Cards on the Table (Vietnamese telefilm)

Cards on the Table (Ván bài lật ngửa, ) is a 1988 Vietnamese 35mm black and white film directed by Lê Hoàng Hoa in his art name Khôi Nguyên.

Plot
A story based on the life of sleeper agent Albert Phạm Ngọc Thảo with character Robert Nguyễn Thành Luân (Nguyễn Chánh Tín) during 1956–63.
 * 1) 1982 : The Foster Son of the Archbishop (Đứa con nuôi vị giám mục)
 * 2) 1983 : The Roving Chessman (Quân cờ di động)
 * 3) 1983 : The Gunshot on the Highland (Phát súng trên cao nguyên)
 * 4) 1984 : The Flood and the Tango No. 3 (Cơn hồng thủy và bản tango số 3)
 * 5) 1985 : The Blue Sky in the Split of Leaf (Trời xanh qua kẽ lá)
 * 6) 1986 : The Last Warning (Lời cảnh cáo cuối cùng)
 * 7) 1987 : The High Pressure and the Freshet (Cao áp và nước lũ)
 * 8) 1987 : The Wreath at the Grave (Vòng hoa trước mộ)

Art

 * Make-up : Tường Vi
 * Fire designer : Lê Chánh
 * Art designer : Ngô Hữu Phước
 * Camera : Trần Ngọc Huỳnh

Music

 * Con thuyền không bến (Boat without a harbour) by Đặng Thế Phong
 * Mưa rừng (Rain in the woods) by Huỳnh Anh
 * Biết nói gì đây (I don't know what to say) by Huỳnh Anh
 * Ai lên xứ hoa đào by Hoàng Nguyên

Cast

 * Nguyễn Chánh Tín ... Robert Nguyễn Thành Luân
 * Thúy An ... Thùy Dung (episode 1-2-3)
 * Thanh Lan ... Thùy Dung (episode 4-5-6-7-8)
 * Lâm Bình Chi ... Advisor Ngô Đình Nhu
 * Ngô Thế Dũng ... President Ngô Đình Diệm
 * Thu Hồng ... First lady Trần Lệ Xuân
 * Đỗ Văn Nghiêm ... Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục
 * Huyền Anh ... Doctor Trần Kim Tuyến
 * Robert Hải ... G. Frederick Reinhardt
 * Lan Chi ... Reporter Hélen Fanfani
 * Bùi Thương Tín ... Major Lê Như Vọng
 * Cai Văn Mỹ ... Lý Kai
 * Phan Hiền Khánh ... Bảy Cầu Muối
 * Đặng Trí Hoàng Sơn ... Lại Văn Sang
 * Việt Thanh ... Lại Hữu Tài
 * Vương Hồng Đặng ... Pope Phạm Công Tắc
 * Trần Quang ... Y Mur Eban
 * Trần Quang Đại ... Quyến or Lê Ngân
 * Lê Cung Bắc ... Oldman
 * Kiều Hạnh ... Oldwoman
 * Lê Chánh
 * Lý Hùng ... Thường
 * Minh Hoàng
 * Tư Lê
 * Nguyễn Cung
 * Nguyễn Ngân ... Trần Văn Đôn
 * Khương Mễ ... Đường Nghĩa
 * Diễm My
 * Hồng Lực
 * Jan ... Kiên/White-haired man
 * Hùng An ... Sáu Thưng
 * Lê Minh Tuấn ... Cop Mi Ngọc
 * Lâm Thế Thành ... Sa
 * Nguyễn Văn Lũy ... Mạch Điền
 * Chế Tâm ... James Casey
 * Mỹ Trinh ... Tiểu Phụng
 * Mạc Can ... Magician
 * Minh Hà ... Lily

Release
Nguyễn Chánh Tín is a popular actor and singer in Saigon since prior to 1975. Born in Bạc Liêu, he was the youngest of five children. He is the uncle of Vietnamese-American actors, Dustin Nguyen and Johnny Tri Nguyen, and famous comedian Vân Sơn, who is also the owner of Van Son Entertainment. During the early 1970s, Nguyễn Chánh Tín's good looks earned him a status of being somewhat of a cinema heartthrob. He portrayed the lead character, Robert Nguyễn Thành Luân, in Cards on the Table which has been considered by many as his signature film role. Actress Thúy An starred as his leading lady for the first three out of the series of 8 episodes altogether. Although Thúy An's portrayal of the female lead character in Cards on the Table had been well received, in 1984 her pregnancy would cause her to be replaced by Thanh Lan for parts 4, 5 and 6, as shooting had been scheduled for all three parts in that year. The chemistry between Nguyễn Chánh Tín and Thanh Lan on screen gained even wider reception from movie audiences, which prompted the film's producers' decision to also cast Thanh Lan in the remaining last two sequels of the series.