New Friend

New Friend (新客)
New Friend (新客)
Directed by	Kwok Chiu-man (郭超文)
Produced by	Low Pui-kim (劉貝錦, 1902 to 1959)
Starring	Cheng Chao-jen (鄭超人 (鄭連捷)); Luk Chao-yuk (陸肖予); Wee Mong-may (黃夢梅)
Cinematography	Kwok Chiu-man (郭超文)
Release date	29 April 1927;
Running time	99 minutes
Countries	Singapore; United Kingdom;
Languages	silent film with Chinese and English subtitles

New Friend (Chinese: 新客; pinyin: Xin Ke; lit. 'The Immigrant') was the first Singaporean film shot entirely in Singapore and Malaya. It was produced by Nanyang Low Pui-kim's Self-made Motion Picture Company (南洋劉貝錦自製影片公司), in association with Low Pui-kim (劉貝錦, 1902 to 1959), who served as the producer and Kwok Chiu-man (郭超文), who was both the director and cinematographer.

The silent film New Friend (新客) is a melodrama about a newly arrived Chinese immigrant to Singapore. The film was released on April 29, 1927, in Chung Wo Cinema (中和電影場) in Kau U Fong (九如坊), Hong Kong. It was first screened in Singapore at the Victoria Theatre (維多利亞戲院) on the 4th of March for a public test. Its official premiere was at Marlborough Pub and Theatre (曼舞羅戲院) on Beach Road (小坡海墘十二間), Singapore.

Cast

Cheng Chao-jen (鄭超人 (鄭連捷)) as a new immigrant Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強) who is a poor orphan from Republic of China;
Tan Chee-eng (陳子纓) as Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫), the owner of the "Sin Teik Seng (新德成) rubber firm" in Malaya, and the father of two children: unruly Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) and naughty son Tiew Sinh-min (張新民);
Wo Ying (我影) as Er (余氏), she is Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫)’s wife, the parent of two children, unruly Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) and naughty Tiew Sinh-min (張新民);
Luk Chao-yuk (陸肖予) as Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞);
child actor Tan Ping-fan (陳炳勳) as Tiew Sinh-min (張新民), a naughty prepubescent child;
Wan Tuan-nam (雲端南) as Low Pak-tin (劉伯憩), the owner of "Chun Yuan (春源) rubber plantation" in Singapore;
Wan Cheng (晚成) as Ngai (顏氏), Low Pak-tin (劉伯憩)’s wife, they have an only daughter Low Kit-yuk (劉潔玉);
Wee Mong-may (黃夢梅) as Low Kit-yuk (劉潔玉), she is Low Pak-tin (劉伯憩)’s daughter, she performed a provocative Malay dance with disheveled hair and naked elbows;
Tam Min-hing (譚民興) as native hooligan Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝), he is an English clerk of Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫)’s rubber firm;
I Chih (一癡) as Chao (甘趙氏) as Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝)’s mother;
Hong Siu-pak (康笑伯) as Hong Tsz-ming (康子明), he is the Chinese clerk of Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫)’s rubber firm;
Hsiao Chien (笑倩) as prostitute Yuk-kuen (玉娟), an abandoned sexual partner of Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝);
Fong Chee-tam (方之談) as Chao Ping (趙丙), a known hooligan who is also good friends with Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝);
Tan Chong-eng (陳崇榮) as an old farmer Chew Ah (周勤);
Chen Meng-ju (陳夢如) as a social butterfly Hua Ai-hung (華愛儂), she performed a swords dance with an ancient costume in the film;
Chew Chee-peng (周志平) as guest A.
Tiew Cheng-hwa (張清華) as guest B.

Synopsis

Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強) is a poor orphan from the Republic of China who moves to Malaysia hoping for a better life. He stays at his rich uncle Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫)’s residence.

Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫) operated a "Sin Teik Seng (新德成) rubber firm" in Muar, Malaysia. His family is composed of his wife, Ngai (顏氏), eldest daughter Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) and a naughty son Tan Ping-fan (陳炳勳).

Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強) is appointed into the rubber firm as a trainee; his children like to play tricks on the innocent cousin Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強), because he doesn’t know Nanyang custom.

Meanwhile, the English clerk Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝), the antagonist, is making trouble. He wants to marry Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) for her family’s wealth. However, Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) prefers the newly arrived cousin Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強).

One day, Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝) finds Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) playing the piano in the sitting room, harmonizing with Sham Hwa-kueng's (沈華強) Chinese flute. Kim Fook-sing becomes angry because of this, and decides to play a trick on Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強), so he tries to force him to resign his post, and move to Singapore. Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) realizes that Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝) is a playboy and hooligan, so she goes to Singapore, and studies in a girls high school with her local friend Low Kit-yuk (劉潔玉), and falls in love with the friend's cousin, Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強).

Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝) successfully persuades Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫) to let him marry Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞). Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) refuses her dad’s decision, and escapes into the jungle, where Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝) catches her with the help of his hooligan friend Chao Ping (趙丙). Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強) enters the jungle to save his love Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞), and fights a python and crocodile for her.

Eventually, Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強) uses Chinese Kung Fu to battle Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝) and Chao Ping (趙丙). They are defeated, and drive away in an attempt to escape but they end up falling off a cliff. Finally, Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) gets her wish, and marries her cousin Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強).

References

Low Pui-kim (劉貝錦, 1902 to March, 1959) "The stories of Low Pui-kim back to motherland (劉貝錦歸國紀)" (December, 1926), Shanghai: San Min Company (三民公司) (Shanghai, Republic of China)
Fang Hsiu (方修, 9 February 1922 to 4 March 2010) "The eighth collection of New Literacy in Malaysian Chinese Society (馬華新民學大系（8）)", "volume one of "Theater movement (劇運特輯一集)" (April, 1972), ISBN 962-432-124-8 (Singapore)
Raphael Millet "Singapore Cinema" (November 2006), ISBN 978-981-41554-2-7 (Singapore)
Chong Tao-tao Pheona (張陶陶) "Discussions of the first Singapore Chinese-language film, Xinke (New Immigrant) (《新客》：新加坡第一部華語電影的書報討論)" (2012), Singapore: Nanyang Technological University (南洋理工大學)
Nangaen Chearavanon t (Tse Yin) "Film Stories" (April, 2013), Chapter 4 (Page 29 to 36), ISBN 978-988-15909-4-7
Chinese academic article: Dr. Hee Wai-Siam (許維賢) "New Immigrant: On the first locally produced film in Singapore and Malaya" from "Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Literature (清華中文學報)" (June, 2013, Number 9)
Nangaen Chearavanont (Tse Yin) "Movie Stories" (January, 2014), Chapter 3 (Page 22, 38 to 47), ISBN 978-988-15909-5-4

External links