# Yes, Madam (皇家师姐)
**Yes, Madam** (皇家師姐) is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Corey Yuen, produced by [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung), and starring [Michelle Yeoh](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelle-yeoh) as Inspector Ng and [Cynthia Rothrock](https://www.edgepedia.org/cynthia-rothrock) as Scotland Yard Inspector Carrie Morris, two policewomen pursuing a microfilm of criminal evidence through Hong Kong.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) It was the opening film of the D&B cinema circuit in 1985, made Yeoh a star, and is widely credited with setting the template for the "girls with guns" cycle of Hong Kong action films.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) • [2](https://www.nyaff.org/oskff17/films/yes-madam)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 皇家師姐 (Huang jia shi jie)[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/yes-madam) |
| Release | 30 November 1985, Hong Kong[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/yes-madam-1985) |
| Director / writer | Corey Yuen; screenplay by Barry Wong (with James Clouse)[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) • [5](https://www.miramax.com/movie/yes-madam/) |
| Producer / studio | Sammo Hung; D&B Films Co., Ltd.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) • [6](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/yes-madam/umc.cmc.45hn1ek43pnk5sd434u650umx?l=en) |
| Leads | Michelle Yeoh (Inspector Ng), Cynthia Rothrock (Inspector Carrie Morris)[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) |
| Runtime | 94 minutes, color, Cantonese[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) |
| Box office | HK$10,019,862 in Hong Kong, 21st for the year[7](https://kungfutube.info/5564) |
| Award | 1986 Hong Kong Film Award, Best Supporting Actor: Mang Hoi[8](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/yesmadam.html) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
An agent of London's Commercial Crime Bureau is murdered because of the evidence he has collected against a Hong Kong crime syndicate.[5](https://www.miramax.com/movie/yes-madam/) The incriminating microfilm is hidden in his passport, which two small-time pickpockets, Strepsil (John Sham) and Aspirin (Mang Hoi), steal from the hotel room and pass to a forger friend, Panadol ([Tsui Hark](https://www.edgepedia.org/tsui-hark)).[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/yes-madam-1985) • [9](https://flixpatrol.com/title/yes-madam/streaming/)
Senior Police Inspector Ng is assigned to work with Inspector Carrie Morris from [Scotland Yard](https://www.edgepedia.org/scotland-yard), and the two clash over their different cultures and working methods as they hunt the film.[5](https://www.miramax.com/movie/yes-madam/) The syndicate's boss, triad leader Tin (James Tien), sends assassins after the thieves to recover the evidence at any cost.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) When legal means fail, the two inspectors give up their badges and go after Tin alone.[9](https://flixpatrol.com/title/yes-madam/streaming/)
## Production and cast
D&B Films was launched in 1984 by watch retailer [Dickson Poon](https://www.edgepedia.org/dickson-poon) with partners Sammo Hung and John Sham, and *Yes, Madam!* was the first film shown on the studio's own cinema circuit.[10](https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3288527/how-middle-class-hong-kong-movie-studio-db-films-became-one-most-respected?module=series_article_list&pgtype=series) • [1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) The Hong Kong Film Archive describes the film as the most important milestone for both D&B and Michelle Yeoh, who was a newcomer at the time.[11](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2024/martial/pe-event-2024-martial-fs-film14.html)
**Casting Rothrock.** According to production trivia, D&B had been looking for a male lead to play a [Bruce Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-lee)-style character, but the producers offered Cynthia Rothrock the role on the spot after watching her martial arts demonstration, and the part was changed from male to female for her.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/yes-madam-1985) Rothrock, an American martial arts champion, was making her film debut; she later recalled that the shoot took seven and a half months and that the fight scenes still hold up.[12](https://kungfukingdom.com/interview-with-cynthia-rothrock/amp/)
Corey Yuen and Mang Hoi served as martial arts instructors and designed the choreography along deliberately contrasting lines: broadly comical action for the three fleeing thieves, and custom-tailored combat, gunfights, car chases, and explosions for Yeoh and Rothrock.[11](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2024/martial/pe-event-2024-martial-fs-film14.html) The stunt team built the action around Yeoh's background in dance, and in the final showdown she performs full splits, hangs upside down, and crashes through glass panes.[11](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2024/martial/pe-event-2024-martial-fs-film14.html) Filming of the airport sequence took place at [Kai Tak Airport](https://www.edgepedia.org/kai-tak-airport) across three nights, from midnight until 5 a.m., so that air traffic would not be disrupted, while 30 days were needed to complete the finale.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/yes-madam-1985) The score was composed by Romeo Diaz.[13](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/yes-madam-1985-b/)
## Reception and legacy
The film grossed over ten million Hong Kong dollars at the local box office, a result the D&B retrospective credits with establishing Yeoh's image as a female action star.[7](https://kungfutube.info/5564) • [14](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/18995340/19057015/ebook_eng_03.pdf) Mang Hoi won Best Supporting Actor at the 5th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1986.[8](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/yesmadam.html) • [7](https://kungfutube.info/5564) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 100% Tomatometer from six critics, with reviewers crediting Corey Yuen and Mang Hoi with staging some of the best fight sequences in Hong Kong action cinema.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/yes_madam)
**A genre template.** The New York Asian Film Festival calls it the movie that set the template for the girls-with-guns films that ruled Hong Kong screens in the 1980s and 1990s.[2](https://www.nyaff.org/oskff17/films/yes-madam) The Hong Kong Film Archive notes that it defied 1980s generic conventions by celebrating female action, with Rothrock's strength and Yeoh's dexterity complementing each other, and that it heavily influenced *The Inspector Wears Skirts* series.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) • [11](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2024/martial/pe-event-2024-martial-fs-film14.html) D&B went on to produce a cycle of *Yes, Madam!* films comparable to [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan)'s *Police Story* series, followed by *Royal Warriors* (1986) and the *In the Line of Duty* sequels.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html) • [16](https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2022/12/yes-madam-1985/) The film's popularity, together with *Royal Warriors*, prompted other Hong Kong studios to make their own films featuring fighting women.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/yes-madam-1985)
## References
1. [Yes, Madam! – Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2022-dnb-fs-film11.html)
2. [Yes, Madam! – New York Asian Film Festival](https://www.nyaff.org/oskff17/films/yes-madam)
3. [Yes, Madam! (1985) – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/yes-madam)
4. [Yes, Madam! (1985) – NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/yes-madam-1985)
5. [Yes, Madam – Miramax](https://www.miramax.com/movie/yes-madam/)
6. [皇家師姐 – Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/hk/movie/yes-madam/umc.cmc.45hn1ek43pnk5sd434u650umx?l=en)
7. [レディ・ハード 香港大捜査線／皇家師姐（1985） – Kungfu Tube](https://kungfutube.info/5564)
8. [Yes, Madam – Fortune Star Media](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/yesmadam.html)
9. [Yes, Madam Streaming – FlixPatrol](https://flixpatrol.com/title/yes-madam/streaming/)
10. [How 'middle class' Hong Kong movie studio D&B Films became one of the most respected – South China Morning Post](https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3288527/how-middle-class-hong-kong-movie-studio-db-films-became-one-most-respected?module=series_article_list&pgtype=series)
11. [Yes, Madam! (Digitally Restored Version) – Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2024/martial/pe-event-2024-martial-fs-film14.html)
12. [Interview with Cynthia Rothrock, part 1 – Kung-fu Kingdom](https://kungfukingdom.com/interview-with-cynthia-rothrock/amp/)
13. [Yes, Madam! (1985) – Dennis Schwartz Reviews](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/yes-madam-1985-b/)
14. [A Different Brilliance—The D & B Story – Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/18995340/19057015/ebook_eng_03.pdf)
15. [Yes, Madam – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/yes_madam)
16. [Yes, Madam! (1985) – Horror Cult Films](https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2022/12/yes-madam-1985/)
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*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 1943 to 1985*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license