The House of 72 Tenants (七十二家房客) is a 1973 Hong Kong film

Cinema of Hong Kong

The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...

 directed by Chor Yuen

Chor Yuen

Zhang Baojian , better known as Chor Yuen, is a Hong Kong-based Chinese film director, screenwriter and actor.-As director:*Cold Blade *The House of 72 Tenants *The Jade Tiger...

. It is a remake of a 1963 Chinese

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 film of the same name. It was the top box office film of 1973 in Hong Kong, surpassing Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

's Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...

.

Cast

• Au Yeung Sha Fei
• Chan Shen
  Chan Shen
  Chan Shen was a Taiwanese born Hong Kong film actor. He is best known for his roles as gangsters or villains in Hong Kong action cinema in the 1970s....
  
   - Brother Shum
• Adam Cheng
  Adam Cheng
  Adam Cheng Siu-chow is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer.-Career:Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB Wuxia drama series based on the works of Louis Cha and Gu Long, such as The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and Chor Lau Heung...
  
  
• Cheng Hong-Yip
• Cheng Kang
• Chen Kuan Tai
  Chen Kuan Tai
  Chen Kuan-tai is a Chinese martial arts film star. He has primarily appeared in Shaw Brothers productions, and was one of the first solid trained, martial arts stars employed by the company...
  
   - Police Constable (cameo)
• Ching Miao
• Chor Yuen
  Chor Yuen
  Zhang Baojian , better known as Chor Yuen, is a Hong Kong-based Chinese film director, screenwriter and actor.-As director:*Cold Blade *The House of 72 Tenants *The Jade Tiger...
  
   - thief in market (cameo)
• Chung Hwa
• Do Ping
• Got Dik Wa
• Lily Ho
• Ivan Ho
• Hu Ching
• Ricky Hui
  Ricky Hui
  Ricky Hui Koon-Ying was a Hong Kong movie star. He and his brothers, Michael and Sam, made several comedy blockbusters in the 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:...
  
  
• Ku Feng
• Lau Tan
• Law Lan
  Law Lan
  Helena Law Lan is a Hong Kong actress. Law Lan is popularly cast as a type of mystic in many Hong Kong horror movies.-TV series:-Films:*The Kid *Story of the White-haired Demon Girl...
  
  
• Cheng Lee - Ah Heung (credited as Ching Li)
• Danny Lee
• Lee Sau Kei
• Leung Tin
• Liu Hui-Ling
• Nan Hong
• Peng Peng
• Sai Gwa-pau
• Shih Szu
  Shih Szu
  Shih Szu is an actress from the Republic of China . She was born Lei Qui Si to parents from Hunan Province. A ballet student from the age of six, at the age of sixteen she joined Shaw Brothers Studio and began appearing in films such as The Crimson Charm and The Rescue...
  
  
• Lydia Shum
  Lydia Shum
  Lydia Shum Din-Ha, also known as Lydia Sum , was a Hong Kong comedienne, MC, and actress known for her portly figure, signature dark rimmed glasses and bouffant hairstyle. She was affectionately known to peers and fans as Fei-fei...
  
   - Shanghai Po
• Tien Ching - Chow Bing Ken
• Betty Ting Pei (credited as Betty Pei Ti)
• Wang Chung (actor)
• Wong Ching-Ho
• Wong Kwong Yue
• Karen Yeh - Mrs. Han
• Yeung Chak Lam
• Elliot Ngok
  Elliot Ngok
  Elliot Ngok Wah, better known as Yueh Hua, is a former Shaw Brothers actor and veteran TVB actor.-Career:Elly was born Leung Lok Wah in Shanghai, with native Cantonese roots. He immigrated to Hong Kong in 1962. He joined Shaw Brothers and started his acting career in 1965. His breakout film role...
  
   - Fat Chai

Special Notes

The house of 72 Tenants can be considered to have started a new era for Hong Kong based movies. Before the release of this movie, most high-class movies filmed in HK were recorded in Mandarin, while the less respected ones would be recorded in Cantonese

Cantonese

Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...

. However, since the debut of this movie, which is filmed in Cantonese, and the popularity it achieved, major releases of Hong Kong Films have changed from a primary language of Mandarin to a primary language of Cantonese.

Parodies

Parodies of this movie are found in many of Hong Kong's films and Television shows.

In movies:

• He ain't heavy he's my father
  He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father
  He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father aka. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother is a 1993 Hong Kong film directed by Peter Chan. The title is a pun of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" , a hit single for The Hollies in 1969 and for Neil Diamond in 1970.-Plot:Yuan scorns his father, who he thinks is too...
  
  : Chor Yuen, the director for The House of 72 Tenants is part of the cast.
• Kung Fu Hustle
  Kung Fu Hustle
  Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung...
  
  

In TV shows:

• Enjoy Yourself Tonight
  Enjoy Yourself Tonight
  Enjoy Yourself Tonight or E.Y.T was a popular variety show in Hong Kong. It made its first broadcast on TVB on 20 November 1967. The show lasted 27 years with its last broadcast on Friday 7 October 1994...
  
  : Where Lydia Shum continues to play the role of 'Shanhai-por' from this movie.

External links

• Review at LoveHKfilm.com
• Review at BRNS