Directing

Siu-Fung Woo

Born 1924-11-07

Acting credits

The film focused on a conflict between Empress Dowager Cixi, her son Guangxi (the nominal emperor) and his wife, Zhen Fei.

Sorrows of the Forbidden City

1948

"Among the many filmmakers who immigrated to Hong Kong after WWII was theater tycoon Jiang Boying, who established the company Great China in 1946, inviting fellow migrants to work on the first post-war Mandarin films of Hong Kong. Their hearts still anchored in Shanghai, they made films catered to the mainland market, with production modes of the former glory days. Fan Peilin, a virtuoso in musicals, was invited south to make Orioles Banished from the Flowers, dying in the crash of the returning flight. The only two films Fan made in Hong Kong–the other one Song of the Songstress–are thus his last. Both star the singing-acting superstar Zhou Xuan. In this MusCom–musical comedy–Zhou plays not the hapless songstress but a vivacious, willful youngster, rollicking between a young man and his girlfriend, resulting in a series of embarrassing but amusing situations. A remarkable sample of transplanted Shanghai-style entertainment."-- Hong Kong Film Archive

Orioles Banished from the Flowers

1948

7.0

A sick king instructs his loyal minister Luo Zhengqing to guide and install the crown prince as king after his death. However, the minister of the army, Situ Yangming, makes a grab for power after the King's death and incarcerates the crown prince. Luo's daughter disguises herself as the male bandit Robin Hood, robbing government offices to help the poor. Meanwhile, Situ orders captain of the imperial guards, Zhang Zhonggeng, to kill the crown prince. Zhang is a loyalist and conspires with Lady Robin Hood to save the crown prince. When Situ discovers that the prince has escaped, he falsifies the late King's will and has himself crowned as king. However, the female Robin Hood has stolen the original will. The female Robin Hood kills Situ and installs the crown prince as the ruler.