Module 11: Crows and Sparrows (1949)
The film:
Wuya yu maque
Alternative English title: House and Tea Money
Director: Zheng Junli
Screenplay: Chen Baichen, Shen Fu, Xu Tao, Zhao Dan, Zheng Junli
Studio: The Peak Film Industries Corp., Ltd. (Kunlun)
Year of production: 1949
Year of release: 1950
106 minutes
Cast: Zhao Dan, Wu Yin, Wei Heling, Shangguan Yunzhu, Sun Daolin, Li Tianji, Huang Zongying, Li Baoluo
English subtitles translated by Christopher Rea
Video lecture 1:
19 minutes
Video lecture 2:
12 minutes
Learn more:
Scenes from Crows and Sparrows
Old Wei, who is seeking to buy the building, serves as a narrative device to introduce the main families in this drama:
The Xiao children and Ah Mei sing a song about the monkey traitor, Hou Yibo:
The Acting Principal offers to help Mr. Hua with his housing problem…but not for free:
The second of two scenes introducing the main villain, Hou Yibo:
The Xiaos hatch a scheme to buy the apartment building:
Mahjong – a gambling game, a social pastime, and symbol of strategy, chance, and risk – appears in this scene, as well as in other films, such as Long Live the Missus! (1947):
Boss Xiao daydreams of getting rich quick:
Corruption as a workaday reality for Nanking officials:
Zhang Zhizhi, who was often typecast as a thug or a lustful bully, appears in a familiar role as his character smashes up Kong’s place:
The “sparrows” defy the “crows”:
Comparisons with other films
Zhao Dan also appears in Street Angels (1937).
Shangguan Yunzhu also appears in Long Live the Missus! (1947) and Wanderings of Three-Hairs the Orphan (1949).
Li Tianji wrote the screenplay for Spring in a Small Town (1948).
The multi-family apartment complex is also used as a narrative structuring device in films such as:
The House of 72 Tenants (1963)
The House of 72 Tenants (1973)
Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Eric Tsang’s 72 Tenants of Prosperity (2010)