Shih Chung-Tien
(aka Hwa Hon)
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Biography
His skills can run hot and cold, depending on if he's given the film roles to display them. He's not a bad actor, but some of his performances sometimes can leave a little more to be desired. When he started appearing in movies, he just plodded right along, until veteran director Joseph Kuo made him a star. His work in Kuo's films helped to propel him into the big-time as he would be given more work and better parts. His first starring role at Shaw Brothers, was as the famous "Wong Fei-Hung," in The Rivals Of Kung Fu.
He's played in a lot of roles, where he just got to sit on his butt and didn't really have to use his skills; the film Big Boss Of Shanghai quickly comes to mind. He's done a lot of quality work, with a lot of it being along side Chen Kuan-Tai. Films like Iron Monkey, Duel In Tiger Village, and The Imposter have been some of the roles, where these two seemed to capitalize off of each other's energy. 5 Tough Guys, was another of their earlier films, that (always) seemed to deserve a second viewing (by me, at least).
He seemed to have be a much more vicious villain, in many of his earlier roles. In Revenge Of Fist Of Fury, he showed his sinister side, while in Triangular Duel and Shanghai Lil' & the Sunluck Kid, he was a Karate man on a mission. While not on the level of some of the genres best villains (he didn't possess the fancy kicks of say Wang Lung-Wei or Wang Jang-Li), but he did have the type of intensity, to put most of his murderous plans into action. You could (usually) find him working for others, more than you would, in charge. Yet, no matter what role he played, his acting was "Up-to-par" with some of the genre's best.