* Thanks to Oldflames for the last two photos!
Margaret Tu: A Star Is Born (1958-1960)
Take a look at these two photographs of Margaret Tu Chuan. On the left is her first color pinup in the pages of Southern Screen (No. 17, July 1959); on the right is her first cover for the magazine (No. 30, August 1960).
The pose is similar — face turned upwards, hand on cheek — but the look is totally different. And it's not just her darker, thicker brows and cat eyeliner (both of which would become even more dramatic in the coming years and part and parcel of her signature look). In the first photo, Margaret is just a young girl, dazzled by the fantasy of becoming a film star; in the second, she has become that star, exhibiting a confidence that takes command of the camera, and the spectator.
It's a shame that the recent release of the Shaw Brothers film library does not afford us a glimpse of Margaret's early career. With the exception of Rear Entrance, in which she appears in only one scene, none of the movies from her first year as a star player are available on DVD. This unfortunate absence presents a skewed picture not only of Margaret's work as an actress but also the range of films produced by the Shaw studio.
Hopefully, we will someday be able to see a few more of these films from Margaret's rise to stardom:
The Magic Touch (December 3, 1958)
Director: Li Han-hsiang
Cast: Betty Loh Tih, King Hu
King Hu and his friends court Betty Loh and three of her fellow nurses in this romantic comedy, which was Betty's first film at Shaw Brothers after leaving the left-wing Great Wall Movie Enterprise. As for Margaret, she plays one of the nurses. Evidently, it was director Li Han-hsiang who noticed Margaret and brought her to Shaws.
Spring Song (February 14, 1959)
Director: Evan Yang
Cast: Grace Chang, Jeanette Lin Tsui, Peter Chen Ho, Roy Chiao Hung
You don't need to look very hard to find Margaret among the extras in this MP&GI film. Although released after The Magic Touch, it is in fact her first movie, shot before she signed up with Shaw Brothers. Margaret certainly has the star-struck look of a teenager — she was just 16 — appearing before the camera for the first time.
The Kingdom and the Beauty (June 19, 1959)
Director: Li Han-hsiang
Cast: Lin Dai, Chao Lei, King Hu
Margaret must have been pretty excited to have a role — small as it was — alongside movie queen Lin Dai in this big-budget color extravaganza. She's one of the village girls in the scene where country maiden Lin Dai first meets the Emperor (played by Chao Lei) traveling in disguise as a commoner.
Twilight Hours (April 14, 1960)
Director: Tao Qin
Cast: Diana Chang Chung-wen, Pat Ting Hung, Margaret Tu Chuan
Noteworthy for featuring bombshell Diana Chang in her first straight dramatic (ie. non-sexy) role, Twilight Hours was one of three films that Shaw Brothers entered in the 7th Asian Film Festival. (The other two were Desire, starring Lin Dai and Peter Chen Ho, and Rear Entrance, which took home the Best Picture award.) Pat Ting got second billing as the daughter of leading lady Diana Chang, but evidently newcomer Margaret stole the scene whenever she appeared. From what I can tell, the film is a loose adaptation of Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life (1959), with Margaret playing the role of the housekeeper's rebellious daughter.
"Kao Pao-shu dotes on her daughter Tu Chuan, hoping that she would one day be somebody everybody respects and admires."
Malayan Affair (April 28, 1960)
Director: Ho Meng-hua
Cast: Betty Loh Tih, Paul Chang Chung, Margaret Tu Chuan
Margaret plays Betty Loh's younger sister — and rival for the love of Paul Chang — in this adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
Rear Entrance (May 27, 1960)
Director: Li Han-hsiang
Cast: Hu Die, Wang Yin, Li Hsiang-Chun, Wong Oi-ming
Winner of the Best Picture award at 7th Asian Film Festival, Rear Entrance was primarily a vehicle for Shanghai movie queen Hu Die, who had just returned to the silver screen after an absence of more than ten years. Margaret has a small role as Hu Die's younger sister Judy. In this clip you can catch a glimpse of the naughtiness that inspired Margaret's nickname, "Wild Girl".
How to Marry a Millionaire (August 5, 1960)
Director: Tao Qin
Cast: Margaret Tu Chuan, Peter Chen Ho, King Hu, Lily Mo Chou
This romantic comedy was Margaret's first starring role. Margaret plays a young girl whose money-hungry aunt trains her to become "the perfect millionaire-bait". Instead, she falls in love with bellhop Peter Chen.
"To the great delight of Peter Chen Ho, Tu Chuan secretly passes him a note asking him to meet her."
The Secret of Miss Pai (September 28, 1960)
Director: Ho Meng-hua
Cast: Pat Ting Hung, Margaret Tu Chuan, Chiao Chuang
Margaret plays the pretty, young servant of married couple Pat Ting and Chiao Chuang in this domestic comedy by director Ho Meng-hua.
"It is late at night and the wife has not returned. With such a pretty maid servant around, what should Chiao Chuang do?"
When the Peach Blossoms Bloom (October 13, 1960)
Director: Yueh Feng
Cast: Betty Loh Tih, Margaret Tu Chuan, King Hu, Lydia Shum
This family comedy was the screen debut of 15-year-old Lydia Shum, who would go on to become one of Hong Kong's most beloved comediennes. Betty Loh plays the eldest sibling who must maintain order while mom and dad are gone, and Margaret plays the younger sister who fools around and gets in trouble.
iLush
Room Service
Schmauch Gör
Din reduced to din,
A cacophony of ambient notes
Speed my errant feet forward
To a standard destination.
Gasping for that necessary gas,
Inhaling takes a sharp turn
And the organs that pulse
Struggle to perform their daily toil.
Pause for your life, young goddess,
Reach not in the black abyss
For the container of Death.
As I plod the frequent path
To the net that promises to catch,
We realize: My slimy fish are not so easily tamed.
They writhe in suffocation,
Gulping and gurgling,
And a tiny fish slips from a loosened knot.
Be safe, oh wandering one.
Now naught remains but this:
Cultivating the caught.
Li Lihua: Sexy, Sexy Lady
One last shot from my salvo of scans from Southern Screen No. 6 (May 1958). Li Lihua has never looked sexier, in my opinion, than in this photo shoot promoting her movie A Romantic Lady (1959), in which she plays the "sexually hungry" wife of an impotent husband. In the film Li Lihua becomes pregnant by her lover Yan Jun. Although her husband eventually offers to raise the child as his own, Li Lihua chooses instead to keep her baby and live "a poor as well as simple life" with her lover. Such a story is quite daring compared to other Hong Kong movies of that era, which were in general quite conservative. Produced by Li Lihua and her real-life husband Yan Jun, this is one film that I'd really love to see!
A scan of the original article is available here.
Wolves with Cameras
"Man Lee-Hung [aka Fanny Fan] is seen in a swimming suit that reveals her shapely figure in full."
More goodness from Southern Screen No. 6 (May 1958). You can see the original article here.
WHEN PHOTOGRAPHERS MEET ACTRESSES
On a sunny May afternoon Shaw's film actresses Ting Ning, Ting Hung and Man Lee Hung were invited by members of The Hongkong Photographers Association for a photographic study at a country villa in the New Territories, Kowloon. Present were more than two hundred amateur and professional photographers who in three hours or so took more than 5000 pictures.
"Ting Hung serenely leans against a rattan chair awaiting to be photographed."
"Film actress Ting Ning meets a barrage of cameras and flash coming from every direction."
Lin Dai and Kirk Douglas
I found this photo when I was looking for material about Margaret Tu's early career at Shaw Brothers. It was taken during Lin Dai's 1958 trip to the United States. Here's the accompanying blurb as it appeared in Southern Screen No. 6 (May 1958).
LIN DAI WITH HOLLYWOOD STAR KIRK DOUGLAS
Taken at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, where she dined with many famous stars. She was a guest of Bette Davis who entertained Lin Dai at her home in Beverly Hills. RAYMOND FRIEDGEN of Beverly Hills who has made several pictures in Hongkong is representing Lin Dai for her activities in Hollywood.
Linda was certainly wise to seek her fortunes back in Hong Kong rather than in Hollywood. I can't find any evidence that Raymond Friedgen was a mover or a shaker. In fact, it appears that he only produced one film in Hong Kong (and not much else of note): the decidedly "B"-looking Hong Kong Affair (1958), starring Jack Kelly, best known as James Garner's brother on the TV show "Maverick". Better to be a queen in Hong Kong than a "Suzie Wong" in Hollywood.
If Dakota's In It
Tweet.
A Very Short Song
by Dorothy Parker
Once, when I was young and true,
Someone left me sad-
Broke my brittle heart in two;
And that is very bad.
Love is for unlucky folk,
Love is but a curse.
Once there was a heart I broke;
And that, I think, is worse.
About Face
Riding on the bus today was a moving experience. Listening intently to the rich quality of Jenny Lewis' voice and heeding Lily Allen's sage (and crass) advice, while not forgetting the important lessons that Elvis Perkins and Conor Oberst never cease to teach...
<3 How cute are Vanessa and Johnny? <3
Super Barrack Obama
"Sou pehr bah rachobah mah! Sou pehr bah rachobah mah!"
"Excuse me, what?"
The portly taksi driver continues to gesticulate widly as he blazes through Turkish traffic. "Sou pehr bah rachobah mah!!"
I listen in earnest..."Ohhh! Barrack Obama, yah yah, Super Barrack Obama!" I agree with a thumbs up, which were quickly detracted as I realized that might be offensive to him in some way.
"Not Super George Bush," he continues. "Super Clinton and Super Barrack! Not Super George Bush."
"Yeah, sure. Sure," I shrug, not wanting to press the already strained conversation. "Well, Kent Hotel," I gesture toward the blazing red letters on the facade of our residence. "Thank you very much," I smile as I step onto the eternally slick streets of Istanbul. The taksi man grins widely, bearing his ill-cared for teeth, but in his eyes a glimmer of joy met mine and I knew that even though we only shared the words 'super' plus 'current/past presidents', we had made a small impression in each others' lives.
I thought about this for a while after my brief encounter with this taksi man and realized how many small impressions I've made on people during my four months abroad, not to mention the lasting impressions people I've met have made on me. I can recall the Armenian girl I met at a cafe in Berlin and how I thought, "Man, she's impressive. She can speak five languages and she's only twenty-three!" Or that guy at Starbucks in Berlin who had a dog that looked like Dani and I freaked him out beyond all reason with my excitement. Or what about that insanely drunk lady who accidentally kept spitting in my face, Lucy, I think her name was, from Australia in a London pub. Or the entire staff at 'Cute Guy Restaurant' in Florence: Claudio 2, Manuel, Meat Man, This Is Not A Pub Guy, Fabreezio, Owner Guy, Carl 1, Carl 2, Claudio 1...
As homesick as I am, I'm wary about leaving my nomadic life.
I am coming home in about a week and a half and I am nervous.
If you're wondering why I always get new blogs, well, the reason is as follows: as the seasons change, so do the blogs of my life. It's cathartic for me, like the shedding of old skin, or the purging of old clothes. You know what I mean? I feel like times are changing and this is where I'm at now. I'm in the mood to cater my blog colors to the upcoming holiday season, yah, santa! I'm in the mood to write whatever I want, whenever I want. I guess maybe it's not just a mood thing, it's more of a lifestyle decision. I want to be me, and I want you to know me.
So here I am.
Maja Salvador
Maja Ross Andres Salvador or Maja Salvador (born October 5, 1988 in Aparri, Cagayan, Philippines) is a Filipina actress and commercial model. She is currently under contract with ABS-CBN and a member of Star Magic. She is known as the "Dance Princess" in the Philippines, and works as a covergirl and endorser.
She came from a family of actors and actresses. She is Daughter of Former Movie Drama & Action Star Ross Rival (Rosauro Salvador in private life), cousin Jobelle Salvador, Her Grandfather Lou Salvador, and late granduncle Leroy Salvador were erstwhile actors. Her uncle, Ramon Salvador, is an Former Movie Producer.
Not all people know that Maja, was at first a ramp model at her young age together with a found friend Farah Ramos, who is the daughter of Chit Ramos, a movie-columnist and talent manager. Maja then confided with Chit regarding her longingness to see her father she didn’t see for years. Little did she know that Chit immediately worked out for the reconciliation of Maja and her dad. With the help of her extended family, she was brought up to the house of one of his uncles, Ramon Salvador where she finally met her father.
The said reunion was actually aired on The Buzz. That time, one of the heads of ABS-CBN was watching her closely. Charo Santos- Concio asked her staff to look for Maja after watching that touching moment which actually made a mark on her.
Thus did Maja Salvador sign up with the ABS-CBN Network and was then introduced in her first soap opera, It Might Be You.
Blessings incessantly poured over her after receiving lots of projects both on television and movies. According to her, the best project that was given to her would be being a part of the Ultimate Dance Four with Shaina Magdayao , John Prats and Rayver Cruz as well. Obviously, dancing really is her passion yet shes trying to change or transpose genre from dancing to pure acting.
Undoubtedly, being a Salvador proved the audience that she really can work it out as an actress like most of her family members are. As an evidence for this, she was actually nominated as one of the new female actress in the box-office hit movie, Sukob. This only proves that she’s a jack of all trades. She can definitely dance and sing, and without any questions, she really can act.
She wast cast in May Bukas Pa, a primetime drama series on ABS-CBN with Zaijan Jaranilla, Rayver Cruz, Albert Martinez, Dina Bonnevie and many more. Currently, she is the lead actress of her first teleserye which is the remake of the 1990's film that previously star Hilda Koronel in the title role which is Nagsimula Sa Puso with Jason Abalos, Coco Martin and many others.
Margaret Tu and Betty Loh: Falling Blossoms
This picture of Margaret Tu Chuan and Betty Loh Tih, taken during the production of their film When the Peach Blossoms Bloom (1960), always fills me with bitter sweetness. By the end of the decade, both stars would take their own lives: Betty on December 27, 1968; Margaret on November 30, 1969.
* Photo from Southern Screen No. 30 (August 1960)
Margaret Tu: Funny Girl
As we approach the anniversary of her death — 40 years ago this coming Monday — I'll be paying tribute to the lovely Margaret Tu Chuan. Here are some charming pics to remember her by.
—from Screenland No. 17 (February 1961)
—from Screenland No. 17 (February 1961)
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