Ma Yongzhen (1851 ~ 1879), a native of Linqing, Shandong, a Hui nationality, a famous martial artist in the late Qing Dynasty. Proficient in checking punches, bouncing legs and other routines. He used to serve as an armed instructor in the Songjiang Province of the Qing Dynasty, and was good at horse taming and riding, and had unique features in equestrian skills, such as "Dapeng spreading its wings" and "turning over a harrier" on the back of an upside-down horse, and could also hold a steel knife to cut and cut silver dollars thrown in the air. At the Xianfeng 11th Autumn Horse Race, Ma Yongzhen defeated the former two-time horse racing champion Steve.
On March 22 (April 13, 1879) of the fifth year of Guangxu, he had a debt dispute with a horse dealer, was secretly injured, and was escorted to Shanghai Tiren Hospital by a friend, and died in vain. Ma Yongzhen's story is very legendary, so it is also a popular theme in many film and television dramas. Many movies and TV series about Ma Yongzhen have been filmed in Hong Kong alone, but the one that the audience remembers most is "Ma Yongzhen" filmed by Hong Kong ATV in 1981.
The ATV version of this drama, with a total of 20 episodes, is produced by Xu Xiaoming and Li Zhaohua. The story is tense and tortuous, the fate of the characters is ups and downs, and it is interspersed with several child and daughter relationships, which makes the audience moved. The Shandong Opera Class (Ma Yantao) Troupe came to Shanghai to make a living, but was bullied by the Shanghai gangster Shao Ba (Sima Hualong), causing the master brother Ma Yongzhen (Bai Biao) and his junior brothers Shi Xiufeng (Li Hanzhi) and Ma Tianzhu (Wu Weiguo) to separate. Ma Tianzhu joined another gangster, Tan Si (Zheng Lei), and fell in love with his sister Tan Ying (Li Yanyan). Shao Ba wanted to blackmail Ma Yongzhen to kill Tan Si, and Ma Tianzhu tried to resolve the misunderstanding between Ma Yongzhen and Tan Si. However, Tan Si eventually died in the conspiracy and calculation of his opponent Shao Ba, and after Ma Yongzhen removed Shao Ba, he was supported by Tan Si's subordinates as the leader of the gang, and faced the trouble of the corrupt Police Department, Shi Xiufeng appeared as the high commissioner of the government to relieve the siege. However, Xiufeng was deeply involved in officialdom, annexed the gang property for money, and killed Tan Ying by mistake, causing Ma Yongzhen and Ma Tianzhu to die, and finally killed the two. Junior sister Alan (Ma Miner) killed Shi Xiufeng to avenge the two and returned to Shandong to reorganize the drama class.
The starring Bai Biao was born in the Shaw Company, but his fame is not too great, he was 35 years old when he filmed "Ma Yongzhen", and the Ma Yongzhen he portrayed was simple and upright, full of chivalrous spirit, which made people ignore his appearance and devote themselves to the plot.
Ma Yongzhen's second junior brother Shi Xiufeng, played by Li Hanzhi. He is shrewd and capable, witty but treacherous and cunning. He is not a bad person in nature, but due to the persecution of the external environment, he gradually went to the point of no return, and led to the brothers turning against each other, and finally killing them, which is sighing. Lai Han-chi is a Hong Kong actor familiar to mainland audiences, and his role as the villain Long Haisheng in "Fok Yuanjia" is hated to grit his teeth.
Third junior brother Ma Tianzhu, played by Wu Weiguo. He is handsome and talented. Similarly, the spontaneous and upright character was incompatible with the survival of the society at that time. In the end, he died at the hands of Shi Xiufeng. Wu Weiguo was also a popular student of ATV back then, and later had a relationship with Liu Xiaoqing, which is known to everyone.
Several female characters in the film can also not be ignored, Ma Yongzhen's sister Ma Suzhen (Alan) is played by ATV boss Hua Dan Ma Miner. Since her dramas were not broadcast much in the mainland, they were not familiar to mainland audiences, in fact, she was very popular at that time. The female number two, Zhu Xuefang, is played by Cai Qionghui, who was 25 years old at the time and had an unforgettable love affair with Ma Yongzhen. She once played Xu Yanru in "Chen Zhen".
There is also a secondary role in the film, that is, Tan Ying, the sister of the gangster character Tan Si, played by the former Great Wall Company actor Li Yanyan, in 1979, Li Yanyan left the Great Wall Company and joined Li's platform, but it was not reused, when we couldn't see her on the screen, it turned out that this was filming a TV series here, and the image changed greatly and surprised us.
When we hear the show's theme song "Dreams in a Dream" again, can the sad singing voice remind you of this 40-year-old series?