Member ShawAngela Posted June 13, 2015 Member Share Posted June 13, 2015 I recently got dvds version of three Shaw Brothers' Malay movies and, even if they aren't pure action/martial arts movies, I thought that it maybe would be interesting to post reviews for these titles. The two first ones were English subbed (but the subtitles were difficult to read when they were written on white picture) and the third one was in Malay language, so, for this one, I'll only give a description of what I understood... Beware of spoilers... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted June 13, 2015 Author Member Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Nasib si Labu Labi aka The fate of Labu and Labi 1962 Labu and Labi (this latter is played by the famous Malay actor P Ramlee) are friends and they work for a rich man called Haji Bakhil (if I remember well). This guy has a daughter and he is very sad because his wife has died at the beginning of the movie. Later, he decides to marry a young teacher and he seeks Labu and Labi's help in order to convince her father to agree to the wedding, but of course, everything goes wrong since the two friends make mistakes after mistakes... A funny comedy, with good musical numbers. Edited October 23, 2015 by ShawAngela Title was missing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted June 13, 2015 Author Member Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Tiga Abdul aka Three Abdul 1964 Abdul Wahad ( the elder ), Abdul Wahid (the second) and Abdul Wahub (the younger, played by P Ramlee) are three brothers, sons of a very rich man.When the old man dies, the two elders manage to spoil their brother from the heritage and they only leave him the house in which lived his father. He is so disappointed by his brothers' behaviour that he doesn't even want the house and leaves it to the servant and tells his brothers that when he'll return, he will be more powerful than them. Sadiq Segaraga is also a very rich man, but he is almost ruined and his adviser tells him to marry his three daughters to the three Abduls in order to steal their fortune. The younger daughter doesn't want to marry Abdul Wahub and neither does he want, but the two elders agree to the contract their future father-in-law gives them : if they get angry, they will be sold as slaves and their fortune will be his. Of course, they are so convinced that they'll never be angry, that they sign the contract and they marry the two girls. And then begin the tricks used by their father in order to push the husbands to get angry, and he finally succeeds and they are sold as slaves and Sadiq Segaraga keeps all their belongings. First, Abdul Wahub thinks that it serves well his brothers, but he has a dream in which his father tells him to go to see a lawyer and there, he discovers that his father has left him all his belongings outside the country (in Afghanistan, and all over Asia) and that he is even richer than his two brothers reunited and then, he decides to get revenge on Sadiq Segaraga. And now, that's him who decides to marry the younger daughter and he prepares a contract in which it's said that if he gets angry, he will be sold, but also if his father-in-law gets angry, he will be sold too and all his properties will become Abdul Wahub's ones. There are a lot of funny moments showing how the two men try to take advantage on each other and finally Abdul Wahub succeeds in making his father-in-law being angry. Of course, there is a moral side of the story and Abdul Wahub (who was actually in love with his wife and she too) buy his brothers and his father-in-law and sisters-in-law to their buyers and he shares his fortune in four equal parts. A good movie, with beautiful songs, funny scenes and good story. Edited October 23, 2015 by ShawAngela Title was missing 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted June 13, 2015 Author Member Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Nasib Do Re Mi 1966 Do, Re and Mi are three friends looking for a job (they are musicians). During their trip, they meet a couple (Nora and her boyfriend) who are bullied by gangsters whose chief wants the girl for him. They fight and the three friends finish in the hospital. The gangsters also rob a bank and the chief plans to kidnap Nora. After a few funny moments involving Nora's parents and her fiancé, the three guys together with the fiancé and Nora put up a plan to trick the chief of the gangsters and the five guys are finally arrested. Good songs, good gags, some funny moments and fights. Edited October 23, 2015 by ShawAngela Title was missing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted October 23, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2015 Masam Masam Manis aka Sweet Sour 1965 P Ramlee plays Chegu, a teacher who plays jazz in a night club at night (which often leads him to sleep at school instead of taking care of his pupils). He lives in a house where there are rooms for single and/or married people. One day, a young woman called Norkiah comes to this house and lives in the room next his.And then, they begin to quarrel through the wall almost every day due to the noise or for some other reasons, but they never see each other.One day, they are in the same bus and Chegu stops a pickpocket who has stolen Norkiah's wallet and they begin to date, still without knowing that they are neighbours.Later, after another quarrel, they finally discover that they are neighbours and they decide to live together.Norkiah is a singer in a night club and one night, the manager of this club invites Chegu there because he wants him to play in his club. When he discovers that Norkiah is a singer there, Chegu is so angry that he rebuilds the wall which was between their two rooms and he doesn't want to see her again.When they see how sad she is, her boss and her friend imagine a plan to lead Chegu realize that he is still in love with her and they finally reunite. A very funny comedy, with a lot of gags when the two neighbours quarrel through the wall and very good songs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted October 23, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2015 Si Tanggang aka The unfilial son 1961 Tanggang and his mother are very poor and they work for a rich man in the village. When he is a man, he wants to marry the rich man's daughter, but his mother is rudely chased by the rich people and he fights with Jelutong, who has always bullied him since their childhood.When he tells his mother that he wants to leave and become a rich guy, she begs him to stay with her and he agrees, but at night, Jelutong 's friends come to avenge their friend and his mother discovers that he has left. Tanggang hides in a boat and he begs the captain to keep him and give him a job and he is placed under Linggi's order, who is jealous.When he discovers that his captain pays a tribute to the pirates in order to do his business quietly, Tanggang thinks that he'll find a way to get rid of the pirates. Later, his captain (who has adopted him as his son) presents him to his boss, his wife and daughter and to Linggi's mother and sister, and both girls fall for him, but he is only interested in Kenanga, the boss' daughter.Linggi is so jealous that he lures his sister in telling her that he'll help her to get Tanggang if she helps him to get Kenanga, but when the two men fight, Linggi kills his sister who tried to stop him killing Tanggang and finally, it's him who is killed by Tanggang. Later, Tanggang becomes the captain of the ship and he marries Kenanga. During another trip, he traps the pirates and he gets rid of them, which leads him to be invited by the king and to marry this latter's daughter, which leads Kenanga to kill herself. While he is travelling with his wife, his boat is near his natal village and his mother wants to see him, but his wife insults the old and poor woman and he says that she isn't his mother and he chases her. His mother is so sad that she asks God to show her son how much he is unfilial and there is a big storm which transforms the boat and all sailors in stones and when Tanggang claims that he is her son and asks her to forgive, it's too late. Very good movie, good plot, a few good fights and beautiful songs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted October 23, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2015 Hantu kubor aka Ghost of the tomb 1958 The movie begins with the villagers who kills a kind of sorceress who had imprisoned a young man called Moussa. Later she comes to haunt Moussa, but nobody wants to believe him. Moussa marries Ramlah and they have a baby, and then, the ghost revives a kind of zombie with a black skin, who kills several women in the village, while the ghost comes to haunt Moussa again and even kidnaps him and changes him into a stone. Finally, the zombie and the ghost are defeated by an exorcist. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted October 23, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2015 Do Re Mi 1966 A very funny comedy introducing Do (P Ramlee), Re and Mi separately and explaining how they were lead to leave their village and go to the town in order to find a job, how they meet and how they become friends and live a few comical adventures. The funniest part is the one telling Do's story. As he owed some money to three guys, he plot with his wife in order to ask money from his mother and his father-in-law by making each of them believing that he and his wife are dead, which lead to a succession of funny situations between the parents and the supposed dead couple. A few good songs too, two or three of them being sang by the songstress Salomah. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted October 23, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2015 Ahmad Albab 1968 A rich guy has 3 daughters and he decides to marry them to the guys he has chosen for them, but the younger one (Masturah, played by Salomah) doesn't want to be married and later, he marries her to a poor shepherd (P Ramlee playing the role of Shawal, if I heard well).The two elder daughters often argue with their husbands because they spend money and ask them for money to spend with their mistresses in clubs, while Masturah works hard to help her husband by cultivating vegetables.One day, Shawal's boss asks him to leave the herd and he returns home desperate, but is delighted when his wife shows him that the garden is full of vegetables and that they will be able to sell them on the market.On the father's birthday, the elder couples bring money and Shawal only brings the products of his garden and he is humiliated by his father-in-law.Later, by night, the two brothers-in-law (Mourahan and Safar) rob jewels in a store in order to offer them to their wives and this happens twice, without anybody knowing that they are the authors of the robbery.When his boss sees that Shawal is becoming richest by selling his vegetables, he returns the herd to him and one day, while he is running after a lost sheep, Shawal finds a cave in which he sees a treasure but when he approaches it, a kind of giant makes the treasure disappear and he tells Shawal that he will be the father of a son who will be called Ahmad Albab.3 years later, Shawal and Masturah are parents of a little boy who cries everyday and every night for several months without anybody being able to calm him. One day, the couple brings the baby to his grandfather and this latter succeeds in keeping him quiet by knocking on a door and he decides to call the baby Ahmad Albab (al bab meaning the door in Arabian language, if I'm not mistaken). When Shawal hears how his father-in-law calls the baby, it reminds him of the giant's words and he goes away with the baby and brings him to the cave where he is taken care of by the giant's wife and son, and the giant makes the treasure reappear and he gives him to Shawal.Later, this latter and his wife have become rich and the police arrests his brothers-in-law and Shawal decides to help them out of the prison and he pays the caution for them.Later, while Shawal, his wife and the little boy go to see the giant and his family, Mourahan and Safar try to rob in Shawal's house and when this latter and his family return with some money given by the giant, they discover that their brothers-in-law wanted to rob them.When it's once again the father's birthday, the robbers have almost nothing to offer to him and they confess that they are robbers, while Shawal shows his father-in-law that though he had despised him all along, he was able to become rich.Good movie, with good songs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted October 23, 2015 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2015 Panglima Harimau Berantai A woman and her mother find a wounded man in the forest and they bring him at home. When he awakes, he is unable to use one of his arms and he explains that he has been beaten by the men of another village.Later, he is presented to the mayor of the village and, as he has killed some bandits 'if I understood well), he becomes a powerful man, maybe a chief, in the village. Later, there are some fights with other villages and the guy has to kill many people in order to help the mayor and all the men of his village to escape because they were prisoners in another village. There are fights with a girl who can change her aspect and only has to open her hand in order to get a knife and with a guy who fights by throwing fire with his mouth. Finally, with the help of the woman he loves (the woman of the beginning of the movie) and a few friends, the guy is able to save his people, but he doesn't want anymore to be a chief anymore, but the mayor doesn't want him to refuse and he finally stays in the village (previously, he had recovered the use of his arm after fighting with the guy using the fire). That's too bad that all these movies aren't subbed, it would help to understand better what the plot is about... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted July 21, 2023 Author Member Share Posted July 21, 2023 Abu Hassan Pencuri aka Abu Hassan the thief One of the early P Ramlee's movies. It has a "1001 nights" touch in it. Abu Hassan and his friend are street robbers, but one day, Abu falls for a princess who crosses the street on her carriage. He goes into the palace and they meet each other. As time passes, the princess finally falls for him. Meanwhile, a bad magician wants to marry the princess and, using magic, he disguises himself as a wealthy prince who is able to offer the princess' father a wooden horse that can turn into a real one that runs in the clouds. Hence, the father decides to marry his daughter to the magician. Both Abu and the princess are desperate and, as they are discovered due to the treachery of one of the princess' servant, Abu is sent and abandoned in the desert, while the princess is kidnapped by the magician and jailed into his palace because she doesn't want to become his wife. In the desert, Abu finds a lamp with a genius in it. He returns to the town and learn what happened to the princess. Together with his friend, they go into a cave where there is an old woman magician, who decides to help him to save the princess and tells him what to do in order to defeat the bad magician. Of course, it's a happy ending. As usual in these Shaws' Malay movies, there is a mix of magic (I forgot to mention the flying carpet that helps the couple and the friend to escape the magician!!), songs, and fights. Nice little movie, no subtitles, of course... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chu Liu Hsiang Posted July 22, 2023 Member Share Posted July 22, 2023 This is the same story as in one of my fave movies when I was child, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940). I remember some scenes so vividly. Now I want to watch it, haha. Gotta look if someone streams it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted July 22, 2023 Author Member Share Posted July 22, 2023 6 hours ago, Chu Liu Hsiang said: This is the same story as in one of my fave movies when I was child, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940). I remember some scenes so vividly. Now I want to watch it, haha. Gotta look if someone streams it. Isn't there also a movie with the same title with Tony Curtis ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.