Speaking of hong Kong's female stars in the 60s and 70s, there is one person who has to mention, that is, Hua Dan, the head of the Great Wall Film Company, and Chen Sisi, Shi Hui and the Summer Dream of the Three Princesses of the Great Wall.
The audience described Xia Meng a lot, "The Great Princess of the Great Wall", "Jin Yong's Dream Lover", and "The Prototype of the Little Dragon Girl".
From these words, it is not difficult to see that Xia Meng's experience is quite legendary. As an actress, Xia Meng is most well known to the audience than the unique Yue opera films she participated in shooting.
"Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" is one of the classics, it not only opened Xia Meng's Yue opera film career, but also her first time as a "male lead" film.
Co-directed by Jin Yong and Hu Xiaofeng, and starring Xia Meng, Li Yan and Yu Wanfei, the film was released in 1960.
The anti-string bridge section coupled with the beautiful singing voice made "Wang Tiger Rob Relatives" stand out in that era and became the white moonlight in the hearts of many audiences.
01, Mei Jiao'e is actually a boy's body
There is a talent in Hangzhou, named Zhou Wenbin, only high eight buckets, Ji Yu Xuan Ang, has a good look, the average woman can not avoid being ashamed of herself, and Zhou Wenbin is also quite confident in her appearance.
On this day, Zhou Wenbin swore to his friend Zhu Zhishan that he could dress as a man and a woman, and there was no flaw, not showing a trace of horse's foot.
Zhu Zhishan naturally does not believe that your cousin boy body, although the appearance is indeed good, but it is too far-fetched to pretend to be a woman, and it will certainly be full of loopholes.
The two sides were at a stalemate for a while, so the two made a bet.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, Zhou Wenbin carefully dressed up, changed into women's clothes, and toured the platform at night.
Sure enough, along the way, people did not find anything unusual, and they all thought that this was a real woman.
Zhou Wenbin's woman's appearance is really moving, attracting the attention of many people, including Wang Tianbao, the son of Shangshu of the Bingbu Department.
Just a glimpse of the shock was already a surprise, and Wang Tianbao was deeply attracted by the softness and heroism of Zhou Wenbin.
Wang Tianbao He Xuren also, people give the nickname Wang Tiger, the sky is not afraid, his father is the soldier Shangshu, everywhere for wrongdoing.
In the face of Zhou Wenbin, a beautiful woman who met in Pingshui, Wang Tianbao did not hesitate for a moment and directly robbed Zhou Wenbin, planning to go home and become a relative.
Wang Tiger's thunderous means caught Zhou Wenbin off guard, and before he could react, the person had already been sent to Wang Tianbao's home.
However, Zhou Wenbin's title of talent was not a waste, and with his three-inch tongue, he finally persuaded Wang Laohu to postpone the date of marriage for a few days.
Worried that Zhou Wenbin would sneak away, Wang Tianbao asked his sister Xiuying to spy on Zhou Wenbin, and the two lived in a room and kept an eye on this beauty at all times.
Unexpectedly, Wang Tianbao's cleverness was mistaken by cleverness, and this move was right in Zhou Wenbin's arms.
It turned out that Zhou Wenbin and Xiuying were originally a pair of infatuated lovers, and Zhou Wenbin had also come to the door to propose to him before, but Wang Tianbao looked down on him and tried everything to obstruct the marriage between the two.
This mistake was also a godsend.
Xiuying, who knows Zhou Wenbin's true identity, will be counted, so that it is a lonely man and widow in the same room.
By the time Zhou Wenbin's gender was revealed, Wang Tianbao was already riding a tiger, and in order to preserve his sister's reputation, he had to agree to the marriage between the two.
It was originally a farce, but in the end it became a beautiful talk of a talented and beautiful person, which can also be regarded as a happy ending.
02, Xia Meng and Jin Yong - the fate is wonderful
Xia Meng, ranked first among the three princesses of the Great Wall, moved to Hong Kong with her family in her early years, and later entered the Hong Kong Great Wall Film Company, and began her legendary acting career.
The origin of the name Xia Meng is also very interesting, from Shakespeare's famous work "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which has a bit of romantic charm.
And when it comes to Xia Meng, there is one person who has to mention, that is, the famous Mr. Jin Yong.
When Jin Yong was young, he used to assume the pseudonym Lin Huan and worked as a screenwriter at Great Wall Pictures, and it was also at that time that he met Xia Meng and was deeply impressed by the beauty's appearance.
Later, according to the characteristics of Xia Meng, Jin Yong tailored a costume film "Absolute Beauty" for her, and once the film was released, the praise was overwhelming, and Xia Meng's name was even louder.
There are also anecdotal rumors that in Jin Yong's martial arts novels, those beautiful people such as Xiaolongnü and Wang Yuyan are mostly based on Xia Meng.
Jin Yong once said something to the effect that none of us had ever seen Xi Shi's beauty, but I think she must at least be like Xia Meng to be worthy of the name.
What Jin Yong said was by no means an exaggeration, and Xia Meng could indeed afford such a high evaluation.
Xia Meng is not a good-looking vase, but a combination of internal and external cultivation, able to write and art, so it is not surprising that such a beautiful person pours out sentient beings.
In order to get closer to the "beauty", Jin Yong actively looked for opportunities, and finally in "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives", as a director, he had the opportunity to have direct contact with Xia Meng, and the relationship between the two deepened.
However, in getting along with Xia Meng, Jin Yong learned the deep feelings between her and her sweetheart Lin Baocheng that could not be interfered with. Full of love came to an abrupt end, and years of chasing finally came to an end.
After knowing that there was no hope for the road ahead, Jin Yong left the Great Wall Company, and since then Xia Meng has become a shadow that cannot be dissipated in his pen.
Perhaps it is this experience of not getting it that has shaped the sad love in Jin Yong's novel.
03, there is a lot of kung fu in front of the stage and behind the scenes
The script of the Yue opera film "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" is not original, but comes from the Shanghai Cooperative Yue Opera Troupe.
At the beginning of filming, the Great Wall Company needed to be approved by the Ministry of Culture before it could issue an invitation to the Yue Opera Troupe and request the cooperation of the other party, so in the early stage of communication, the film also spent a lot of effort.
The original version of Yue opera was sung by Qi Yaxian and Bi Chunfang, two famous Yue opera artists, in order to fully reproduce the plot, the production team personally went to Shanghai, recorded the performance of the original team, and made a working film to bring back to Hong Kong for study and reference.
In the filming process, the actors must constantly imitate the singing sections of the characters in the work film, from rhythm to counterpart to ventilation, each step must be tightly sewn, and there must be no mistakes.
Such a requirement is a high threshold for actors, even as a lover of Yue opera, Xia Meng, when facing the difficulty of singing Yue opera, it is inevitable that he will have some weakness.
However, whether it is Xia Meng or Li Yan, they are actors who are very strict with themselves, and the two of them are full of momentum to learn Yue opera during filming.
Coincidentally, Xia Meng happened to be pregnant at that time, and the shooting was even more difficult, and the morning sickness that would appear at any time coupled with high-intensity study made her bear a lot of pressure.
Despite all the difficulties, the production team has always worked together, and "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" was ultimately a great success.
People have also begun to gradually accept such a unique form of Yue opera films, which undoubtedly played a great role in the spread of Yue opera.
At the moment when various commercial films are prevalent, looking back at the classic old movies of the past, there will always be infinite emotions in the heart, the times have changed after all, and those classics are destined to live only in the memory of some people. (Written by: Miki)