Millionaire's Express (富贵列车)
Millionaire's Express (富貴列車), also released as The Millionaires' Express and Shanghai Express, is a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy directed by and starring Sammo Hung, in which a wanted criminal blows up a railway line so that a train full of wealthy passengers is forced to stop and spend money in his hometown.1 • 2 Produced by Golden Harvest's Bo Ho Films and released on 30 January 1986 for the Chinese New Year holidays, it earned HK$28,122,275 at the Hong Kong box office, the second highest-grossing Hong Kong film of that year.1 • 2 • 3
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 富貴列車 (Foo gwai lit che); aliases The Millionaires' Express, Shanghai Express1 |
| Director and star | Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, playing the outlaw Chin Fong Tin1 |
| Hong Kong theatrical run | 30 January 1986 to 26 February 19861 |
| Box office | HK$28,122,275, ranked second among Hong Kong films released in 19861 • 3 |
| Genres | Martial arts, comedy, western1 • 3 |
| Production | Bo Ho Films Co., Ltd. and Paragon Films Ltd.; producer Leonard Ho Koon-Cheung; Golden Harvest1 • 2 |
| Screenwriters | Barry Wong Ping-Yiu, Alfred Cheung Kin-Ting, Keith Wong Wang-Gei1 |
| Award nomination | Theme song 《车站》 nominated for Best Original Film Song at the 6th Hong Kong Film Awards (1987)3 |
Spoilers
Plot
The story is set in the early years of the Republic of China. Chin Fong Tin (程放天), played by Sammo Hung, is a small-time criminal wanted by the authorities who works schemes along the northeastern border; a government agent, Lai Fu (Kenny Bee), is sent to capture him but Chin repeatedly slips away.4 • 5 When the first train on the newly opened Shanghai-to-Chengdu line departs packed with officials, merchants and other wealthy travelers, Chin sees an opportunity: he dynamites the rail tracks before the train reaches his hometown of Hanshui, forcing the passengers to detour and stay in the town.2 • 4
The scheme backfires. The stranded passengers do spend lavishly, making Chin and Hanshui rich overnight, but the train also attracts predators. A Japanese envoy aboard is carrying a national treasure, which draws the interest of Shanghai gangsters who ally with mountain bandits to rob the train; the bandits then converge on Hanshui to loot the town.4 Chin is forced to team up with his adversary, the town's security chief Tsao Cheuk Kin (Yuen Biao), along with the fugitive former security chief (Eric Tsang), the townspeople and the train passengers, to fight off the raiders.4 • 2 After the enemies are wiped out, Chin must resume his life on the run.4
The Hong Kong Film Archive synopsis adds that Chin is on the run from international police, and that the town's head of security is his previous enemy.2 The reviewer Kozo of LoveHKFilm.com describes a further layer: the local sheriff (Yuen Biao) is really a fireman who took the post after the former police group, played by Eric Tsang, Lam Ching-Ying, Mang Hoi, Yuen Wah and Wu Ma, robbed the town's bank and tried to escape on the Shanghai Express; villains including Dick Wei, Richard Norton and Cynthia Rothrock pursue a map of the locations of China's Terracotta Warriors held by Japanese passengers played by Yasuaki Kurata and Yukari Oshima.6
Cast and action staging
The film is an ensemble showcase. The Hong Kong Movie Database credits Sammo Hung as Chin Fong Tin, Yuen Biao as Fire Chief Tsao Cheuk Kin, Kenny Bee as Lai Fu, Olivia Cheng Man-Nga as Siu Hon, Eric Tsang as the security head turned bank robber, and a robber gang including Mang Hoi, Wu Ma, Yuen Wah, Lam Ching-Ying and others, with Paul Chang Chung as the mountain bandit chief.1 Rosamund Kwan and Cynthia Rothrock also appear.5 • 6
Martial arts direction was handled by the Sammo Hung Stuntmen's Association, with credits for Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, and Yuen Wah.1 The Hong Kong Film Archive notes that the lavish production, headlined by Hung and Yuen with an ensemble cast of stars, gave the action sequences a fresh take.2 LoveHKFilm highlights specific match-ups, including Sammo Hung versus Cynthia Rothrock and Yuen Biao versus Dick Wei, and calls the stunts impressive in an almost nonchalant manner.6
Production and release
The film was produced by Bo Ho Films Co., Ltd. and Paragon Films Ltd., with Leonard Ho Koon-Cheung as producer, and was released by Golden Harvest.1 • 2 It opened in Hong Kong on 30 January 1986, timed to the Chinese New Year holidays, and ran through 26 February.1 • 2 The Hong Kong Film Archive lists the running time as 98 minutes; other catalogs give different lengths, including 107 minutes (Fortune Star), 108 minutes (Baidu Baike) and 1 hour 27 minutes (Apple TV).2 • 5 • 3 • 4 The theme song 《车站》, with lyrics by Poon Yuen-leung and Lam Chun-keung and music by Lam Man-yi, was sung by Su Rui and夏韶声 (Daniel Au), and received a Best Original Film Song nomination at the 6th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1987.3 • 7
Reception and home video
The film's HK$28,122,275 gross placed it second among Hong Kong films released in 1986.1 • 3 Fortune Star Media describes it as an infectiously enjoyable all-star vehicle for Sammo Hung.5 The Hong Kong Film Archive characterizes it as a big hit and a martial arts action western bearing all the hallmarks of a Hong Kong blockbuster.2 On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 80% Tomatometer from three reviews, with The Wee Review's Kevin Wight calling it quite possibly Sammo Hung's finest.8
Home video. Arrow Video released the film on Region A Blu-ray on February 28, 2023.9 As of the most recent JustWatch check, the film streams on Darkroom in the United States, with DVD and Blu-ray editions also available.9 A 1990 film, Fortune Warriors (富贵兵团), followed its naming formula as a wartime spy comedy built from the same Sammo Hung troupe.10
References
- The Millionaires' Express (1986), Hong Kong Movie Database
- The Millionaries' Express, Hong Kong Film Archive
- 富贵列车, Baidu Baike
- 《富贵列车》, Apple TV
- Millionaire's Express, Fortune Star Media Movie Catalogue
- The Millionaires' Express review, LoveHKFilm.com
- 富贵列车, 快懂百科
- Foo gwai lit che (Millionaire's Express), Rotten Tomatoes
- Millionaires' Express streaming, JustWatch
- 1990香港电影风云（上）, 什么值得买
Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Martial arts films › Released 1986 to 2026
Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026
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