Nellie Chin Yu, also known as Qin Yifu and born Zhu Xuan in Beijing in 1929, came from a prominent family with roots in Shaoxing, Zhejiang; her maternal grandfather was the official and kesi collector Zhu Qiqian. A graduate of the Faculty of Literature at the University of Hong Kong, she was known as a talented writer and performer and acted in plays such as Sorrows of the Qing Court and an English-language Thunderstorm while at university. In 1956 she joined Motion Picture and General Investment Co Ltd (MP & GI, the 'Dianmao' studio founded by the Singapore businessman Loke Wan Tho and later restructured as Cathay Organisation [HK] [1965] Ltd) as a screenplay supervisor, at a time when its large Mandarin production line demanded a steady supply of urban romances and melodramas; she became one of its leading writers. She wrote eleven scripts for the studio, the first credited to her being Scarlet Doll (1958). Her other notable works include Her Tender Heart (1959), The Wild, Wild Rose (1960) — a Carmen-inspired musical starring Grace Chang and a studio showcase — Sun, Moon and Star (1961), which won Best Feature Film at the first Golden Horse Awards, and A Story of Three Loves (1964). She wrote with a sharp sense of women's psychology and dialogue, and her scripts were carried by the studio's top stars. She also acted on screen, debuting in The 72 Martyrs of Canton (1954) and appearing in MP & GI's The Battle of Love (1957). She married a doctor in 1962 but continued at the studio, chairing its screenwriting committee with Yao Ke. Fluent in Chinese and English, she translated several foreign literary works. Her last script, Wife of a Romantic Scholar (1967), directed by Wong Tin-lam and starring Lin Cui, won her Best Screenplay at the fifth Golden Horse Awards. She retired from film that year and emigrated to Canada.
Nellie Chin Yu was a leading screenwriter at the MP & GI studio, writing distinctive Mandarin romances and melodramas such as Her Tender Heart and The Wild, Wild Rose; she closed her film career by winning the Golden Horse Award for Best Screenplay with Wife of a Romantic Scholar.
Achievements
- 1956 · Joined Motion Picture and General Investment Co Ltd (MP & GI) as a screenplay supervisor.
- 1961 · Wrote Sun, Moon and Star, which won Best Feature Film at the first Golden Horse Awards.
- 1967 · Won Best Screenplay at the fifth Golden Horse Awards for Wife of a Romantic Scholar, retiring from film and emigrating to Canada that year.