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好事成雙 (1962)
Ladies First


Reviewed by: Stephe
Date: 01/27/2011

Ladies First involves two women, played by Jeanette Lin Cui
and Christine Pai Lu-ming, and two men, played by Roy Chiao and
Tin Ching, who meet, yet who are at odds with their chosen ones.
Jeanette likes Roy, while Christine likes Tin, but Roy likes
Christine, while Tin likes Jeanette. Both men try to match with
the woman of their choice despite the women trying to change
their pairing, and both women try to match with the man of their
choice despite the men trying to change their pairing. The four
get pretty devious in the end, to the point of really politically
incorrect bits about trying to get the other pair drunk and in
compromising positions in hotel rooms. One bit even has the two
men in an alleyway fist fight while the two women egg them on,
going as far as shouting, "Keep going!" to the men. Roy Chiao's
shirtless muscular torso is played up when the four people first
meet at a beach. A very young David Chiang, then billed as Yan
Wei, plays Christine's little brother. The two fathers from the
Greatest...on Earth films make cameo appearances. Christine Pai
Lu-Ming, who I'd previously though looks a lot like Jeanette Lin
Cui, looks much less so when paired with her in the same film.
Cathay was a mostly Mandarin production company, but they had a
Cantonese division, and Christine was one of its major stars. I
liked her more than Jeannette in this film. She radiates a quiet
intelligence that, among the Cathay actresses I have seen, is
surpassed only by the regal, willowy Wang Lai -- who here plays
Jeanette's mother -- or by perhaps Li Mei.

Reviewer Score: 5