Ng Cho Fan, born Ng Kui-cheung in Tianjin in 1911 to a family registered in Panyu, Guangdong, was raised by his mother after his father's early death. He studied at St Paul's College in Hong Kong but left school at fifteen when his mother died, working as a shop assistant and a textile-factory supervisor. Drawn to theatre, he joined the Chung Sing Charitable Society to learn Cantonese opera. In 1932, at a charity performance for flood victims, he was noticed by Lo Ming-yau of Lianhua and entered films, his first being the silent Gunshot at Midnight (1932). Lifeline (1935) was his first sound film and his breakthrough. His role in The Song of Life (1937), directed by Lee Tit, won him the title 'Emperor of South China cinema'. During the Japanese occupation he fled with fellow film and stage people to Macao and then Guangzhouwan, forming a troupe. Back in Hong Kong after the war, he starred in his first Cantonese film, Late Return (1947). He advocated wholesome, quality films, led the Cantonese Film Clean-up Movement, and helped found the South China Film Workers' Union. In 1952 he co-founded the Union Film Enterprise and became its chairman, aiming to improve production conditions and raise the quality of Cantonese films. There he appeared in Spring (1953), The Awful Truth (1953), The Everlasting Love (1955), Autumn in the Purple Rose Garden (1958), Money (1959) and Under Hong Kong's Roof (1964); for Spring he was named one of the five best actors by the mainland's Ministry of Culture. He also mentored new talent and published an autobiography in 1956. After his last film in 1966 he retired, appearing occasionally on television in the 1970s. He emigrated to Canada in 1983 and died there on 22 February 1993; the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards gave him a Special Commemorative Award that year.
Dubbed the 'Emperor of South China cinema' after The Song of Life, Ng Cho Fan launched the Cantonese Film Clean-up Movement and co-founded the Union Film Enterprise, arguing for better production standards against the industry's slapdash output. His grassroots characters in films such as Spring and The Awful Truth became the defining image of 1950s Cantonese realist cinema.
Achievements
- 1932 · Appeared in his first film, the silent Gunshot at Midnight.
- 1952 · Co-founded the Union Film Enterprise and served as its chairman.
- 1993 · Was posthumously awarded the Special Commemorative Award at the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards.