New Friend

New Friend () was the first Singaporean film shot entirely in Singapore and Malaya. It was produced by Nanyang Low Pui-kim's Self-made "Motion Picture Company" (南洋劉貝錦自製影片公司), in association with Low Pui-kim (劉貝錦, 1902 to 1959), who served as the producer and Kwok Chiu-man (郭超文), who was both the director and cinematographer. The film production company originally planned to produced its second film production , silent movie "(行不得也哥哥)", however, as the film production company was closed on 10 May 1927, this film is pending.
The silent film "New Friend" ("新客") is a melodrama about a newly arrived Chinese immigrant to Singapore. It was first screened in Singapore at the Victoria Theatre (維多利亞戲院) on 4 March for a public test, entertained more than 500 guests, just showed 6 reels of film, two erotic dances (Chinese sword dance and Malay butterfly dancer) were also shown in the showed film. Its official premiere was at Marlborough Pub and Theatre (曼舞羅戲院) on Beach Road (小坡海墘十二間), and Gaiety Picture Place (牙池電影戲), the cinema was located in front of a Chinese temple - "(太師公廟)", the junction between Albert Street (芒果律) and Bencoolen Street (小坡五馬路), Singapore. After public showing in Singapore, it was reported that it used another Chinese film title as "(唐山來客)", released in the "Chung Wo Cinema (中和影畫場)" in Kau U Fong (九如坊), Hong Kong, from 29 April 1927, Friday to 2 May 1927, Monday, totally four days, so it is the first film production of Singapore, and the first export film production too.
Erotic dances in the film.
the film has two erotic dances:
Synopsis.
Sham Hwa-kueng (沈華強) is a poor orphan from the Republic of China who moves to Malaysia hoping for a better life. He stays at his rich uncle Tiew Tin-shek (張天錫)’s residence.
Tiew operated a rubber firm in Muar, Malaysia. His family is composed of his wife, Ngai (顏氏), eldest daughter Tiew Wai-ching (張慧貞) and a son Tan Ping-fan (陳炳勳).
Sham is appointed into the rubber firm as a trainee. Tiew 's children like to play tricks on Sham because he doesn’t know Nanyang custom.
Meanwhile, the English clerk Kim Fook-sing (甘福勝), the antagonist, is making trouble. He wants to marry Tiew's daughter for Tiew's family wealth. However, she prefers Sham.
One day, Kim finds Wai-ching playing the piano in the sitting room, harmonizing with Sham's Chinese flute. Kim becomes angry because of this, and decides to play a trick on Sham, so he tries to force him to resign his post, and move to Singapore. Wai-ching realizes that Kim is a playboy and hooligan, so she goes to Singapore, and studies in a girls high school with her local friend Low Kit-yuk (劉潔玉). Low falls in love with Sham.
Kim successfully persuades Tiew to let him marry Wai-ching. She refuses her dad’s decision, and escapes into the jungle, where Kim catches her with the help of his hooligan friend Chao Ping (趙丙). Sham enters the jungle to save her and fights a python and crocodile for her.
Eventually, Sham fought Kim and Chao and defeated them. In an attempt to escape but they end up driving off a cliff. Wai-ching marries Sham Hwa-kueng in the end.