But, uniquely, "Love Eterne" was made a great rather than a merely good movie by the amazing versatility of a 99-pound, 23-year-old actress who took the part of a boy and thereby rocketed to stardom after 60 previous film roles that had caused scarcely a ripple.
She is Ivy Ling Po, who came to Taiwan in October to receive the "best performer" award in the second annual Chinese Film Festival and who won the hearts of the free Chinese people with her unaffected humility. Ivy cried as she received the Golden Horse award from James Shen, director of the Government Information Office. She couldn't believe that after 10 years of Grade B, Amoy-dialect films, she had finally arrived.
"Love Eterne" is a story laid during the 4th century in Chekiang, East China. Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-tai are lovers at a time when marriage is decided by parents and education is exclusively a man's privilege.
Chu Ying-tai is a nobleman's daughter who wants—unlike the other girls of hell" time—to learn the classics in a school at Hangchow. Against his better judgment, her father permits her to go disguised as a man. She meets Liang Shan-po and falls in love. But Shan-po loves her only as a brother; he does not know she is a girl.
Three years later, Chu Ying-tai is summoned home by her parents. Liang accompanies her for part of the way. Chu Ying-tai hints that she is a girl, but Liang is oblivious to her every wile. When he finally finds out the truth, she is already betrothed to another. He dies and she joins him in the hereafter.
Miss Ivy plays Liang Shan-po, the young scholar, and Miss Betty Loh Tih plays Chu Ying-tai.
Boxoffice Success
"Love Eterne" broke all boxoffice records in Taiwan. It sold 822,305 seats in Taipei alone, and Taiwan's largest city has only a million people. The picture outdrew the previous boxoffice leader, "Ben Hur", by almost four times, and earned a quarter of a million U.S. dollars.
The Chinese Institute of Public Opinion conducted a survey on "Love Eterne" attendance. Of 2,970 persons answering a questionnaire, 40 per cent had seen the movie once. Twenty-seven per cent had seen it twice, 15 per cent five times, 8 per cent more than 10 times, and 3 per cent more than 20 times. Only 7 per cent had not seen the movie. One woman sat through it 101 times!
"Love Eterne" has been a topic of unending conversation, in classroom, at the dinner table, in buses and while queued up to wait for them. Ivy quickly became everyone's favorite. Her fame ranged from children to learned professors. Few who saw the movie escaped her charm.
The score of "Love Eterne"—the so-called Huang Mei melody—became the song hit of the decade. Everyone could sing or hum a few bars. For a while, it seemed as though nothing else was heard on the radio.
Just as Taiwan was getting back to normal, and other movies were beginning to get some attention, Ivy flew into Taipei from Hongkong. The city went Ivy-crazy. Her fans were determined to have a glimpse of their idol. They had seen her in the film as boy. Now they wanted a look at the real Ivy.
Early the morning of October 30, welcomers blocked roads leading to Sungshan airport. Streets were lined four or five persons deep. Half of Taipei city was nearly paralyzed.
Crowd Blocks Way
As the fragile-looking Ivy descended from her plane, admirers broke through police lines and swarmed around her. Police needed 30 minutes to inch her out of the airport.
The convertible in which she was riding was surrounded by the huge throng on the boulevard leading into Taipei. For 15 minutes the car could not move. The windshield was broken; the car began to look more like a wreck than a princess' chariot. Finally, police spirited her into a passing police wagon and leaving the; designated route, got her safely away.
Ivy made three unexpected conquests on the way. Already in the police van were three little pickpockets—aged 11, 13, and 14. The youngest was sobbing. The three boys had come out to see Ivy, found the crowds too tempting, and decided to pick a few pockets.
They quickly forgot their unhappiness and chagrin at being caught in the excitement of meeting Ivy. She had no photos to autograph for them but her mere presence seemed to be enough. All three swore to reform and become worthy of their new friend.
In another corner of Taipei, the 70-year-old woman who saw "Love Eterne" 101 times was waiting for a glimpse of Ivy. For three hours she waited the chance to give her favorite a gold necklace.
Her Own Movie Story
What did Ivy's fans think of her when they met her face to face? The answer can be expressed as "she came, her admirers took one look and were conquered."
Newspapers devoted full pages to her activities, photos, and what she had to say during her 50-hour stay. Radio and TV broadcasts were dominated by Ivy Ling Po programs.
Ivy has a real-life movie story all her own. Her real name is Chun Hai-tang. She was born in Swatow, Kwangtung province, and was brought up in Amoy, Fukien, where she was adopted when eight years old. Nine women have claimed to be Ivy's mother.
Ivy considers herself conservative. She likes to dress in chipao and often designs her own. Her only hobby is singing, but she has had no vocal training.
What of the future? Marriage or career?
Ivy said: "You know, I have signed a three-year contract with Shaw Brothers. I will not consider marriage before it expires."
"But," she added, "A girl will get married, sooner or later."
Essentially Kind
Because she played a boy in "Love Eterne," reporters were interested in the fact that men who saw the picture thought of her as a girl, while the women regarded her as male. "What do you think?" she was asked.
"Now you can see .... Am I a boy or a girl?" she replied.
The young actress showed her essential kindness and thoughtfulness during the Taiwan visit. She was touched by the fact that so many of her fans were women carrying babies. She regretted that thousands waited three or four hours just to catch a glimpse of her.
She refused the shelter of an umbrella when she rode through Taipei streets on a float to greet those who had waited in vain when her arrival route was changed.
She said: "People have been waiting for me so long. Why can't I stand in the sun for a few hours?"
She was animated and happy as she toured the city, and responded to the endless cheers. One newsman said she waved her right hand 3,000 times and her left 2,000 times.
Ivy showed off her pleasant voice in personal appearances at the China and Far East theaters where "Hwa Mu-lan", in which Ivy plays the title role, was showing. She sang some of her melodies from "Love Eterne" and was stormily applauded.
Tickets for the two appearances were sold for US$2.50, US$5, and US$7.50, ten times the usual prices. Proceeds from the sold-out houses went to servicemen's welfare projects.
Ivy said one of her principal reasons for coming was to wish a happy birthday to President Chiang Kai-shek. She was received by Madame Chiang and commented: "The First Lady is kind and graceful. She asked me if there was anything she could do for me."
Shower of Gifts
Gifts showered upon her. The Fukien Provincial Association gave her a US$2,500 gold and gem-encrusted crown. Her "best performance" cash award was US$1,000 and she also received rings, necklaces, and other jewelry.
Various theories were advanced to explain Ivy's tremendous impact on Taiwan and the free Chinese people. The most credible maintains that "Love Eterne" had shown the Chinese movie industry could make high-quality films that express the culture and ethos of the Chinese people. Ivy apparently has come to symbolize this success.
"Love Eterne" also took the awards for best actress (Miss Betty Loh Tih), best director (Li Han-hsiang), and best musical score (Chou Lan-ping). The picture was ranked among the year's best.
Other Winners
Top actor of the year was Tang Ching, who starred in the Central Motion Picture Corporation's "From Dusk to Dawn."
Other film winners were "From Dusk to Dawn," the Shaw Brothers' "Empress Wu Tse-tien," the Motion Picture and General Investment Company's "Father Takes a Bride," the Taiwan Motion Picture Studio's "Wu Feng," and several documentary films.
"From Dusk to Dawn" is story of counterattack by the armed forces of the Republic of China. Tang Ching plays a commando leader whose squad paves the way for the victorious advance of the free Chinese army.
"Empress Wu Ts-tien" is based on fact. It tells of the empress' rise to power after she is chosen from a nunnery to become the concubine of Kao Tsung, Emperor of Tang.
"Father Takes a Bride" is a tale of love's triumph over hatred. The winner of last year's best actor award, Wang Yin, plays a father with three children. Miss Lucilla Yu Ming, twice winner of the best actress trophy at the Asian Film Festival and best actress of the first Chinese Film Festival, plays Wang's eldest daughter. The children disapprove of their father's second marriage, then come to love their stepmother.
"Wu Feng" is a magistrate who spent his life with Taiwan aborigines when they were still headhunters. Wu Feng persuades them not to kill, but a drought comes upon the land and they feel it essential to appease the gods with resumption of human sacrifice. By ruse, Wu Feng offers his own life. Shocked, the natives abandon headhunting for good.
New Start Made
These films culminated more than four decades of Chinese moviemaking. The first silent picture, "The Orphan Who Saved His Grandfather," was produced by the Ming Hsing Motion Picture Corporation in Shanghai in 1922. Nine years later "Songstress Red Peony" began the era of sound.
Star Yolande Mo-cho Wang is flanked by trainees who play bit parts in 'Oyster Girl' (File photo)
Improvement has been slow but steady. Despite the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45, standards of production were raised and performances greatly improved.
After World War II, it seemed time for Chinese movies to come of age. Unfortunately, the Communist rebellion disrupted the industry. Many of those with filmmaking experience reached Hongkong and Taiwan to start all over.
To encourage moviemaking in free China, the Government Information Office of the Republic of China began in 1958 to give awards to top films and those making them. By last year this practice had grown into the Chinese Film Festival.
Today the free Chinese movie industry centers in Hongkong and Taipei. The Shaw Brothers and the Motion Picture and General Investment Company Ltd. of Hongkong make about 50 features a year.
Training Programs
Taiwan's output is around 20 features, plus newsreels and documentaries, from several studios. The Central Motion Picture Corporation, owned by the Kuomintang, has two sound stages and turns out pictures in both color and black and white.
Newsreels and documentaries are produced by both the China Film Studio, under the political department of the Ministry of National Defense, and Taiwan Film Studio under the provincial department of information.
Private Taiwan companies are the Overseas Chinese Film Company, Far Eastern Film Company, and Motion Picture Department of the Tico Company.
More attention is being given to training. The National Academy of Arts has a department of drama and motion pictures. So has the Political Staff College.
The Central Motion Picture Corporation gives dramatic training classes—a year's study divided into three four-month semesters. Students start with a survey of the motion picture, then go on to acting, singing, and speaking. Later comes specialization: make-up, driving, horsemanship, swimming, shooting, and dancing.
Examinations are held every four months and those who pass continue their training. Contracts await the best of those who survive the year. Class members are paid allowances and receive board and lodging.
Four men and nine girls are now in the second semester of training. Seven flunked out in the first examination, and those 20 had been tops among 1,672 applicants! The youngest is 14 and the oldest 22. All the men are college students.
Promising Future
The present class is, the third sponsored by the Central Motion Picture Corporation. The first was in 1954. Tang Ching, the best actor this year, was one of the trainees.
A bright future seems to lie ahead for the Chinese film industry, "Love Eterne" is not the only evidence of this. The Taiwan public opinion poll mentioned previously indicated that films concerned with Chinese history, life, and culture have a good chance of winning favor at the boxoffice. This—and not slavish imitation of the West—appears to be the way to Chinese movie profits and influence.
Where do Chinese movie go? With free Chinese scattered all over the world, Malaysia (including Singapore) is the chief market. About 60 per cent of earnings come from Malaysia. Thirty per cent comes from Taiwan. Hongkong and the rest of East Asia provide the rest.
The boxoffice draw is about US$13 million. Compared with Hollywood, Japan, and Europe, this may not seem worth mentioning. But entrepreneurs are thinking of another market for Chinese movies. When the mainland is liberated, 600 million people will be eagerly awaiting a chance to go to the movies. Today they have opportunity to see only propaganda emanations, and the Communists have trouble filling the theaters, even when admission is free.