The Notorious Frame-up

Ho Fan
1978-09-01

3.5
92 min

Wang, a womanising businessman miles away from home, makes it a sport to seduce young women. After one of his conquests got pregnant with his child and died after the abortion, one after another of his lovers are found murdered. It is only when he is arrested and convicted for these crimes that he finds himself embroiled in a plot of revenge. Based on the work of Japanese novelist Togawa Masako which was previously adapted by director Nakahira Kō into The Hunter’s Diary (1964 in Japan) and the Hong Kong version Diary of a Lady-killer (1969), Ho Fan’s remake, his third film for Shaw Brothers as director, is a stylistic tour de force and a more authentic rendering than the 1969 version, grippingly suspenseful and provocative with clever shots, dark humour, and sophisticated treatment of contemporary attitudes about sexual liberation, exploring the conflicts over human nature and desire. (By Reel to Reel Institute)