The Pregnant Maiden (aka Young, Pregnant and Unmarried) (2K Digital Version)

Dir/Scr: Chor Yuen
Prod Co: Hou Hou
Cast: Connie Chan Po-chu, Lui Kay, Fong Sum, Feng Tsui-fan, Ko Lo Chuen
1968 | B&W | DCP | Cantonese | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 98min

Directed and written by Chor Yuen, The Pregnant Maiden is a classic Hong Kong comedy that showcases the director's unparalleled talent for crafting stories filled with wit and hilarity. The film centres on Lai-fong (Connie Chan Po-chu), a spoiled but endearing daughter of a wealthy and temperamental patriarch. When her elder sister becomes pregnant and her secretly-married new husband moves to Singapore for work, Lai-fong devises a daring plan to fake her own pregnancy. Her aim? To deflect their father’s ire, whose high blood pressure makes revealing the truth too risky. Confident in her ability to manage his anger, Lai-fong’s ruse triggers a chain of increasingly absurd scenarios. Her boyfriend (Lui Kay), confused and jealous, vows to track down the supposed father of the ‘baby’, plunging the relationship into chaos as Lai-fong struggles to maintain her deception.

Connie Chan shines as the impulsive and quick-witted teenager, delivering laugh-out-loud moments with her fast-talking quips and delightful chemistry with Lui Kay. The duo’s charm is on full display in a blind-date scene where they shed their typically poised personas for uproarious comedy. This iconic moment likely inspired a similar sequence with Stephen Chow and Christy Chung in All’s Well, Ends Well 1997 (1997), further highlighting Chor Yuen’s brilliance in crafting playful, funny, yet heartwarming comedies that are timeless.

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