Hong Kong Cinemagic
Version française English version
 Capsule Reviews   English Board   Facebook  
 People
 Movies
 Movie Studios
 Glossary
 Your Settings

HKCine Search
Switch to Google Search
>> Help

 Film directors
 Actors
 Technicians
 Producers

 Comedy
 Drama & Opera

 Shaw Brothers
 Film Industry
 Cultural & Societal

 DVD Tests
 HK Cinema Books
 Where to buy?

 OST & Music
 PDF & E-books
 VIP Guestbook

 Site Map
 Editos Archives
 Staff
 Site History
 Links
 Visitor guestbook
 Aknowledgement
 HKCinemagic 2

Statistics :
11630 Movies
19215 People
1448 Studios
29 Articles
73 Interviews
12 DVD Reviews
32452 Screenshots
3722 Videos
Hu Chin

 
 
 
 
Other names : 胡锦
Hu Ching
Hu Gin
Hu Jin
Woo Gam
 
Birthdate : 1/1/1947
Nationality : Taiwan
Workplace : Hong Kong
Activities : Producer (1), Executive producer (1), Actress (84)

Biography

As seventies Hong Kong cinema sassiest sex kitten Hu Chin was one of the more enticing actresses of her time thanks as much to her pretty impish face (further heighten by a small mole of her chin) her lively acting flair and the beautiful period outfits she was often brought to wear which even included at times some skimpy lingeries. She was one of the Taiwan “sirens” a small group of Taiwanese beauties (which also including Tien Ni, Betty Pei Dee and Chan Ping) who went to Hong-Kong in the early seventies to play breakthrough and audacious brand of sex-up woman roles for the Shaw Brothers studio for a new breed of “adult” comedies, martial arts and exploitation movies. Arguably Hu Chin can be considered as having been most proficient comediennes of the lot.

Born in 1947, Hu Chin was the eldest of four children born form a soldier and a opera actress of some renown Ma Li-Zi both Jiang Xi province natives having migrated to Taiwan. Following in her mother’s path, Hu Chin was trained in traditional opera where she learned to sing, dance and act but not the spectacular acrobatics like follow Taiwanese-born opera performers Angela Mao and Judy Lee Chia Ling did. When her mother retired Hu Chin (a surname which means "Shinning" or "Beautiful" in Chinese) became the family bread winner. She was hired by Taiwanese national TV TTV where she played in a drama series and also became an entertainment field correspondent. It’s while at TTV that she was spotted by then Taiwan’s. leading director Li Han Hsiang who cast her for his 1970 production Four Moods. A sketch oriented movie directed by at least three filmmakers Hu Chin appeared in Anger filmed by none other than Chinese cinema foremost Wu Xia Pian director King Hu where she played an inn hostess who’s actually a female bandit.

When Li Han Hsiang decided to pursued his career in Hong-Kong (which he had left in the first place back in 1963) he brought Hu Chin along with him. He gave her a part in his first Hong-Kong made effort a breakthrough earthly comedy titled Legends of Cheating. Than upon Li entry inside the Shaw studio fold he gave her protégé another juicy part for his period farceThe Warlord where she played a young seductive widow seeking justice from the titular warlord after being allegedly rape. The movie called for her to play out not one but two intense sexual assault scenes, which must have been very difficult. On the other hand Warlord Rashomon style narrative allowed her to played her character in two separate fashions either victimized woman or devious bitch.

Hu Chin soon signed a four movies deal contract with the Shaw Brothers and in the following two years played in three others Li Han Hsiang salacious comedies; Happiest Moment, Illicit Desire and Golden Lotus where she played other sex-up woman roles such foxy courtesan, flirtatious temptress, trampy wife and even fiesty (but cute) shrew. Beyond her mentor movies, she was also cast in the colourful role of the tempestuous conniving landlady for Chu Yuan social burlesque comedy House of 72 Tenants. For this peculiar movie it's was less her sex appeal that was use as her gifts as a comedienne that were use to great effects as she easily steals most of her scenes.

In fact although typecast almost from the start as a sex-kitten Hu Chin versatility allowed her to set her character in whatever direction she wanted to from lascivious siren to manipulative vamp or colourful shrew and always with superb, lively flair fitting her impish allure.

Although under contract to Shaw for a while, Hu Chin was still free to work wherever she wanted. Thus her first movie out of Li Han Hsiang shadow was Bandits From Shantung a wuxia pian produced by the Shaw’s great rival Golden Harvest in which she had a small part as a lady in distress. In between 1971 and 1974 she appeared in nearly a dozen of independent productions in varied genre such as the kung-fu/action (Win Them All), adult/erotic/exploitation movie(Love Is A Four Letter Word) a even a couple of comedies (Fool and His Money). Unquestionably though the most important non-Shaw movie she did at the time was King Hu’s The Fate of Lee Khan where she was one of the films fighting maids alongside Angela Mao and Helena Ma Hoi Lun.

Once her four movies deal contract completed Hu Chin did not drop either Shaw or Li Han Hsiang and she continued to be one of the latter regular players appearing in about two of his movies each year up until 1979. It’s also in a Shaw movie that she found one of her best role as Lo Lieh’s moll in Kidnap for whom he goes through a daring criminal scheme with deadly consequences for all involve. Following Kidnap’s success Hu Chin appeared in couple of others Shaw produced crime drama/actioner such as Gambling Syndicate, Debt of Crime and The Brotherhood. .

Although she was cast in plenty of martial arts movies, Hu Chin almost never took on fighting maiden type role (King Hu’s movies been maybe the exceptions), having neither the look or abilities to carry out such brand of part in a sustained manner. She mostly played either sympathetic/antagonistic molls, vamp, or troublesome bitch. Although she appeared in many so called adult movies mostly by Li Han Hsiang often dress in lingerie and was regularly put in the middle of very delicates scabrous situations but she never went nude for the movies. When private part had to be show body doubles were used.

A prolific actress, Hu Chin appeared in fourteen films in 1974 and twelve in 1975. It’ during this latter year that she was cast in two movies by Chang Cheh (The Fantastic Magic Baby and Boxer Rebellion), had a supporting role in a Brigitte Lin , Charlie Chin Chiang Lin weepie Mistly Dizzle and played the female lead in Young Dragons filmed by a young director on the rise named John Woo. Besides Li Han Hsiang the director she worked the most were two members of Shaw Brother’s acting stable who had turned director; follow Li Han Hsiang regular Zhu Mu for whom she did fours movies and Kao Pao Shu one of the rare women director of her time for whom she did three movies.

After 1976 Hu Chin’s movie career slip into decline. Indeed besides the two Li Han Hsiang movies she did each year she only appeared now in third rate martial art movies, mostly made in Taiwan and usually only in supporting parts or even bit part. Then 1979 saw the end of her involvement in Li Han Hsiang movies the final one being Ghost Story. On the other hand 79 also marked her return to Taiwanese TV, nearly ten years after she left it. As a result her from the turn of the eighties on, her movie appearances became first intermittent and then only episodic as she did only a handful of mostly Taiwanese productions once a while. Her last movie as an actress was Demon Wet Nurse in 1992. The previous year though she had help produced a movie by her old mentor Li Han Hsiang a new version of the Chinese erotica classic Golden Lotus. Later in 1996 Hu Chin also produced the Swallow a lacklustre vehicle actioner for Yuen Biao. This is her last known involvement in cinema.

Having married follow Taiwanese born/H-K based actor Paul Chang Chung in 1975, Hu Chin was divorced in 1979 only to marry sometime later an assistant TV manager. Having become a wife and mother, she only made occasional active return to the entertainment word since the eighties mostly for stage or TV variety shows done for charities purposes. In 2002 she went a world tour with fellow former Shaw stars actress Ivy Ling Po in “Butterfly Lovers 40 Live Performance” the stage adaptation of Li Han Hsiang huangmei dao classic Love Eternel in which Ivy had been starring forty years before. The co-lead role Hu Chin played allowed her to sing many Chinese opera’s tunes a singing talent that had gone mostly unused (if used at all) during all those years as a movie actress. It’s around that time that Hu Chin found herself afflicted with breast cancer an ordeal she went through and overcome with the support of Ivy Ling Po. Then, it’s was Hu Chin turn to support Ivy when herself found herself afflicted with cancer.

A gifted comedienne, Hu Chin did not have the movies career her talent deserved. Although she had a good start with the sudden emergence of adult oriented genres in H-K cinema she was also constrained by being too quickly typecast in her signature role of the sex kitten which although enticing wasn’t specially sympathetic or even likeable brand of character for the public at large Therefore, although she had her fans she didn’t really develop a very extended popularity. This limitation along with the decline of a women centred cinema overtaken by such males dominated movies genre as the kung fu movies considerably restricted Hu Chin career. This is unfortunate but nonetheless thanks mostly to Li Han Hsiang, Hu Chin still manage to make a most memorable impression in her time and appeared in a handful of noteworthy movies.

Yves Gendron (May 2005)

SIte about the actress : http://www.huchin.com
 
Top 

Filmography
 [ B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - K - L - M - O - P - R - S - T - V - W - Y ] 
 Alternate lists by alpha / genre / year
 
  Title    ( HK -  All ) Year Activity
 
 Badge 369 1974 Actress
 Bandits From Shantung 1972 Actress
 Big Sting, The 1983 Actress
 Born Rich 1976 Actress
 Boxer Rebellion 1976 Actress
 Brotherhood 1976 Actress
 Chinese Godfather 1974 Actress
 Condemned, The 1976 Actress
 Crazy Sex 1976 Actress
 Deadly Silver Spear 1977 Actress
 Debt Of Crime, A 1975 Actress
 Demon Wet Nurse, The 1992 Actress
 Demons In The Flame Mountain, The 1978 Actress
 Dragon Blows 1974 Actress
 Dream Of The Red Chamber, The 1977 Actress
 Dream Sword, The 1979 Actress
 Dreaming Fists With Slender Hands 1979 Actress
 Empress Dowager's Agate Vase 1974 Actress
 Facets Of Love 1973 Actress
 Fantastic Magic Baby, The 1975 Actress
 Fate Of Lee Khan, The 1973 Actress
 Female Fugitive 1975 Actress
 Fool And His Money, The 1974 Actress
 Forbidden Tales Of Two Cities 1975 Actress
 Four Moods 1970 Actress
 Gambling Syndicate 1975 Actress
 Gangster Match-Maker, The 1975 Actress
 Ghost Story, The 1979 Actress
 Golden Lotus 1974 Actress
 Golden Lotus "Love and Desire", The 1992 Executive producer
 Golden Nun 1977 Actress
 Green Jade Statuette 1978 Actress
 Happiest Moment, The 1973 Actress
 Hard Man With Guts 1973 Actress
 Hero From Shanghai 1977 Actress
 Hero Of Swallow, The 1996 Producer
 Hero Of The Time 1979 Actress
 Heroic Pioneers, The 1986 Actress
 Honor And Love 1973 Actress
 Hotel Esquire 1971 Actress
 House Of 72 Tenants, The 1973 Actress
 Illicit Desire 1973 Actress
 In The Blood 1988 Actress
 Kidnap 1974 Actress
 Legends Of Cheating 1971 Actress
 Little Ancestors, The 1976 Actress
 Little Super Man 1975 Actress
 Looks Of Hong Kong, The 1974 Actress
 Lost Kung Fu Secrets, The 1980 Actress
 Lost Swordship 1977 Actress
 Love And Blood 1972 Actress
 Love Is A Four Letter Word 1973 Actress
 Love Of Strange Talk 1976 Actress
 Lucky, Lucky 1974 Actress
 Lung Wei Village 1978 Actress
 Martial Arts 1974 Actress
 Master And The Kid 1980 Actress
 Misty Drizzle 1975 Actress
 Moods Of Love 1976 Actress
 Moon, Star, Sun 1988 Actress
 Mr Virgin 1984 Actress
 Orthodox Chinese Kung Fu 1977 Actress
 Picking The Star 1975 Actress
 Police Woman 1973 Actress
 Prodigal Son, The 1976 Actress
 Rats, The 1973 Actress
 Scandalous Warlord, The 1979 Actress
 Sensual Pleasures 1978 Actress
 Shaolin Iron Finger 1977 Actress
 Shaolin Red Master 1978 Actress
 Sinful Confession 1974 Actress
 Smoke In His Eye 1973 Actress
 Snake Shadow Lama Fist 1979 Actress
 Story Of Ti-Ying, The 1971 Actress
 Strange Skill 1982 Actress
 Sunset In Geneva 1986 Actress
 Super Dragon 1982 Actress
 That's Adultery ! 1975 Actress
 Three Shaolin Musketeers 1978 Actress
 Tiger Love 1980 Actress
 Tornado Of Pearl River 1974 Actress
 Virgin Mart, The 1974 Actress
 Warlord, The 1972 Actress
 Win Them All 1973 Actress
 Wrong Side Of The Track 1976 Actress
 Young Dragons, The 1975 Actress
 

 Article    Review    Poster/Gallery    DVD Captures    Trailer    DVD Captures/Trailer  
Top 

Gallery
 
 Hu Chin pictures :  (Hide)
The Big Sting
Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
Crazy Sex
Forbidden Tales Of Two Cities
The Young Dragons
Golden Lotus
Kidnap
Sinful Confession
Police Woman
The Fate Of Lee Khan
The Happiest Moment
The House Of 72 Tenants
The Warlord
The Warlord
The Warlord
 
 Other Hu Chin pictures :  (Hide)
Moon, Star, Sun (2)
Three Shaolin Musketeers (1)
Boxer Rebellion (1)
Crazy Sex (3)
Forbidden Tales Of Two Cities (2)
The Young Dragons (1)
Golden Lotus (2)
Kidnap (2)
Martial Arts (3)
Sinful Confession (1)
 
More pictures in the gallery
 
Top 

 Advertise with Google AdSense   Submit a review   Contact   FAQ   Terms of use   Disclaimer   Error Report  
copyright ©1998-2013 hkcinemagic.com