OK, folks! It's time to bring on Hong Kong's beloved ass-kicking, cross-dressing, opera-singing teen idol of the 1960s: the one and only Connie Chan.
Here's the soundtrack EP for Connie's 1967 film The Girl with Long Hair (長髮姑娘), in which she plays a cop assigned to capture the "Filial Thief", a righteous Robin Hood who steals from the rich who treat their parents poorly. The "Filial Thief" is played by opera star Lam Kar-sing.
You'll notice right away that these songs are more traditional than you might expect from the modish EP cover. Drawing on Cantonese opera and folk music rather than Western pop, they are an example of the grassroots influence in the early development of Cantopop.
Lam Kar-sing and Connie Chan, heroes on opposite sides of the law
* Photo comes from the Yau Leung collection 昨夜星光 (1940s-1960s)
雌雄鬥口曲
(play song)
掃蕩羣魔 ["Root out the Demons"]
(play song)
長髮姑娘賊孝子 ["The Girl with Long Hair and the Filial Thief"]
(play song)
Back cover of the EP with Chinese lyrics, plus another picture of Connie as she appears during the scene featuring the first song presented above:
9 comments:
Beautiful the picture of the queen of hearts with the gun!
Delightful picture of Lam Kar-sing and Connie Chan.
Since she is cross-dressed with a shiny suit, slicked back hair and even French cuffs, why not have her hang a bugle around her neck to complete the look? I imagine the scene is some type of charity type thing since Lam Kar-sing is outfitted as a slender St. Nicholas but Connie Chan could carry off the "musical instrument as accessory" look if she had to.
The second song, "Root Out the Demons" has has a perky, upbeat almost swinging sound and she does it very well.
Great post.
-- Hi Nora! Yep, Connie's my queen of hearts. Before I started this blog, I ran a fansite devoted to her.
-- Ed, you can't tell from that first photo, but Connie does have the bugle hanging from her neck, as well as a drum strapped to her back. I added another photo showing the full look.
I don't know the reason for the Santa suit, but the scene, as I recall, is about Connie trying to draw Lam Kar-sing out of hiding so she can try and reform him. Babelfish is useless for a translation, but the scene's song (the first one above) seems to be a taunting challenge.
Really nice songs. Thanks for posting. The summary of the film on HKFA's db sounds really interesting.
Yeah, I really love that first song. The Girl with Long Hair is very similar to Dutiful Daughter Zhu Zhu. They both have that old-school flavor. No A-Go-Go in these films! ;p
Your blog never ceases to amaze me, always something unique and interesting!
Thanks ZombieLace! Glad you like it. :D
Thanks Dave
I like that photo with Connie
as a one-man-band, in particular.
The songs,as you mentioned, carry
such oriental flavour that it's
really hard to find in this age.
webbburt
Hi webbburt! Yeah, Connie looks like she's having fun being a one-man band. I gotta say, that scene from the movie is one of my favorites from her films.
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