Air Hostess by Yi Wen (1959) is a straightforward movie about a lady’s career journey in being an air-stewardess, from the newbie brimming with hope and aspiration, then being frustrated and worn-out with work, and lastly, recognising the value of her work and taking pride in it.
The female lead of the movie, Grace Chang, personifies the modern career lady, with her proclaims of wanting to be a “空中小姐，而不是地上少奶奶” (loosely translated as – to be an air-stewardess, but not the wife of a wealthy man who has to be bound at home). Grace Chang is obviously the star of the movie from the amount of screen time she has and the emphasis the plot has on her, despite the movie synopsis saying that the movie follows the journey of three air hostess.
I grew up listening to the songs sung by Grace Chang as my mum loved to play her cassette tapes (she loved those songs when she was a kid herself), and it was certainly delightful to hear them in the film as it felt like I took a brief trip back to my childhood. Not only that, the movie showed snippets of Singapore back in the 1950s, and it felt so queer as I was watching history come alive – especially the shots of the Chinese Heritage Centre in NTU!
Well, I shall let the screenshots present a mini walk back into Singapore’s history…
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| Look at the vehicles! I like those retro buses. |
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| The Cathay! |
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| I did a literal :O when I saw this, haha! |
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| The red-brick Chinese Heritage Centre still looks the same despite the passing of years. The empty land behind the two leads are now the buildings of NTU HSS, NTU NBS, Innovation Centre...isn't it so queer to see the school compound being so empty then? |
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| I wouldn't have recognised this if it weren't for Fullerton Hotel! Clarke Quay looked so different then. |
References:
Air Hostess [空中小姐]
Cathay Classics
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