and huangmei tone solos in the film, she also wows the audience by taking up the doumadanrole for the first time as the Tang dynasty female general Fan Lei-fa, showing off her superb operatic martial skills, together with Shum Chi-wah, inherited from Peking opera master Fen Ju Hua. Yu Kai's weaponry prowess and renowned female comedian Tam Lan-hing cross-dressing as a male general are also brilliant in this gem.

0.0

The Angel

Jan 1, 1939

This is one of the rare gems in early Chinese musical films that still exists today. Nancy Chan plays a naïve young woman who can sing and dance. Under the arrangement of her stepfather, she becomes a star and indulges in the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world before getting married to a wealthy heir in Nanyang. Yet her husband is cruel and unfaithful, leading her to divorce and return to her parents in Shanghai. She is set for a comeback to the stage. Her young daughter suffers from a serious illness. A remake of the Bu Wanchang’s silent film The Light of Maternal Instinct (1933), this film takes cues from Hollywood musicals, resulting in an elegant and lively fusion of camera movement and musical numbers. The film also reflects the harsh reality of China in the 1930s and the pathos of popular literature by combining morals, entertainment and social commentary to show that changes in the idea of femininity is a symbol of progress.

No Image Available

0.0

Happy Wedding

Dec 30, 1959

During the Warring States Period, Nung-yuk, the Princess of Qin, denounces the mundane world and dreams of marrying an immortal. This extends to her criteria for choosing a husband: excelling in flute playing. Once, she is captivated by the tune 'Three Melodies of Rainbow Dress' and mistakes the qin player Siu Sze for a fairy. Yuk then persuades Sze to sit the national exam for a better future. Sze's music attracts hundred of birds. Yuk returns to the palace pleading with her father Esquire Muk to agree to their marriage. Despite the Empress Dowager's opposition, Yuk leads a secluded life with Siu afar; a noble breed thus living a hard life. The King lets her go, only granting an annual visit. A year later, Yuk and her husband returns for a visit. The Queen still wants to break them up. Later, Jin State sends people to discover the whereabouts of their Princes. Siu is in fact the Prince of Jin. With Muk’s blessings, Siu marries Yuk in Jin, a marriage which brings peace to both states.

No Image Available

0.0

Prince of Thieves

Jan 1, 1958

Middle Eastern folktale collection One Thousand and One Nights has been greatly treasured by Western storytellers who are fascinated by the fantastic world within. The exoticism conveyed in Western film adaptations greatly appealed to Cantonese opera and film writer Ma Si-tsang, who adapted The Thief of Bagdad (1924) into Cantonese opera The Prince of Thieves, set in an ancient empire influenced by both East and West. In 1958, director Luk Bong adapted the play into a film, turning the thief of the original film into a Robin Hood-esque hero who poses as a prince to compete for the princess' hand in marriage. Packed with a thrilling treasure hunt and a damsel-in-distress rescue as well as eye-catching special effects, Prince of Thieves is 100% a romantic swashbuckler.

5.0

Havana Divas

Feb 11, 2018

The story focus on Caridad and Georgina, who had learned the art of Cantonese Opera in Havana as a young age and performed as divas for over a decade before their lives were changed by Fidel Castro's revolution.

0.0

The Natural Son

Mar 11, 1959

Chor Yuen started his directorial career with a bang. From its very first image, The Natural Son establishes Chor as a filmmaker of stylistic flourish, which would be sustained in various forms throughout his long tenure. Adapted from '30 cents' pulp fiction, it is a Kong Ngee melodrama made in the studio's mould, with Westernised characters and trendy middle-class lifestyles. Yet, Chor's first film is not exempt from the social urgency that characterises the Cantonese cinema of his father, Cheung Wood-yau. The film cloaks its entertainment in a moral deliberation on blood ties, its story about the raising of a bastard child a head-on challenge of archaic family values. An ostentatious start for a colourful and eventful career.

No Image Available

0.0

New White Golden Dragon

Sep 27, 1947

Hotelier Pak Kam-lung meets Cheung Yuk-neong on a ship travelling to Hong Kong. In Hong kong, Kam-lung searches for Yuk-neong's whereabouts and throws a costume party to lure Yuk-neong. He finally meets Yuk-neong again but she is cool towards Kam-lung. In order to get close to Yuk-neong, Kam-lung disguises himself as a hotel attendant. Meanwhile, the gentleman-thief Yu Yat-chi is attracted by Yuk-neong's diamond brooch. Yat-chi poses as a banker to get close to Yuk-neong. He lures Yuk-neung to his hideout by falsely claiming that her father is hurt in hospital. Yuk-neung is kept prisoner in an attempt to force her father to hand over the diamond brooch. Kam-lung puts on a female disguise to penetrate the hideout to save Yuk-neong. His disguise is seen through by Yat-chi, but fortunately, the police is alerted in time. The bandits are arrested. Finally, Kam-lung and Yuk-neong are married.

0.0

Eternal Love

Sep 29, 1955

Chan Sai-wah abides by his late father's word and marries the wealthy Yam Suk-kuen. They have a son, Kwok-leung. Though Wah is manager of the hotel owned by his father-in-law, Kuen is not a good wife. For all the years of their marriage, Wah has never been happy. Attracted to the humble and honest Carrie Mui, Wah decides to leave his domineering wife Kuen, but is stopped by his father-in-law. The lovers set off to Macau for a new start. Their life has become increasingly miserable under the pressure from Yam's family. When Wah leaves to seek help from his son in Hong Kong, Carrie decides she should leave so that Wah can go without feeling any guilt or burden. On the other hand, Wah is too ashamed to face his son, and returns to Macau. He lives his life in misery. Years pass, the lovers meet again. Wah is reduced to begging in the streets while Carrie becomes an opera diva.

0.0

Guangzhou Story

Jan 1, 1995

No overview available.

0.0

Winter Love

Dec 3, 1968

Inside a café, on Christmas Eve. Chim Kei meets an enigmatic woman named Mimi Wong who introduces herself as the daughter of an upper-crust family. But the infatuated writer is struck by a spasm of sorrow when he later sees Mimi make her appearance as a taxi-dancer at a party. The lovers are reconciled by the story of her plight told by her sister Annie. However, Mimi goes missing on the engagement day. By a stroke of luck, Chim runs into the elusive woman again and finds out how she was forced into prostitution by her drug-addict husband, his childhood best friend and benefactor Chan Hung-kit. Chim leaves dejectedly, and has since been idling his days away. The frail Mimi confesses her love for Chim on her deathbed, and from not far away, Chan has ended his own life.

6.5

Flashdance

Apr 14, 1983

Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.

6.7

Not Here to Be Loved

Oct 12, 2005

Jean-Claude Delsart, a 50 years-old bailiff, with his worn-out smile and heart, abandoned a long time ago the idea that life could give him pleasures. Until the day, he dares to push the doors of a tango lesson...

6.5

D.E.B.S.

Mar 25, 2005

The star of a team of teenage crime fighters falls for the alluring villainess she must bring to justice.

6.7

The Crime of Padre Amaro

Oct 1, 2002

Sent to Mexico to help take care of aging Father Benito, young Father Amaro faces a moral challenge when he meets a 16-year-old girl who he starts an affair with. Likewise, the girl's mother had been having an affair with Father Benito. Father Amaro must choose between a holy or sinful life.

6.6

There's Something About Mary

Jul 15, 1998

For Ted, prom night went about as bad as it’s possible for any night to go. Thirteen years later, he finally gets another chance with his old prom date, only to run up against other suitors including the sleazy detective he hired to find her.

6.9

The Horse Whisperer

Feb 1, 1998

The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.

7.1

Bread and Tulips

Mar 3, 2000

An endearing light comedy about a woman who spontaneously becomes a resident of Venice after her family left her behind. While enjoying the wonderful people she meets she achieves a new life and the first time independent of her family.

7.0

The Cuckoo

Oct 25, 2002

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.