Nancy Kwan looks back at city's Technicolor dawn

The memories are still fresh for Nancy Kwan Ka-shen, even though it's 50 years since she stepped into Suzie Wong's shoes. 'How time flies,' says the 70-year-old actress, speaking from her home in Los Angeles. 'I still remember walking onto the set and those wonderful dresses we wore. 'But after 50 years I can't believe people still watch or remember the film. At the time I had no idea it would have any impact at all.' 'The film', of course, is The World of Suzie Wong. To celebrate its anniversary, Kwan is coming back to Hong Kong, her hometown, in March for the screening of a documentary called To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey, which charts a young girl's journey from the playground of the Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloon Tong, all the way to Hollywood. 'It's great that I'm still here,' says Kwan. 'I have certainly changed and Hong Kong has certainly changed over those years - and thank God for that. I am all for changes. Of course I love Hong Kong so much and it is always a thrill for me to go back.' Kwan was studying at London's Royal Ballet School when Paramount Pictures raised a then-massive budget of US$3 million to make a film about the tale of a struggling Western artist who falls for a Wan Chai prostitute. The World of Suzie Wong first appeared in 1957 as a novel by English author Richard Mason, and then on stage in John Patrick's Broadway adaptation of the book. Kwan was in Hong Kong on holiday - her father was noted architect Kwan Wing Hong - when Paramount and local film company Salon Films held a casting call for the film and, curious to see some of her idols in action, she decided to take a look for herself. Spotted standing in the shadows by the legendary Hollywood film producer Ray Stark - later responsible for the likes of the Oscar-nominated Funny Girl - Kwan was badgered into doing a screen test herself. 'I thought it was silly and I just giggled my way through,' Kwan says. Initially, the role of Suzie went to France Nuyen, who had starred in the Broadway production alongside William Shatner. But when health issues forced Nuyen to pull out three months into the shoot, Stark wrote to Kwan, asking if she would like to try out for the role again. Oscar-winner William Holden - signed on to play the struggling artist in the film - was given final say over who would be his co-star. And he chose the 20-year-old Kwan, even though she had never acted before. 'If it were not for Bill approving I would never have gotten the role,' she says. 'He was a huge star in those days, so without his approval I would never have been handed the part. And we started shooting the movie a few days later.' As well as being an international box office success, The World of Suzie Wong brought Kwan a Golden Globe award for best newcomer and a nomination for best actress. It was also a pioneering production - one of Hollywood's first major films to be shot on location abroad. And while some of the dialogue definitely seems tired now, the Technicolor images of Hong Kong remain spectacular, showing Hollywood's major players the way of the future. The World of Suzie Wong was groundbreaking, not just for Hong Kong but for Hollywood too, said Hong Kong producer Fred Wang, whose father, T.C. Wang, founded Salon Films. 'Before Suzie Wong, Hollywood studios only ever shot on sound stages or in America,' Wang says. 'But this film showed them what could be done overseas, in Asia, anywhere in the world. 'It really was a turning point for cinema and of course for showing the world what Hong Kong's film industry could do.' Salon Films and the American consulate are hosting a seminar called 'From Suzie Wong to the Future of International Film' on March 22, as part of this year's Hong Kong Filmart, where the screening of To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey will be held. Kwan, who will speak at the Filmart seminar, admits that turning the cameras on her own life was at times a difficult process. And, again, she took some convincing before agreeing to the project. '[Director] Brian Jamieson has wanted to make this documentary for a long time and when he first approached me I thought, well, no, why make one about me,' Kwan says. 'I didn't find my life that interesting. But he persisted and we spent the past four years making it.' Kwan, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband, film producer Norbert Meisel, says she went into the project prepared to open up completely. This meant talking about the hard times - such as the loss of her son Bernhard, aged 33, to Aids in 1996. 'I found it tough at times,' Kwan says. 'The film covers the ups and downs of course, and on our journey we all have peaks and valleys. It's an interesting experience. In some aspects, of course, it was hard, like talking about the loss of my son. But if I wasn't going to talk about it honestly, I thought there was no point in doing it. So you have to face a lot of things again, a lot of emotion.' And at its core are the memories of Hong Kong - and of Suzie Wong. 'I can't believe I still get fan mail about Suzie Wong,' Kwan says. 'I went to a screening not that long ago and I still love looking at those old images of Hong Kong, the Star Ferry and all that stuff. 'It remains a very charming film. It must have something because people still talk about it 50 years later. In its way it helped put Hong Kong in the spotlight and I still hear from people who tell me it was the reason they first went to Hong Kong. People tell me it helped introduce Hong Kong to the world in many ways. That still makes me very proud.'