Bons Baisers de Hong Kong - Les Charlots (1975) - Chaplin gets stretchered off

In this quiet time I am revisiting many films and finding some really interesting bits I have previously missed out. One of them is this brief scene from Bons Baisers de Hong Kong that can be included in my "Chasing Chaplin" posts. I hadn't realised Chaplin had been involved in this film, but my knowledgeable friend, Arnaud Lanuque, who interviewed Chaplin previously and was in fact directly responsible for introducing us (merci, Arnaud) has confirmed that he did indeed work on it, albeit uncredited it seems.

Anyway, the brief appearance is during the scene (filmed on set at Shaw's I think) soon after the action moves to Hong Kong. Two of Les Charlots are in a taxi that breaks hard to avoid hitting a dog on the road, thus causing a big pile up that destroys all the cars and surrounding buildings. Chaplin is the dude who gets stretchered off by the ambulance men and stops to ask if the dog is OK. See the screen cap below. He is recognisable from his famous goatee and moustache.

Chaplin Chang R.I.P

I just found out today from a friend that Chaplin Chang has passed away.

I first met Chaplin after volunteering to help him edit his memoirs through a mutual friend and several meet ups were to follow over the next few years. He had a lot of energy for a man in his late 80s and early 90s and always insisted on travelling out from his home in Tin Shui Wai to meet up for some food and a chat.

He had quite a fascinating life, the early part of which he turned into a memoir - Beyond the Blockades - largely about his days as a seaman doing supply runs up and down the coast of China during the late 40's and early 50's. Later in the 50s he became involved in the film industry. As a native Hokkien speaker (he was originally from Xiamen/Amoy) he started off acting in Hokkien-language movies made for the Chinese diaspora in Asia and later, due his excellent English skills, started to liaise with overseas production companies that came to HK to shoot movies and often filled the role of local Assistant Director. As you can see from my various Chasing Chaplin posts, he often had small cameo roles in these movies as well as working behind the camera.

Anyway, I shall miss Chaplin, he was a warm and friendly person and was chock full of stories (and photographs) of his time in various films. R.I.P.

Here is a photo from the first time I met him in May 2013.

The Yin and Yang of Mr Go - James Mason (1970) - Chaplin the translator

Following on from our quest to tag Chaplin as many times as possible through out this blog, here he is in a rare speaking role when he plays the Chinese translator explaining to a bunch of local goons about how much they can expect to earn for the capture of Bridges and his girlfriend (played by Irene Tsu).

Chaplin was also the assistant director for the film (a role he would repeat a few years later for Enter the Dragon) and later on tried (unsuccessfully and at significant cost to himself) to buy the Asian distribution rights for this film. You may or may not know that for a while in the early to mid 70's Chaplin was also part of King Hu's film production company (where he helped obtain funding for The Fate of Lee Khan and The Valiant Ones from a rather reluctant Raymond Chow ) and they remained good friends until Hu (remember he plays the Japanese banker in this film) passed away in 1997.

Chaplin at the back

Cracker: White Ghost - Robbie Coltrane (1996) - Chaplin Chang the Love Hotel Manager

Whilst in Hong Kong on his lecture tour, it seems Fitz's budget only runs as far as renting a room in one of Hong Kong's many hourly-rental hotels (aka a Love Hotel). Who should be the manager of said venue? None other than our old friend Chaplin Chang.

The last time I met up with Chaplin was just at the end of last year and he was as chipper as anyone half his age (I believe he's 88 right now). Anyway, nice to see a familiar face.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Cochrane Street, Central

Yes, Cochrane Street again but this time from the street level and including an old friend of this blog, Chaplin Chang.

Chaplin, as you will remember, has been cropping up in the films on here for quite some time - his earliest appearance being for 1959's Ferry to Hong Kong. By virtue of Chaplin's excellent English skills and general kind nature, he seems to have been the favourite man for foreign companies to go to for any kind of local liaison. As such became involved in many of the productions featured on this blog both in front and behind the scenes (and more often than not, both). Anyway, here he is again playing a down and out who seems to live at the entrance to Jeremy Irons flat and spends all day crushing cans.

The view is from a few metres down into Cochrane Street looking back up towards Lyndhurst Terrace (Gage Street being just off camera to the right)

Ferry to Hong Kong - Curt Jurgens (1959) - More adventures with Chaplin Chang

Chaplin Chang, assistant director on Enter the Dragon and general go-to man for many western production companies filming in Hong Kong, made an early appearance in his very diverse movie career as an extra when filming Ferry to Hong Kong. In fact, he tells me that this was the very first western produced film he was involved with and was introduced to the films producers by Roy Chiao with whom he had a long friendship.

There is a scene in Ferry to Hong Kong when a Chinese junk catches fire nearby and proceeds to explode because it has been packed with explosives. The explosion damages the ferry but the crew of the junk are saved just before it blows up.

Chaplin was given the job of rushing over to the side of the ship and shouting that the junk was on fire. Here he is in action.

The Man with the Golden Gun - Roger Moore (1974) - Chaplin in the casino

In another of my Chaplin spotting posts, here he is playing a gambler in the scene where the golden bullet handover takes place in the Macau Casino. Chaplin is the guy with the goatee (he still has the goatee even after all these years) sitting next to Maud Adams (to her left with the brown shirt).

Golden Needles - Joe Don Baker (1974) - The Further Adventures of Chaplin Chang.

Chaplin, who many readers of this blog will already know was the Assistant Director on Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, went on to cameo in a whole bunch of films as well as working behind the scenes - often as an English-speaking liaison for foreign production crews - and here he is popping up at the end of Bob Clouse's second HK-based story, Golden Needles.

I've had the good fortune to meet with Chaplin quite a few times over the past year or so and have heard some great stories about his time in the film industry. He has some really great little anecdotes about some pretty famous people (and he has worked with many foreign and local actors), and as my blog here grows I keep spotting him more and more.  In Golden Needles he played the medical attendant who sees to Elizabeth Ashley's wounds at the film finale.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Siu Lam Kung Restaurant, Hanoi Road

Here's one thrown in as an afterthought, but it is a shot of a rather famous restaurant chain (sadly now defunct since circa 2013) that once had a branch on Hanoi Road.

Unfortunately I don't know what the address was on Hanoi Road, and locating it isn't helped by the complete redevelopment that has gone on in that whole area of TST. But, anyway, I thought I would put this one out there because recently Chaplin Chang told me that this was the very same restaurant where he was first introduced to Bruce Lee just prior to the commencement of filming Way of the Dragon in Rome.

So if anyone can give me an exact address it would be nice to know.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - A Diversion: Chaplin Chang

Okay, not a location but a person. Why this person? Well, for those who are not Bruce Lee fans his name may be unfamiliar. Chaplin - although acting in this film - was largely a behind-the-scenes guy who worked on the production team of both Way of The Dragon and Enter the Dragon and many others. 
See my Chasing Chaplin page here.

Here he is as Rizzo's mysterious contact in Hong Kong (and Rizzo gets to follow him to Macau as we will see in later posts).