Lui Kei’s few directorial efforts that I’ve seen up to now have not impressed me. This one is a in the middle of the pack. His storytelling tends to pace on the slower side and rely a bit too much on romantic dialogues. There are some special highlights contained within the film, however. More on that below.

Set in Southeast Asia, wayward son Chin-Hua causes the death of his rich father. A gambler, drinker and womanizer, Chin-Hua casts out his step-brother Chai-Hua whom he perceives to be a rival for the family fortune. His sister Ping-Ting loves her step-brother and the two leave the household. Chin-Hua tricks her sister into signing a legal document accepting responsibility for his debts, owned by Valentino Chen, a rich gambling pal of Chin-Hua who lusts for Ping-Ting. When she discovers the truth, she and Chai-Hua flee to Hong Kong to start a new life.

Once in Hong Kong, the pair struggle to get by. Chai-Hua takes on three jobs and Ping-Ting finds work as a fcatory girl. I especially liked the umbrella scene in the rain where Ping-Ting discovers the true nature of Chai-Hua’s work. Seeing no bright prospects along this path, Ping-Ting decides to work days and nights to support Chai-Hua so that he can return to university and dream of hopes for a better future. Their tough but idyllic life is interrupted by the reappearance of her brother at the factory one day and brings the story to it’s climactic conclusion.

The are some notable musical numbers in the film. After first arriving in Hong Kong, Ping-Ting has a fantasy dream of her future. There, it’s all spacious, bright colors, streamers and dancing girls. But later, when Ping Ting starts working at the flashlight factory, the song she sings is a little different. That song plays out almost like something lifted from a mainland model play such as The Red Detachment of Women. We see a dark and gloomy sweatshop, machines dwarf the girls. Some of the lyrics of the song are: “…She is so courageous!/She won’t shrink from pain/Working attentively/(a) little pain means nothing/For happiness/Work hard and make the dream come true”. What a contrast.

But the highlight of the film is certainly the ‘Long Live Factory Girls’ muscial number. It’s a song and dance piece of camraderie set in the women’s dormitory where Ping-Ting lives (so that she can more easily work overtime). Connie sings the praises of the nobility and efforts of Hong Kong factory girls. The girls’ song extols the virtues of the factory girls in comparison to the Teddy girls (the era’s troubled youth): “Teddy girls are lazy bones/They fool around to live/They must follow the factory girls/One must stand upon ones own feet/Long live the factory girls/Long live the factory girls”

There are some other musical numbers in the film. Connie and Lui Kei sing a couple of duets together. And Connie sings a Christmas song at the Chai-Hua’s university Christmas party. This is the party that our humble heroine hesitates to attend for fear of Chai-Hua being seen with a ‘factory girl’. There is something seemingly ironic in that it opens with a kissing game. In an earlier scene with the Teddy boys and girls, a kissing game led by Fung King Man(!) is show with disdain as cheap and tawdry. But here, a not much different kissing game is shown as sweet and innocent when performed by the students. Was it intentional or ironic? I can’t tell. Following Connie’s song are some night shots of Hong Kong decorated for Christmas which is always appreciated. And there are plenty of panoramic shots of the city throughout the film. The film opens in Indonesia (?) with Connie performing a local native dance under balmy palm trees.

The film too often slow down with scenes of Lui Kei and Connie Chan just talking. Partly, it sets up contrasting scenes of Ping-Ting’s hands, before arriving in Hong Kong, soft and beautiful, and later, rough and ruined, after working in the factory. The ending attempted rape and rooftop chase scenes where Connie eludes the predator Valentino is well done and exciting. The accompanying music heightens the dire apprehension for Connie’s safety (and virginity). And who knew that one could pole vault onto a roof with a bamboo stalk!


Chan Leong Chung plays the smarmy Paul Chun –like Valentino. Gung Fan Hung is the dissolute brother that finally realizes the errors of pimping his sister and helps saves her from Valentino. You instantly know he’s bad since he sports a pencil moustache. Director and screenwriter Wu Ping appears as lawyer Kuo. Ko Lo Chuen makes a brief appearance as a gambler attemption to collect a debt. He threatens to break Chin-Hua’s legs if he fails to pay. Lok Kung plays the family patriarch Shangkuan who wields a hunting rifle in the house but mainly appears in a death portrait on the wall.

The film is in color, looks slightly faded but turn down the brightness on your set and the picture improves vastly. And the picture is of the zoomed in variety so portions of the sides are cut off. There appears to be at least one shot cut when Valentino get bonked on the head with a shovel, besides the usual end of reel snips.