Chun Kim (1926 – 15 June 1969), born Chan Kin and also known as Chan Tsz-yee, was a Hong Kong director and screenwriter from Xinhui, Guangdong, who directed close to seventy films in the 1950s and 1960s. Born after his father's death, he was raised by his mother and graduated from a Hong Kong secondary school. He entered the film industry in 1944, first working as a continuity man for the director Wu Pang on Cantonese productions, and wrote his first screenplay in 1948; that year he also co-directed a film with Ng Wui before directing solo. His early Mandarin picture of 1954 helped shape the actress Lin Tsui's image as a student sweetheart, while his Cantonese works were admired for their family drama. In 1952 he was one of the founders of Union Film Enterprise and the youngest director on its production committee; his 1955 film Parents' Hearts was highly regarded. Also in 1955, backed by Singapore-Malayan exhibitors, he and Chan Man founded the Guangyi Production Company, turning out Cantonese films with an urban flavour and nurturing talent such as Patrick Tse, Ka Ling, Nam Hung, Kong Suet, Keung Chung-ping, Chor Yuen and Lung Kong; its 1960 comedy about two brothers in hard times was a box-office hit. Writing sometimes under the pen names Chan Ching and Szema Choi-wa, he married actress Lin Tsui in 1959 and had a son, Chan Shan-ho, though the marriage later ended and his gambling was well known. In 1965 he moved to Shaw Brothers to make Mandarin films, and one of them was nominated for Best Feature at the 5th Golden Horse Awards. On 15 June 1969, Chun Kim took his own life in a dormitory at Shaw Brothers' Clear Water Bay studio; he was 43.
Chun Kim was a representative figure of 1950s–60s Cantonese melodrama; his family dramas shaped a generation of audiences, while his Guangyi company nurtured figures such as Patrick Tse, Chor Yuen and Lung Kong. His suicide at 43 was a loss keenly felt by the Hong Kong film world.
Achievements
- 1948 · Wrote his first film screenplay, entering screenwriting
- 1952 · Became one of the founders of Union Film Enterprise
- 1955 · Directed Parents' Hearts and founded the Guangyi Production Company with Chan Man