Wong Yiu (1921 - 2 January 2011) was a Hong Kong-born director of Cantonese films. His family came from Dongguan in Guangdong and he grew up in Hong Kong, where his aunt ran a film company and cinemas and his father managed the cinemas' business, so he was tied to the movies from childhood. When Hong Kong fell to the Japanese he fled with his family to Guangzhouwan (present-day Zhanjiang), carrying two prints of American films that he rented out to cinemas along the way to earn a living. After the war he worked in film distribution in Guangzhou and returned to Hong Kong only after 1949, determined to enter the industry. He began as a continuity man on Amoy-dialect productions, then learned editing under director Lee Ying-yuen and was given his first chance to direct, making the Teochew-language 《玉釵記》(1959) with Lee as adviser. He also studied screenwriting under director Mok Hong-si, with whom he co-directed 《血手套》(1961). He then became assistant director to Chan Pei and, spotted by Lui Kei, the husband of Tang Bik-wan, joined Lui's Po Po Film Company, for which he directed his first Cantonese feature alone, 《猴子兵華山救駕》(1963). He worked with Tang for years, turning out popular comedies such as 《受薪太太》(1963) and 《搶閘新娘》(1964). In 1966 his 《影迷公主》 and 《姑娘十八一朵花》, made for the Chi Luen Film Company, were box-office successes that turned Connie Chan Po-chu into a young idol and set off a boom in youth musicals. He went on to direct many more films starring Chan, among them 《迷人小鳥》(1967) and 《給我一個吻》(1968), and films starring Josephine Siao Fong-fong, including 《花月爭輝》(1969) and 《花樣的年華》(1968), the latter produced by his own Kam Hong Film Production company. His 1967 release 《人海奇花》 took a different path, probing human desire and revealing a stranger style beyond his comedies. As Cantonese cinema slumped at the turn of the 1970s, Wong, who worked mainly in that language, switched to Mandarin pictures in 1971 with 《我為妳痴迷》 and for a time shot Thai-language films in Thailand. In the late 1970s he joined the production department of Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong), serving as executive producer on films such as 《八萬罪人》(1979) and 《花街時代》(1985) until the studio ceased production in the mid-1980s. His last film work was as production manager on 《急凍奇俠》(1989). In retirement he pursued his hobbies and did volunteer service, and he died on 2 January 2011. His son, Taylor Wong Tai-loi, also became a film director.
Achievements
- 1959 · Directed his first film, the Teochew-language 《玉釵記》
- 1966 · Directed 《影迷公主》 and 《姑娘十八一朵花》 for the Chi Luen Film Company, setting off a boom in youth musicals
- 1989 · Worked as production manager on 《急凍奇俠》, his last film