Draft:Typhoon (1962 film)

Typhoon (1962) is a Taiwan film directed by Pan Lei (潘壘). It is produced by Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC; 中央電影公司) and stars Mu Hong, Tang Jing, Tang Bao-yun, Luo Wan-lin, and Jin Shi. It was one of the first Taiwan films to be shot on Alishan (阿里山) and also a rare film to touch upon the theme of female sexuality in the early 1960s.

Plot
He Zhi-ping and his wife Chun-li had stayed in the Weather Observation Station at Alishan (阿里山氣象測候站) for seven years. Zhi-ping was so devoted to his research that not only did he neglect her sexual need but he also failed to notice that Chun-li had begun to feel suffocated by the loneliness and confinement of the mountain life.

Gao Da-hao was a gangster, just out of prison on probation. When he found out that he was again involved in a crime he did not commit he immediately decided to be on the run. His assistant He Zhi-xiong suggested that he head to Alishan to hide in his brother's observation station, which he followed. At the train station the detectives were looking out suspects. To avoid being caught he took a little girl he bumped into with him to take the train to Alishan. She was Xiaoshan, who thought she was adopted and ran away from home to look for her real parents. They pretended to be father and daughter and stayed in the station.

Gao Da-hao's arrival kindled Li-chun's sexual desire. One night she even walked to his room while her husband was sound asleep but was too scared and cried out when Gao Da-hao tried to kiss her. Gao Da-hao, who did not believe in love and had no intention to be a good man, was attracted to the innocent mountain girl Ah-hong, who would like him to take her to the city, while keeping Chun-li interested in him.

It was a perfectly nice day and Gao Da-hua took a walk in the woods enjoying the fresh mountain air and the rare sense of freedom. All of sudden he suffered a panic strike and thought he was being chased by the policemen and started to run in a frenzy. When he finally calmed down on the lake side, he was a new man. He told Ah-hong, who happened to be nearby, that he was no good but Ah-hong still wanted to follow him.

He Zhi-ping, who listened to radio news broadcasts everyday, was alerted by the police’s announcement of a wanted man who resembled Gao Da-hao. He found a gun in Gao’s suitcase and confirmed his suspicion and notified the police. Thanks to Xiaoshan’s tip regarding He Zhi-ping’s action, Gao Da-hao decided to leave in the typhoon night with Xiaoshan. Desperate about her last chance for freedom and love, Chun-li told Gao Da-hao she would give him all her money and jewelry to elope with him.

The offer brought the old Gao Da-hao back. He agreed to take her with him in the stormy night but in fact he dumped her and Xiaoshan and only left with Ah-hong. To his dismay the train station was closed due to the typhoon and the detectives were already there waiting for him. He and Ah-hong were forced to go back to the weather observation station. After waiting for Gao Da-hao in the storm in vain, Li-chun and Xiaoshan were already there and Xiaoshan had  a raging temperature urgently needed to be taken to see a doctor. In coma Xiaoshan still showed her care for Gao Da-hao, which thoroughly changed him from a selfish man to a caring father. He surrendered to the detectives and carried Xiaoshan in his arms to see a doctor. Chun-li saw that He Zhi-ping had forgiven her and still loved her, she thanked him. In return he told her that his research was finally done and would leave the mountain with her after the typhoon passed.

Cast

 * MU Hong as Chun-li (君麗)


 * TANG Jing as Gao Da-hao (高大豪)


 * TANG Bao-yun as Ah-hong (阿紅)


 * LUO Wan-lin as Xiaoshan (小珊)


 * JIN Shi as He Zhi-ping (何志平)


 * OU Wei as He Zhi-xiong (何志雄)


 * LEI Ming as Postman


 * WANG Hsia as Policeman

Production
According to Pan Lei’s memoir, Typhoon was originally to be made independently with two hundred thousand NT dollars invested by him and his wife and three other actor friends: Mu Hong, Tang Jing, and Lee Goon-Cheung (李冠章). CMPC persuaded Pan Lei to let it produce the film in order to take part in the Asia Film Festival (亞洲影展) that year to be held in Seoul. Pan Lei only had twenty days to shoot the film first in Alishan and then in the studio. The print of the film was sent to the Asia Film Festival one day before the registration due day.

Typhoon was the first film made in the format of black and white cinemascope.

According to CMPC’s chronicle published in 2002, CMPC already received Pan Lei’s script of Typhoon and  its production committee passed a budget of five hundred thousand NT dollars in October to make the film for the 9th Asia Film Festival. In November CMPC had a new president Tsai Meng-jian (蔡孟堅). The production committee meeting confirmed the production of Typhoon but suggested that the title be changed to Hot Wind. However, due to CMPC’s internal conflicts regarding the film’s production, when the president was abroad, the production was called off in December. It was only after president Tsai came back from abroad in January that CMPC finalized the production of Typhoon with a new budget of six hundred thousand NT dollars to be directed by Pan Lei.