Happy Ghost

Happy Ghost (released in the Philippines as Magic to Win 3: The Origin[2]) is a 1984 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Clifton Ko. Produced and written by Raymond Wong, the film stars Wong, Boonie Law, Loletta Lee and Sandy Lamb. The film was the 12th most grossed films in Hong Kong of 1984. The film is about three high school students, Bonnie (Bonnie Law), Juilet (Rachel Lee (actress)) and Venus (Sandy Lamb), in their last year in school together, go on their last picnic before their examinations. Taking shelter from a sudden storm in an abandoned temple, Bonnie finds a piece of rope and takes it home. With this rope she brings home a spirit of Scholar Pik (Raymond Wong Pak-ming), whose archaic ways of thinking obviously clashed with the values held by a twentieth century teenager. Yet, they began to make friends with each other. The three girls started to depend on Scholar Pik's magic for everything. After their exam, they realize it, the girls begin to derive a more positive and hardworking attitude towards life through his encouragement.[3]

For the 1941 film, see The Happy Ghost (1941 film).

Happy Ghost
Original Hong Kong poster.
Traditional開心鬼
Simplified开心鬼
Mandarinkāi xīn guǐ
Cantonesehoi1 sam1 gwai2
Directed byClifton Ko
Produced byRaymond Wong[1]
Written byRaymond Wong[1]
Screenplay by
  • Raymond Wong
  • Clifton Ko
  • Joe Ma
  • Bing-cheung Mak
Starring
Music byMahmood Rum Jahn[1]
CinematographyBob Thompson[1]
Edited byTony Chow[1]
Production
company
Cinema City Film Co. Ltd.
Distributed byGolden Princess Amusement Co. Ltd.
Release date
  • 14 July 1984 (1984-07-14)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
BudgetHK$ 1,000,000
Box officeHK$ 17,414,334

Cast
  • Raymond Wong Pak-ming as Stewart Pik (朱錦春) - The Happy Ghost
  • Bonnie Law as Bonnie Lam (林菁菁) - Naughty and playful, also an athlete
  • Loletta Lee as Juliet (林小花) - Married to Joseph, has a son
  • Sandy Lamb as Venus Koo (顏如玉) - Bookworm
  • Teresa Carpio as Sister Lee (李主任) - Nun
  • Hsiao-kang Wu as Joseph (陳世美) - Married to Juliet, has a son
  • Luisa Maria Leitão as Judy - Daughter of a rich family, Juliet's rival in love
  • Brenda Lo as Twiggy (八妹姐) - School dormitory worker, Fatty's wife
  • Kai-Keung Sze as Fatty (肥叔叔) - School dormitory worker, Twiggy's husband, reads Playboy all the time
  • Gou Wang as Mr. Koo (顏先生) - Koo's father
  • Suen Lai as Mrs. Koo (顏太太) - Koo's mother
  • Yu Chan-Kau as Brazano Trovaski Chan - Has a crush on Juliet
  • Raymond Fung as Principle - Have a bad breath
  • Elisa Chan as Pik's wife - Sold Put chai ko for a living
  • Ching Tien as Pik's Father
  • Clifton Ko as Bus passenger (cameo)

[4]

Release

Happy Ghost was a hit for Cinema City and grossed a total of HK$17,414,334. The movie ran in theaters from 14 July 1984 to 3 August 1984.[5] In the Philippines, the film was released by South Cinema Films as Magic to Win 3: The Origin on 12 January 1989, after Happy Ghost II and III (respectively released as Magic to Win and Magic to Win 2).[6]

Reception

In his book Horror and Science Fiction Film IV, Donald C. Willis stated that Happy Ghost was "fairly elaborate and inventive, but tends to run off in all directions".[7]

See also

References
  1. "The Happy Ghost". Hong Kong Film Archive. Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  2. "Magic to Win 3". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. 18 December 1988. p. 14. Retrieved 20 June 2020. Still with Wong in this chapter are his reliable Golden Girls together with pretty and fresh faces like Loletta Lee..., Bonnie Law and Sandy Lamb.
  3. [Trailer] 開心鬼 I (The Happy Ghost), retrieved 17 November 2019
  4. "The Happy Ghost (1984)". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. "Box Office Hong Kong 1984 [Chinese Movies]". movieworld.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2004.
  6. "Opens Today". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. 12 January 1989. p. 15. Retrieved 20 June 2020. The Box-Office Strength of 'Magic to Win 3 - The Origin' Has Been Proven in Southeast Asian Countries Outgrossing 'Magic to Win' 1 & 2.
  7. Willis 1997, p. 221.

Notes

Willis, Donald C. (1997). Horror and Science Fiction Films IV. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3055-8.

Happy Ghost on IMDb


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