Shi Hui (actor)

Shi Hui (1915– December 1957), born Shi Yutao (Chinese: 石毓涛), was a Chinese actor and film director who gained prominence throughout the 1940s through 1950s. Despite his fame, Shi became a victim of the Anti-Rightist Movement in the mid-1950s and committed suicide soon thereafter.

Career

Shi's career as an actor began relatively late. His first film was not until 1940's The Chaotic World (dir. Wu Renzhi), and he would not gain broad recognition until after the war, with a series of classic films including Phony Phoenixes (dir. Huang Zuolin) and Long Live the Mistress (dir. Sang Hu). He also played the lead in Ai le zhongnian (The Joys and Sorrows of Middle Age), which is often ranked as one of the greatest Chinese films of all time.

After the Communist takeover, Shi became increasingly involved with the making of films behind the camera, directing himself in the classic This Life of Mine. Shi continued to direct throughout the early years of the 1950s, even gaining international attention with 1954's Letter with Feather, which won a prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The next year, he filmed a stage performance of a Chinese Opera in The Heavenly Match, which became a popular hit with audiences in Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, however, Shi ran afoul with Communist authorities and was denounced during the Anti-Rightist Movement as a reactionary, leading eventually to his suicide by drowning in December 1957.

Filmography

As director

As actor