One of the duller Shaw Brothers
dramas that I have come across. I had heard this but it also has Lily Ho
in it and she is always worth a look. She is lovely here but approaching
the end of her career. In 1972 she had married well-thy, a shipping tycoon
and she stayed married to him till his death. And four children. The main
character though is played by Danny Lee in his first leading role. He is
young and good-looking but doesn't sweep the viewer off his feet with any
charisma. He is a solid and stolid and can take a punch. His formula going
forward for decades. There is zero chemistry between him and Lily, but they
share very few scenes.
Ye (Danny Lee) has lost his father and decides
to sell his farm and see the world. He is able to get a job on a boat that
transports an Opera troupe and is helmed by a friend of his father's, Duo-bo
(Ku Feng). One of the troupers is Yi-Qing (Lily Ho) who has an ambitious
mother (Ou Yang Sha-fei). Ye and Yi-Qing quickly fall in love. Beware to
those who are not fans of Chinese Opera, there are a number of short scenes
of the company performing. Duo-bo has some criminal business going on the
side and he asks Ye to run a few errands for him that take him away for a
month. While the cat is away the mice will play and a wealthy merchant (Tin
Ching) makes the move on Yi-Qing who with the urging of her mother succumbs
to his desires, When Ye returns everything goes to hell - she has left him
and he is framed for a crime. By his good friend Duo-bo. Nothing here to
get excited about. A good slugfest at the end and a crying Lily Ho is about
it. Oh, also an element of sleaze from director Chang Tseng-chai (The Casino,
Queen Hustler) with two topless women scenes for no particular reason).
