Here's un petit apéritif before I publish my post about Lin Dai's first film, Singing under the Moon (1953). I found this unique magazine cover while searching through my eBay archive for Lin Dai materials. This issue appeared on newsstands shortly before Linda made her silver screen debut. Very cool, don't you think? Not quite what you'd expect, especially during the beginning of her career, a period of which she is usually remembered as a pig-tailed village lass not a short-haired urban tomboy. It just goes to show that the legend of Lin Dai that's been passed down to us is an incomplete picture, even more so when we consider that the first half of her movie output is currently unavailable on home video. It's my hope that this week's exploration of Lin Dai's early films will broaden the perception of modern fans about Hong Kong's beloved movie queen.
Meanwhile, Glenn over at A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed has just posted his review of Beyond the Great Wall (1964).
12 comments:
Wow, that's a great cover. It immediately brings to mind Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones. :D
Quite a picture, duriandave!
How tall was Lin Dai? She seems quite small on that motorcycle!
Nice cover of Lin Dai and a rare one too.
The girl on a motorbike was to become a truly remarkable star of the 50s and 60s.
Hi Fang Shih-yu,Lin Dai was in fact petite by today's standard.Although she was listed as 5'3" in some of the movie magaiznes, I believe that she was only 5'1"in real life.
I was guessing her height around that range. Thanks, oldflames!
-- Dennis, I totally forgot I had this saved in my digital archive. I'm always surprised by what I find there. I should dig around more often and post them here. :)
-- Fang, Linda was definitely on the petite side. That's also a big bike. ;)
-- Oldflames, you beat me to it. I remember we talked about her height before. Even more surprising, as you told me, is that bombshell Diana Chang was shorter than Linda!!
I'm really thankful for you and Glenn. I am sorely lacking in Hong Kong cinema's past. I don't even know who Lin Dai is/was? This is just great stuff for me to discover. Thanks Dave =)
intereting pic of lin dai reminding me of hongkong before my birth in 1960s. great thanks to dave.
Dave,
Do you have the content of this magazine? Can you post the articles inside this magazine? Thanks.
Regards,
Chris Tan
-- Anonymous, glad you liked it!
-- Chris, wish I could. I grabbed this from an eBay listing a few years ago. I regret now that I didn't bid for it.
-- Kingwho?, glad to introduce you to Lin Dai! She's a legend. Linda even made a martial-arts film, The Swallow (1961), which was remade by Chor Yuen in 1972 as The Lizard (starring Connie Chan).
Cool photo David.
this would make a great cover photo for an Asian companion to Cristine Simmons book "The American Motorcycle Girls"
Great idea, Eddy! I've already got several choice photos on my blog. Check out my "motor maids" tag.
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