Love Is A Many-Splendoured Thing - 生死戀

Love Is A Many-Splendoured Thing - 生死戀

The book, "A Many-Splendoured Thing", was written by Han Suyin in 1952; the movie was made in 1955 by Twentieth Century-Fox, starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones as Han Suyin.

The song with the same name from this movie written by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster had won an Oscar for the best original song in 1955.   The song was subsequently recorded by the Four Aces. 

Jennifer Jones (1919 -2009) was a great actress.  She won an Oscar for Best Actress in The Song of Bernadette (1943).  She also appeared in great movies such as, Duel In The Sun (1946), Carrie (1952), Good Morning Miss Dove; Love Is A many-Splendoured Thing (1952), The Barretts of Wimpole Street; Farewell To Arms (1957), Tender Is The Night (1962).  All my favourite movies!

William Holden (1918 - 1981) was also a great actor.  He also won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1953 in Stalag 17, a movie I haven't seen before.  But I always love him in Picnic with Kim Novak!  Who can forget Hal, the handsome shirtless drifter who came to town and stole the hearts of all women!

Hear this song:    By the Four Aces;  by Johnny Mathis; By Connie Francis

The story tells an Eurasian doctor, Han Suyin falls in love with a married (but separated) American correspondent played by William Holden.  The story was also an autobiography of Han Suyin, who while working in Hong Kong, fell in love with a married Australian correspondent, Ian Morrison.  They encountered prejudice from her family and from the Hong Kong society.  The movie ended when Morrison being killed in Korea in 1950. 

Han Suyin was born in China as Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chou (Chinese:周光瑚; Zhōu Guānghú).

Her father was an engineer educated in Belgium and her mother was Flemish.  She went to London to study Medicine in 1944, graduated in 1949 and returned to Hong Kong to practice medicine at Queen Mary Hospital where she met and fell in love with Morrison.  He was killed in 1950 in Korea.

In 1952, she married a British Officer, Leon Comber and went with him to Malaya, now Malaysia.  In the same year, she wrote the book, A Many-Splendoured Thing.

【生死戀（Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing）是一套根據中國籍亞歐混血女作家韓素音於1952年出版的自傳小說《A Many-Splendoured Thing》改編而成的美國荷里活電影，由二十世紀霍氏公司於1955年出品。影片的故事背景為1949至50年的香港，當時正值國共內戰的關鍵期及韓戰的爆發，飾演美國藉記者馬克的威廉·荷頓邂逅中歐混血兒醫生韓素音（由珍妮花·鍾絲飾演），但由於韓的家庭背景和當地社會壓力使到這段感情無法開花結果，最後馬克更在採訪過程死於韓戰戰場。影片大量在香港取景拍攝，景點包括香港仔漁港、淺水灣及維多利亞港等，呈現不少當代殖民地風格的建築。影片獲得奧斯卡金像獎的最佳服飾設計、最佳原創音樂及最佳音樂等獎項。】

韓素音原名周光瑚，出生於中國河南省，父親曾在比利時留學，母親出自比利時貴族家庭。1944年、韓素音到英國讀醫學，1949年在香港瑪麗醫院任職，並結識了外國記者 Ian Morrison。可惜他已婚，他們的戀愛遭到家庭和社會壓力，時遇越戰爆發，Morrison 到前線採訪而遇難身亡！之後韓素音再婚，除了這部自傳小說之外，還有其它著作。