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 The Fading Away of a Way of Life Peter Dunn 
(From left) Peter Dunn forms close tie with Kitty Ting Hao and Xiao Peipei in The Greatest Civil War on Earth (1961). The golden era of Motion Picture & General Investment Co Ltd (MP & GI), that is the few years from 1957 onwards, produced a series of classics apparently set in Hong Kong. Yet the society and aura portrayed bear no resemblance with the Hong Kong SAR in 2002. After all, these works are strictly products of a definite time, social class, and style of living, all slowly fading away as if they never really existed. In the October 1977 issue of City Magazine, I wrote an article on MP & GI entitled 'Atlanis'. Like the Atlantean culture once flourished in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, MP & GI, then only had been out of business for a decade, became a lost continent itself and is now calling for an out-and-out retreat from our world in a quarter of a century's time. If there are a few individuals out there who still remember fondly the films of MP & GI, the reasons will not be of aesthetic concerns, nor a recognition of their achievements in the arts. The reasons will be a longing for the kind of lifestyle that those films represent, or some may say, advocate. Let's count the jewels on the MP & GI's crown: Mambo Girl (1957), Air Hostess (1959), Sister Long Legs (1960), Our Dream Car (1959), June Bride (1960), Calendar Girl (1959), Our Sister Hedy (1957), The Battle of Love (1957)... Nearly all of them are contemporaries characterised by the bourgeoisie. Even the film titles smell of rich western aromas. In the article, I wrote: Though these Mandarin contemporaries may not fit in our expectation of a "realist", without a slightest doubt, they all utilise Hong Kong as the setting. I believe this series of films truly reflect the earnestness of southward bound immigrants to integrate into the Hong Kong society, and their ability to speedily adapt to the local environment.' These films are concerned with those northerners (particularly Shanghai natives) migrating to Hong Kong after the liberation, bringing with them a kind of 'nouveau' lifestyle and values radically different from those of old Canton. Like the popular hit tunes recorded by Yao Lee and Chang Loo around the same time, the Shanghai school philosophy was in perfect accord with the Hong Kong natives, and in no time found its root in the colony. MP & GI assumed a leading role in the process, and in the end fulfilled its historical duty. Let's take a closer look first at Helen Li Mei, the female writer, alone, writing her article in a small café (a scene from Between Tears and Laughter, 1960); and Kitty Ting Hao who more than once in her films plays the role of an air hostess; there're Grace Chang, Jeannette Lin Tsui and co dancing cha-chas at parties when the dance swept the territory; Calendar Girl features a beauty pageant, at the time a modish event; in June Bride, Grace Chang arrives in Hong Kong on board a luxury liner; the four sisters in Our Sister Hedy all bring to their father the same gift - a pipe - out of an odd coincidence and in the next scene, the sisters gather to brew coffee in their flat located in the posh Happy Valley area. Forgot whether it is in Our Sister Hedy or its sequel Wedding Bells for Hedy (1959) where Julie Yeh Feng dances barefoot, so wildly, on the long bar table (editor's note: should be in the latter); in Father Takes a Bride (1963), we are introduced to the middle-class couple Wang Yin and Wang Lai, who are enjoying high-tea in the garden of a modest home... These pictures can be said at the least striking to the still poverty-stricken and conservative Hong Kong society, perhaps also to Chinese societies across Southeast Asia at the time. They seem to prophesy the coming of a new era and take the stance to demonstrate the full picture to the middle-class members-to-be. As if they are to reassure us that a higher living quality is attainable as long as we dream a little dream, hang on to our hope, and use a bit of imagination. 
A family visit to the aunt in For Better, For Worse (1959): Peter Dunn, parents (Chang Yang, Helen Li Mei) and sister (Chan Po-chu). I chanced to become a child star of MP & GI during its heyday and thus bear witness to the Shanghai school of living projected on the big screen and faithfully realised in real life. I remember Helen Li Mei drove a Chrysler to work, undeniably a grand gesture be the car a second or third-hand one. The café on Prince Edward Road was the stars' favourite hangout. Wang Lai's favourite restaurant is Ruby, where classical music was played. I have fond memories of Fang Yuan, the famed make-up artist we called Grandpa Fang. He has a head of silvery grey hair and a stylishly trimmed moustache. His trade mark attire is a French peaked cap, a tartan shirt, a silk scarf, and a pair of khaki trousers. Fang travels at high speed to and fro the studios on his motorbike. A self-proclaimed artist, Fang's stature exceeds that of a make-up artist, for he is always unabashedly proud of his trade and his professionalism never fails to gain the respect of others. 
Famed make-up artist Fang Yuan (centre) made a guest appearance in Wedding Bells for Hedy (1959), starring Dolly Soo Fong, Julie Yeh Feng, Jeannette Lin Tsui, Moh Hong (back row from left). Are we short of that sense of pride and dignity in today's society? In 1996, I attended for the last time the get-together dinner regularly held by old MP & GI personnel. In attendance were Grace Chang, Julie Yeh Feng, Wang Lai, Lai Chin, Wang Tianlin, Tu Meiqing of the production department, and Sister Li, the refreshment lady. When those elderly waiters warmly greeted Wang Lai, it's hard to imagine that their first encounter dates back nearly half a century ago. 
MP & GI get-together dinner in 1996. (Back row from left) Lai Chin, Wang Lai, Julie Yeh Feng, Grace Chang, and Peter Dunn; (front row from left) Sister Li, Wang Tianlin, Tu Meiqing (Photo courtesy of Mr Peter Dunn) The MP & GI era has long faded away, but in the hearts of the few devotees, stars like Grace Chang and Julie Yeh Feng never lose their charm. In one particular evening seizing a stolen moment, the 50s crept back to haunt us all.  Peter Dunn, born in Hong Kong, has starred in over ten Mandarin features as a child actor, including Our Beloved Son (1959) and Father Takes a Bride (1963). Returning from his studies in America in 1976, he established City Magazine with John Chan Koon-chung and Henry Wu. A freelance writer, he now works in the commercial sector. |