Mr Lo Wei

1918-1996

Director

Originally surnamed Cheung, actor-turned-director Lo Wei was adopted by his uncle, who named him Lo Ching. He was born in Jiangsu and finished middle school in Beijing, after which he joined a drama troupe specialising in patriotic plays. After the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he became a member of a musical group. Lo then came to Hong Kong and, in 1948, joined Yung Hwa Motion Pictures. He was the male lead in Prisoner of Love (1951) and A Scholar’s Adventures (1952). Following this, he co-directed The Husband’s Diary (1953) and Mr Handsome (1953) with Tang Huang, and helmed She Wants Her Man (1953). After founding Dahan Film Company in 1957, Lo directed and acted in River of Romance (1957). In the following year, he established Swank Motion Picture Company with actress Lau Leung Wah; the studio went on to make Romance on Lake Emerald (1958) and 10 other films. In the 1960s, Lo worked for MP & GI then Shaw Brothers, before joining Golden Harvest in 1971, where he directed two Bruce Lee classics: The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972). After Lee’s sudden passing, Lo groomed Jackie Chan to be his successor. Lo retired after producing A Warrior’s Tragedy in 1993.