Fong Yim-fun usually plays tragic, suffering characters in melodramas and the piteous village girl tormented by members of a thuggish gentry in this film is a typical example. The film is set in the early Republican era, when women were often victims of draconian feudalistic traditions and practices. Silver Phoenix, the beautiful and pure titled character, is lusted after by the vicious son of the powerful Shum family. When he tries to rape her, Silver Phoenix's lover accidentally kills him while coming to her rescue. To protect her father and the lover, the lass confesses to the murder and lies that she is pregnant with the dead rapist's progeny, prompting the tyrannical Shum patriarch to demand that she marry the already-dead son and, in the name of chastity, commit suicide after giving birth…Fong portrays with exquisite details her character's transformation from an innocent girl to a tragic young woman, her expressions of profound sorrow and agonising distress over being wronged powerfully touching. Unusual for the Cantonese films of its day, this story is told in flashback, opening with Phoenix going through the harrowing ritual of wedding the ghost groom, recalling her fatefully tragic life in tears. Director Chow Sze-luk's precision in mise-en-scène and editing in this and later scenes is an emphatic demonstration of Hong Kong cinema's mid-1950s artistry.

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.