''The Crazy Bumpkins'' () is a 1974 Hong Kong

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist *John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner *John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961), B ...

and produced by the

Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

that stars Ti Ai and Singaporean comedy duo

Ye Fong Seow Tian Chye, known as Ye Fong (1932 – September 1995), was a Singaporean comedian. He was part of a Singaporean comedy duo, with Wang Sa, who were akin to the ''Laurel and Hardy of the East''. Early life and education Ye was born in 1932 ...

and

Wang Sa Wang Sa (real name Heng Kim Ching) (1924 – 18 January 1998) was a Singaporean comedian. He was part of a pair of Singapore comedy duo, who were akin to the ''Laurel and Hardy of the East''. With Ye Fong, Wang often performed as a duet at the ...

. ''The Crazy Bumpkins'' broke box office records in Singapore and Hong Kong on release.

Plot summary

Ah Niu (Fong) decides to move from his rural hometown to Hong Kong with his uncle (Wang), but due to his naivety, he becomes a target of gangs and scammers.

Cast

as Ah Niu *

as Chou Ta Shu * Ti Ai as Ah Hua

Production

Ye Fong stated that the film took 2 months to make.

Release

''The Crazy Bumpkins'' was well received, having broken box office records in Singapore and Hong Kong. Due to the film's success, three more films were made, namely ''Return of the Crazy Bumpkins'' (1975), ''Big Times for the Crazy Bumpkins'' (1976), and ''Crazy Bumpkins in Singapore'' (1976).

Reception

Renee Ng of Asian Movie Pulse stated that Ye Fong's character, Ah Niu, was reminiscent of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...

and

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and Ro ...

. For his performance in the film, Ye Fong won the Best Comedy Actor award at the 20th

Asian Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Toky ...

. ''The Crazy Bumpkins'' helped propel Ye Fong and Wang Sa's career as comedians, making them celebrities in both Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1960s and 70s.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=tt0452930, title=The Crazy Bumpkins 1974 comedy films Hong Kong comedy films 1970s Cantonese-language films 1970s Mandarin-language films Shaw Brothers Studio films