Hong Kong – Maria McClay

1960-1961

Hong Kong was a 26-episode adventure and drama series that aired from 1960 to 1961 on ABC and helped to catapult Australian actor Rod Taylor into major movie stardom in the 60s. Most notable he went on to star in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.

*Rod Taylor as journalist Glenn Evans and Lloyd Bochner as Inspector Neil Campbell*

The series follows the adventures of U.S. journalist Glenn Evans, played by Rod Taylor, who works in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, and his friend Inspector Neil Campbell, played by Lloyd Bochner. His search for stories leads him deep into the underbelly of the city where he encounters smugglers, murderers, drug peddlers and mysterious women who, for some reason, tend to disappear behind beaded curtains.

Episodes

S01 E17 Night Cry (1961)

January 25, 1961

Inspector Neil Campbell (Lloyd Bochner in official Hong Kong police shorts) who must track down a bad cop who kills guy and then frames an old friend of the police chief. Maria’s character helps out by pretending to blackmail the murderous cop in order to get him to confess or give himself away otherwise.

*Director*	Walter Doniger
*Producer*	Art Wallace
*Production Company*	20th Century Fox Television
*Aired*	January 25th, 1961, ABC
*Cast*	Rod Taylor (Glenn Evans), Lloyd Bochner (Neil Campbell), Liam Redmond (Marriott), Michael David (Bartley), Antoinette Bower (Laura), Dean Harens (Hal Spencer), Maria McClay (Sou Mei), Peter Chong (Old Chinese Man), Barney Phillips (Crane), Victor Sen Yung (Tung Poy)

Where is Rod Taylor? The headlining star is almost completely absent during the one episode of the series that Maria played in. Instead this episode is about his friend, Inspector Neil Campbell (Lloyd Bochner in official Hong Kong police shorts) who must track down a bad cop who kills guy and then frames an old friend of the police chief.

Maria’s character, Sou Mei, helps out by pretending to blackmail the murderous cop in order to get him to confess or give himself away otherwise. While this is definitely one of her shorter appearances in a TV show, she actually not only has a lot of lines but is able to show off a considerable range all the way from sweet and submissive to hard-nosed and intense as she clearly enjoys squeezing her victim for all he’s worth.

This is also the first time, at least as far as what we’ve been able to determine, that she appears in the credits as Maria McClay rather than Maria Tsien or Maria Tsien McClay.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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