Legends of Cheating (1971)

Alternating between captivating and tiring, and all the while rough at the edges, seeing Li Hanxiang's Legends of Cheating opens an intriguing window to popular Hong Kong cinema, dateline 1971. And even after two viewings, I still couldn't put my finger on exactly what this film signifies or the filmmakers' intentions.

The premise is simple - a pair of waterfront street performers sing to a crowd about legendary cheats past and present. They tell their stories with a storyboard stand, not unlike a Punch n' Judy stage minus the puppets, equipped with clashing cymbals to accompany their ditties. The film brings to life the tales in their songs, as shown to the gathered crowd with stories painted on placards. Today, their show kicks off with the lines:

"Have a close look Once and again At this human kaleidoscope Not some beautiful sceneries"

Nope, the Hong Kong Tourist Association wouldn't want to expose Hongkongers like the folks in Legends of Cheating. Here, a beggar pretends to be blind, two men steal shoes from passers-by, a husband and wife team swindle a horny visitor, a bogus film crew robs a bank, a hairdresser has his entire stall stolen, and on and on we go.

The best of the tales is a couple who deceive a father-in-law who wants a grandchild. The wife is loathe to be pregnant, and she's not afraid to sing about it. "I like wearing bikini. I like wearing mini. How terrible to have a belly. How repulsive", she moans to a twangy guitar accompaniment. Thankfully, a tricky nurse suggests ways to fake carrying a child to fool the impatient in-law.

The skits vary in length without discernable reason, occasionally flow into each other, and feature a cast of familiar faces that make more than one appearance if necessary. The production quality for each is generally low, yet serving interesting angles, unexpected close-ups of statues and a diverse range of sets including dense Hong Kong streets, period settings, Cat Street antique shops and the Tiger Balm Gardens.

The selection of tales told throughout Legends of Cheating come as part entertainment, part community advice. Onlookers at the street show are warned by their modern-day minstrels against being cheated out of their money. One such bit of advice is "Those who cheat will be cheated". And this all fills my head with questions. Were such street shows common in Hong Kong at that time? And if so, did such performances indeed fulfil a public service role at community level as they do here? Of note here, Legends of Cheating as a film clearly plays out to the same audience seen milling about the street performers' stall - not only is the subject matter the same but it also appears directed at the average, less-well-to-do Hongkonger on the street. Similar community intentions on the part of the filmmakers? Or was this formula simply devised as an easy way for producers New Grand Films (who put out Li Hanxiang's Cheating in Panorama the following year) to put together accessible, popular entertainment on the cheap? Whatever their intentions, Legends of Cheating for the most part clicked nicely for me nearly 30 years down the track.

Legends of Cheating is out on VCD from Universe (VCD 1654), letterboxed and subtitled. Cheating in Panorama is also out (VCD 1606), letterboxed but with the English subtitles concealed by the bottom matte.

Credits:

Directed by Li Hanxiang (Li Han-hsiang)