Movie Review: Little Lark

Well after doing some reviews on the 90s, last decade from 2000-2010 and up to present, I thought I would do a review on the movie "Little Lark" which stars the late Peter Chen (who died from liver cancer) and the former actress Koo Mei who is now selling artwork (Thanks to Durian Dave for that information).  This film was in the 1960s (1964 to be precise) and I really thought I'd never see this with subs but I did.  So what's the plot?  It's entirely a musicale that may remind you of the likes of classic MGM movies like that of the late Elizabeth Taylor or the late Marilyn Monroe.  Now what's the plot?

The plot is pretty silly as it features reporter known as Shitai who must get a story from the leading lady that is Xiaoyun (who is called the Little Lark in English) acted by Koo Mei.  It's hilarious to how many misadventures Shitai gets especially when he has an unscrupulous boss and when he takes the late Lydia Shum's picture by mistake.  For Shitai life is a mess with the fact he doesn't know how to manage his finances well and two, he gets mistaken to be Mr. Cao which actually plays on good fortune later in the movie.  And of course, he later resigns from his work when his boss is only all about money which was admirable.  We are treated to various musical numbers sang by various artists which also involve the cameos of Poon Sow Keng, Mona Feng, Lan Di, Hua Yibao and Mai Yin but the only ones I really am familiar with are Koo Mei and Poon Sow Keng.

So it does great some dilemma considering the fact that Shitai's older sister thinks her husband is having an affair with Xiaoyun.  While Shitai poses as a certain Mr. Cao Qingping, it does create some silly moments when comical events happen.  Eventually fate ties Mr. Cao, Shitei and Xiaoyun together when there is the charity concert going on.  Later on, by fate Shitei becomes the assistant of Mr. Cao and also, while Shitei may be stupid but he is a nice guy which was foreshadowed by Xiaoyun singing the classic "In My Heart There is Someone" after singing the sad song "By the River".  It does get entertaining to see various musical numbers towards the end where both Shitei and Xiaoyun become a couple, Shitei gets a good fate rewarded for his goodness despite his silliness.

My rating?  7.5/10.  Though it's not really spectacular but if you love classic Chinese music and comedy, this is for you.