A Place for Show

Recently, a publicity stunt with movie stars "thanking" the audience at the theatres has become popular again. During the heyday of our motion picture industry, film companies would arrange movie stars to perform in theatres and meet the audience. Local Mandarin and Cantonese movie stars, as well as foreign stars would grace the stage. The theatre became the bridge between the dreamers and the dream makers. The bigger the stars, the higher the status of the theatre.

Local Stars On Stage

Screenings attended by movie stars served not just as a platform to publicise the movies, but also to introduce new actors. On 6 March 1953 during the premiere of Mandarin movie A World of Gold, foxy newcomer Helen Li Mei sang at every screening in Capitol Theatre and Majestic Theatre.

On 28 June 1953, A Mother Remembers premiered in Broadway Theatre, a foreign film theatre at that time. For the very first time, star Hung Sin Nui performed on stage for all the screenings of the day.

In November 1956, at the premiere of Fresh Peony, Bai Guang, who wrote, directed and starred in the film, put together an amazing performance in every screening to thank her fans.

On 11 September 1957, My Kingdom for a Husband, an production of MP & GI, premiered. The main cast Law Yim Hing, Cheung Ying and Leung Sing Po performed on stage in full costume in New York Theatre and Great World Theatre. They performed again during the rerun of the film. The movie company even had actress Grace Chang presenting souvenirs to them on stage.

Foreign Stars On Tour

It was a big deal to have foreign movie stars performing on stage in Hong Kong. On 6 and 7 December 1954, sexy Hollywood star Ava Gardner of The Barefoot Contessa visited Roxy Theatre and Broadway Theatre and performed on stage. The theatres were just packed with people inside and out. French beauty Martine Carol also made her on-stage appearance in Roxy Theatre and Broadway Theatre on 24 and 25 May 1956.

Harold Lloyd, a well-known silent film comedic actor, caused a blast of laughter when his Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy premiered on 29 November 1962 in Liberty Theatre, Broadway Theatre and Rialto Theatre. Around the World in 80 Days actor Cantinflas also came to Hoover Theatre and Gala Theatre together with his film Pepe on 8 March 1961.

Contest For Fun

To turn a premiere into a newspaper headline, the stage of a theatre would sometimes turn into an arena. A "rock and roll" dance contest accompanied the 2:30pm premiere of Rock Around the Clock, at Queen's Theatre on 30 August 1956.

Same for Mandarin films. The 2:30pm premiere of Remote Love on 19 October 1956, was accompanied by a singing contest in Globe Theatre, and followed by an award presentation ceremony by the main cast Ting Ying in Victoria Theatre in the evening.