Much loved for its clash of cultures as well as its charm as a romantic comedy, The Greatest Civil War on Earth wedded Hong Kong’s Cantonese cinema with its Mandarin-language rival in a freewheeling new form. Adapted from a charity stage production penned by writer and producer Stephen Soong, Wong Tin-lam’s comedy zeroed in on an epic rivalry between two tailors — one local, one from the north — and let fly with a barrage of playful cross-cultural gags.
The fireworks begin downtown, where traditional local tailor Cheung Sam-bo (Cantonese comedy ace Leung Sing-bo) is facing competition from new neighbor Li Sabao (Mandarin-speaking funnyman Liu Enjia), a tailor from up north who’s bringing a modern, hyper-competitive approach to business. Cheung is far from amused, and grows even hotter under the collar when he goes home to find that Li and his family have moved in as co-tenants.
The offspring of Cheung and Li are much more progressive about the north-south divide however; Cheung’s daughter Lai-chen (Christine Pai Lu-ming) has the hots for Mandarin-speaking manager Wenan (Kelly Lai Chen) and Liu’s stewardess daughter Cuihua (Kitty Ting Hao) has eyes for Lai-chen’s cousin (Cheung Ching). Soon the patriarchs are not only juggling a schedule of daily insults, but also trying to keep the budding young lovers away from each other.
Made by the Motion Picture & General Investment film company, which specialized in producing an upscale, modern and urban cinema, The Greatest Civil War on Earth clicked with moviegoers who were witnessing a great migration of Chinese from Shanghai and beyond. (The film remains relevant today, with many Hongkongers prone to pigeonholing the mainlanders streaming in as tourists, businesspeople and partners.)
Portly lead actors Leung and Liu run riot with stereotypes about business practices, regional cuisine and pop culture, at one point letting their feud escalate into an earsplitting face-off between southern and northern opera styles. The pairing of awkward, weak, young men with feisty, quick-thinking young ladies — a common feature of MP&GI (and later Cathay) screen stories — means more running gags are in store.
Shanghai-born director Wong Tin-lam, no stranger to helming comedies among his 120-plus pictures, artfully balances farce and situation comedy. Scenes like a game of hide-and-seek in a coffee shop are superbly staged, and the script and delivery are so smartly handled that none of the many north-south digs play like cheap shots.
Audiences were hooked and soon Wong, with the help of scriptwriter and Lust, Caution author Eileen Chang, had a franchise on his hands. He followed with the sequels The Greatest Wedding on Earth (1962) and The Greatest Love Affair on Earth (1964).
Tim Youngs