Fanny Ha, born Chung Wai-lan to a Shantou family in Guangdong in November 1933, settled in Hong Kong in 1949. In 1955 she founded Tuojiang Film Company with her own money and produced The Story of Wang Jinlong, the first Chaozhou-dialect film made in Hong Kong, casting herself in the lead and so becoming the founder of the local Teochew cinema. The next year she starred in and produced Tuojiang's Lady Zhao the Fifth (1956). In 1958 she headlined three Chaozhou films for Sun Sing, including The Cut Moon Hibiscus, The Ill-fated Flower (the first modern-dress Teochew picture) and The Pair of Jade Fish, followed by The Jade Hairpin (1959) for Chun Nam. In 1961 she set up Yat Fan Film Company, whose output included The Ferry at Lung Cheng, in which she played the male lead in drag under the alias Chan Yim-long, plus Lam Kwai-lan and Ti Qing's Riot at the Hundred Flowers Tower. She formed another company, Ngai Yip, in 1964, making Autumn Love (1964) and Double Wives (1965), and in 1965 played the monk Xuanzang in Pigsy's Wedding. She toured Thailand, Singapore, Malaya and Cambodia with her films, studied singing under the musician Wang Fu-ling and stage movement under Fan Kuk-fa, and was able to play young male roles. From the mid-1960s Ngai Yip also made Cantonese pictures such as The Jade Dragon (1964) and Orchid in the Sea of Love (1964). In 1966 she founded Fan Wing, which produced The Girl Who Chased the Killer (1966), The Magic Bow (1968) and Blood-stained Scarf (1969). In 1976 she formed Lai Wah and made the Mandarin film Iron Fists (1977). In 1991 she opened Hong Kong Ha Fan Film and Television Studio, co-producing Loulan with China Film Co-production, and later served as a consultant on several mainland shoots. Devoted to charity in later years, she died in Hong Kong on 10 May 2017.
By producing The Story of Wang Jinlong in 1955, Fanny Ha started Hong Kong's Chaozhou-dialect film industry. Running several production companies of her own, she carried Teochew opera and modern Teochew pictures into the Southeast Asian market, working as actress, producer and presenter, and occasionally playing young male leads in drag.
Achievements
- 1955 · Founded Tuojiang Film Company and produced The Story of Wang Jinlong, the first Chaozhou-dialect film in Hong Kong, taking the lead role herself.
- 1961 · Set up Yat Fan Film Company and played the male lead in drag, under the alias Chan Yim-long, in The Ferry at Lung Cheng.
- 1966 · Founded Fan Wing, which produced films including The Girl Who Chased the Killer.