Blue Skies
Director: Sit Kwan
Year: 1967
Rating: 6.0
Here is an opportunity to watch Cheng Pei-pei, the star of a number of Shaw
Brother's Wuxia films, dance. She was trained as a dancer but once she made
it big in the classic Come Drink With Me in 1966, those dancing lessons were
put to use in action films with a few exceptions. This being one. This is
a straight out musical melodrama full of big production numbers and the quintessential
back stage drama that was so popular in American musicals like 42nd Street.
Unfortunately, Hong Kong never had their version of Busby Berkeley and most
of the musical numbers land with a pretty yet definite thud.
Musicals had been an integral part of Hong Kong films for a while by the
1960's but primarily taking the form of Chinese Opera - but just as musicals
were losing their popularity in the United States a more contemporary style
of musical was becoming popular in Hong Kong very much influenced by the musicals
of MGM or more youth oriented musicals. Cathay Studios made some charming
musicals such as Mambo Girl with Grace Chang leading the way and then in
the Cantonese film industry stars like Connie Chan starred in these teenage
films punctuated with musical pop numbers. The Shaw Brothers also had their
share of musicals - the best being directed by Japanese import Inoue Umetsugu.
But even with all these musicals being produced, Hong Kong never really developed
any musical stars who could dance and sing. Ones like Grace Chang who became
a hugely popular singer were discovered almost by accident but most of the
actors are dubbed by professional singers and very few of them could dance
a lick.
Peter Chen who is the leading man in this film was sort of the go to man
for both Cathay and Shaw for musicals - and though he could be charming I
can't recall him ever singing and his dancing at best could be described as
a good social dancer. Cheng Pei-pei shows herself to be a good dancer but
her singing is almost certainly dubbed (by Carrie Ku I expect). Thus musical
numbers could be ornate, often drenched in saturated MGM colors with lovely
songs but they all lack the energy that is derived from just great dancing
and great choreography. Still I like a lot of them and many of them have
tearful melodramatic storylines with a happy ending waiting for you.
Blue Skies was made shortly after Come Drink With Me (Cheng Pei-pei was
also working on a Wuxia film The Thundering Sword at the same time as this)
that made her a star. She plays Chen Yun, the daughter of the conductor of
a musical review and dances off stage every night in hopes of becoming a
star some day. When the show's star (the catlike Margaret Tu-chuan) becomes
a diva and quits they frantically turn to Chen Yun to replace her. As these
films tend to go, she becomes an overnight sensation. She is in love with
songwriter Li Yan-nan (Peter Chen) and he with her but success and a possessive
producer drives them apart - drinking and heartbreak follows.
Among the dancers were two names that stuck out - Yueh Hua - which seemed
rather odd as he had been the co-star of Come Drink with Me the year before
and then a future comedian star, the rolly-polly Lydia Shum.
A few of the songs are decent enough but the musical numbers allow themselves
to be bound and chained to the stage - as opposed to American musicals where
if they in theory are being played to an audience, they take that stage and
make it fantastical and gigantic - here they keep it small and most of the
choreography is dreadful. And there were so many opportunities for the actors
to break into song and dance offstage but they tried only once in a fantasy
number that looked to have potential and then they end it much too suddenly.
Once Umetsugu shows up this same year, Hong Kong musicals take a big step
up.
