Huahaoyueyuan (1925) 花好月 (There's a Full Moon Tonight)
alternate English title: Conjugal Bliss
Shenzhou. B&W. Silent. 8 reels. Premiered July 20, 1925 at the Palace. Genre: Romance. Direction: Qiu Yixiang. Screenplay: Chen Zuiyun, Qiu Yixiang. Cinematography: Wang Xuchang, Qiu Yiwei. Cast: Ding Ziming (Zhang Suzhen), Li Pingqian (Ye Yuanjun), Yuan Xiaqi (Mrs. Wang), Yan Gongshang (Ye Jingshan), Wang Zhao (Wang Peiying), Li Minghui (the nurse).
[left, Ding Ziming. Click on image to enlarge.]
When Ye Yuanjun returns home on summer vacation from college, his stepmother Mrs. Wang wants to match him up with her niece Peiying. But when Yuanjun meets another girl named Zhang Suzhen, it is love at first sight and he only has eyes for her, paying no attention to Peiying. After his graduation, Yuanjun resumes his courtship of Suzhen, but Mrs. Wang and her niece continue their efforts to break up the young lovers, including spreading falsehoods about Suzhen. When Yuanjun is injured in a fall, Suzhen rushes to the hospital to see him, but Peiying has someone on the staff bar her entry, saying that this was Yuanjun's request. Heartbroken, Suzhen packs up to leave the area and start over elsewhere. Meanwhile, Yuanjun is also sad she has not visited him, but when he is released from the hospital a nurse tells him what happened. He rushes and finds Suzhen before she can leave, and the two resolve their misunderstanding.
Comment: this is a typical example of the "Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies" romantic sub-genre so popular in the mid-20s.
