Sum Hun Explained

Director:Frank Tang
Producer:Bruce Wong
Esther Eng
Starring:Beal Wong
Kim-Fong Wei
Cinematography:Paul Ivano
Studio:Cathay Pictures
Language:Cantonese

Sum Hun (Chinese: c=心恨|j=sam1 han6, or Chinese: t=鐵血芳魂,[1] a.k.a. Xinhin or Heartaches) is a 1936 Cantonese-language drama film produced by an American production company in 1936 for a Chinese audience. The film was advertised as the first Cantonese-language film made in Hollywood.[2] [3] The film is believed to be lost.

Plot

A Chinese-American aviator (Beal Wong) falls in love with an opera star named Fan (Kim-Fong Wei) in San Francisco.[4] Unfortunately, a jealous theater manager named Jung intervenes, threatening to send the opera star back to China.[5]

Cast

Production

In 1936, a young San Francisco woman named Esther Eng (who would later become a well-known director) joined forces with a young actor Bruce Wong to try and tap into the Chinese movie-going market. Together, they managed to raise the money they'd need to get the film made, and then they set to work studying the taste of Chinese audiences. The film was shot in eight days in Los Angeles and San Francisco under Bruce Wong's Cathay Pictures production company.[6] [7] He cast his brother Beal in one of the lead roles.[8]

References

  1. Web site: 伍錦霞 . 2023-09-25 . 香港記憶 Hong Kong Memory.
  2. Book: Movie Stories: เรื่องราว ภาพยนตร์. Yin). Nangaen Chearavanont (Tse. Ho (歐荷). Au. Shui (歐臻水). Ou Chiu. 2014-01-18. H.M. Ou. 9789881590954. en.
  3. Book: Bettinson, Gary. China. 2012. Intellect Books. 9781841505589. en.
  4. Web site: Movie Stars' Wastebasket. 15 Dec 1935. The Quad-City Times. en. 2019-11-19.
  5. Book: Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-cultural View. Kar. Law. Bren. Frank. Ho. Sam. 2004. Scarecrow Press. 9780810849860. en.
  6. Web site: Oriental Picture Completed. Keavy. Hubbard. 31 May 1936. The Baltimore Sun. en. 2019-11-19.
  7. Web site: All-Chinese Film Made. 15 Dec 1935. The Los Angeles Times. en. 2019-11-19.
  8. Book: Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. Staff. America Film Institute. Gevinson. Alan. Afi. American Film. Institute. American Film. 1997. University of California Press. 9780520209640. en.