South American Sexy Girls

Here's a final batch of unreleased Shaw movies that I'd love to see. According to my buddy Glenn, who visited the office of Celestial Pictures yesterday, it's up to IVL, who distributes the Shaw Brothers DVDs in Hong Kong (and around the world for those of us with all-region players), whether the remaining titles will be released. Like I've said before, I'm keeping my fingers crossed but not holding my breath. Now let's take a look at five more missing films:

Double Trouble (1968)
This movie was directed by Sit Kwan, who helmed the delightful Cheng Pei-pei musical Blue Skies (1967), but there's only one reason — and it's a big one — that I want to see this film: my favorite fatty, the irresistible Peng Peng. He gets top billing (after Margaret Hsing-hui) in this comedy about two bumbling fools trying to help a pretty young girl escape an arranged marriage to an old millionaire.

Three Swinging Girls (1968)
Essie Lin Chia (center), Jean Li Chih-an (right), and Irene Chen Yi-ling (left) play the three swinging girls who share an apartment — and more — in this romantic-revenge comedy by veteran director Chun Kim. None of the actresses were big stars, but that makes me all the more curious to see this film. I'm hoping it's one of those overlooked and unexpected gems that I so love.

Dear Murderer (1969)
In a dark twist on his "ladies' man" image, Peter Chen Ho plays a company man bent on moving up the corporate ladder by marrying his boss's daughter (Betty Ting Pei). When he finds out his former sweetheart (Pat Ting Hung), a typist at the firm, is pregnant and demanding that he do the right thing, he knocks her off. But soon after his honeymoon, he becomes haunted by her ghost.

Long Road to Freedom (1970)
A girls-in-prison movie directed by Inoue Umetsugu — need I say more? Essie Lin Chia, who plays the lead, is someone I've always liked whenever I've seen her. According to IMDB, she is of mixed Chinese and Portuguese heritage and was discovered by King Hu. And, are my eyes deceiving me — or does it say in her filmography that she starred with Jim Kelly in Black Samurai (1977)?! Yep, that's Essie in the movie's trailer at the 1:35 mark.

Mini Skirt Gang (1974)
Speaking of 'sploitation, here's one for all you fem doms and male subs. Directed by Lui Kei (who was the screen sweetheart of Cantonese teen idol Connie Chan before he started directing soft-core sex comedies at Shaws) and featuring exploitation queens Birte Tove and Chen Ping, Mini Skirt Gang — much to my surprise — was actually released on DVD last year... in Denmark! Check out the Celestial Pictures logo in the bottom right corner of this DVD cover. Proof positive perhaps that the remaining Shaw films are restored and ready to go for those willing to take a gamble on releasing them.

This past weekend I discovered the Picture Archives Singapore website set up by the National Archives of Singapore. Here are a few of the wonderful photos I found. Click on the thumbnails to see a larger version, along with a descriptive caption. Unfortunately, the large versions feature a digital watermark smack dab in the middle of the image, but at least they have been made available for viewing on the Internet.