The Bedside Story
1960 – Mandarin – 93 Minutes
Director: Bu Wan-chang
Cast: Helen Li Mei, Chang Yang, Kelly Lai Chen, Wang Lai, Liu Enjia
A light-hearted comedy about a struggle between a maverick actress Jiang Renmei (Helen Li Mei) and her stubborn and conservative brother-in-law Zheng Dingwei (Zhang Yang), which represents a debate between individualistic values and family obligations.
Actress Jiang Renmei accepts the marriage proposal from screenwriter- director Zheng Dingwen (Lai Chen) when they both won awards at the film festival but one man stands in their way – Jiang’s admirer, producer Zhou Huazhang. Dingwen’s brother Dingwei also disapproves of the match because Jiang has an infamous reputation.
On the wedding night, Dingwen was told by his bride that she will not share his bed and they are to stay in separate rooms. To aggravate his indignation, his wife continues to lead a decadent life and maintaining intimate relationship with producer Zhou.
Having learnt how much his kid brother has been suffering from the marriage, Dingwei decides to do something about the strange situation. Having collected enough scandalous information about Renmei’s indiscretions, Dingwei forces her to a showdown, threatening to publish a tell-all unless she promises to be an obedient wife – sell her expensive jewelry and luxurious sedan, get rid of her Pekinese…. She also must not tell her husband what has brought about her sudden transformation.