I had fun watching 'Hong Kong Nocturne' even though I am not really partial to musicals. Celestial Pictures has done a superb job restoring the film for release with the original mono track remastered in Dolby 5.1, (keeping the original mono track could've been a good extra as well), plus other extras including interviews with Cheng Pei-pei, Marsha Yuan, Paul Fonoroff, and Bey Logan, as well as some more extras.

From a number of sources, I've heard that 'HK Nocturne' is a remake, for the Shaw Brothers studio, of a Japanese/Hollywood-style-musical that director Inoue Umetsugu had made years prior ('HK Nocturne' will be difficult for me to review, personally, since I haven't seen Inoue Umetsugu's original film made prior to 'HK Nocturne', as of yet[4/9/03]). 'HK Nocturne' is about three sisters (Chia Tsui-tsui [Lily Ho], Chia Chuen-chuen [Cheng Pei-pei], Chia Ting-ting [Chin Ping]) who endure the trials and tribulations of life as they work to succeed in the entertainment business. Their father is an egotistical magician who still thinks he's famous throughout Asia even though his glory days are behind him. Father Chia and his three daughters perform magic/musical/dance numbers at various night clubs in Hong Kong to make a living. Being widowed for an indefinite number of years (the film doesn't shed much light on the late mother), Father Chia shamelessly exploits his daughters's hard work and pockets their wages so he can pay his hollow, golddigging mistress, Hsiao Hua. This results in his daughters leaving him and going their separate ways to make a living: Tsui-tsui attempts to find work in cinema or on stage in Japan and Taiwan, Ting-ting attempts to learn ballet, Chuen-chuen joins a dance troupe run by her songwriter husband (played by Peter Chen Ho), and Father Chia looks for whatever gigs that he can get.

'HK Nocturne' is still fun, colorful, and entertaining to watch despite its dated 1960's look and style. Story cliches (such as a mean ballet teacher [played by Tien Feng], an accident during a stormy night, etc.) and some hammy acting somewhat bog down the film's quality, yet the story's level of objectivity remains high and the film's plot, characterization, and pacing remain consistent. Inoue Umetsugu's filmmaking style shows some nice symbolism with Tsui-tsui resembling the "hot" sun, Chuen-chuen resembling the "tender" moon, and Ting-ting resembling the "soft", twinkling stars.

Father Chia shedding tears of joy and whipping out a hanky that magically changes colors is a nice bit of style courtesy of Inoue Umetsugu and company. Cheng Pei-pei (in a non-swordswoman role) portrays Chia Chuen-chuen, the middle sister who sports a Jackie O'/'That Girl'/Mary Tyler Moore-esque 1960's hairdo as she puts her background of training in ballet to use. Even though Cheng Pei-pei is usually known for her swordswoman/martial artist roles (Golden Swallow in King Hu's 'Come Drink with Me', Yim Wing Chun's sifu in 'Wing Chun', for example, even though Pei-pei is not really a martial artist per se), 'HK Nocturne' is a rare exception. Saucy Lily Ho Leih-leih portrays Chia Tsui-tsui, the eldest sister. The scene that's been branded in my memory is where Lily Ho is taking a bubble bath in a clam-shaped tub during a fantasy musical/dance number ('Nu ren') and she steps out, revealing her naked backside! Hou cheng (How beautiful)! Oh, yeah! The scene, in my opinion, is tastefully done, yet kind of superfluous. We do not see her front courtesy of extras standing by with clothing (As John Woo comments in 'Hard Boiled', "We can't have everything in life." Oh, well). Cutie-pie Chin Ping portrays Chia Ting-ting. She practices ballet rigorously to appease her ill-mannered ballet teacher (who's secretly and somewhat in love with her) as he claims that she has no potential in ballet. The transition from her ballet teacher's daydream to Ting-ting's fever-induced nightmare is clichéd, but beautifully crafted with Tien Feng "multiplying himself into clones". Also, look out for supporting performances from Ku Feng, Yueh Hua, and others. Although trite, dated, and far from being a classic, I recommend 'Hong Kong Nocturne'.