The Young Girl Dares Not Homeward (1970) Director: Yueng Kuen Cast: Connie Chan, Tsang Kong, Nancy Sit, Tso Tat-wah, Wu Fung Publisher: China Art; Format: VCD English subtitles: Yes YouTube clip The Young Girl Dares Not Homeward can be seen as the last cry of Cantonese cinema’s tradition of social melodrama before it was drowned out by the violent kungfu movies, cynical comedies, and exploitation flicks that became popular during the 1970s. Hong Kong’s social melodramas had their roots in the lean and difficult postwar years when socially conscious filmmakers wanted to educate as well as entertain audiences. Films like In the Face of Demolition (1953), about a group of tenants struggling to survive, emphasized cooperation and ethical responsibility as a means of alleviating the ills of economic and social inequality. Like a morality play painted in broad strokes of light and dark, the social melodrama always ends with the triumph of good over evil, often through the redemption of a character who has selfishly strayed from the community. Even the martial-arts movies of the 50s followed this formula, except that they staged the moral struggle as a physical contest. But by the late 60s, Wong Fei-hung, the previous generation’s role model of righteousness, gave way to tortured anti-heroes, like the “One-Armed Swordsman,“ who were icons more suited to the turbulent era. At a time when authority figures were proving themselves to be not so good, and youth were discovering that “it’s right to rebel,“ The Young Girl Dares Not Homeward was a bold, if old-fashioned, attempt to restore the previous standards of virtue and social responsibility. The film’s opening title sequence promptly establishes the forces of darkness that threaten the sanctity of the family and good people everywhere. Shot after shot of lurid neon signs (“Blue Angel Bar,” “Pink Lady Bar”) are accompanied by a blaring blues guitar soundtrack. On the side of evil, we have the snobby, sports car driving bitch who looks down on fellow students Yu Feng (Connie Chan) and Jo Lei (Nancy Sit); Peter Kuo (Tsang Kong), a rich kid who does whatever he wants, like stalking Yu Feng with his car; the irresponsible parents: Peter’s dad, who spoils him and lets him get away with hell, and Jo Lei’s mom and pop, who spend all their time and money gambling; Miss Hua (Lee Heung-kam), the mistress of the bar where Jo Lei and Yu Feng end up working as hostesses; and a host of gangsters and jerks who try to force themselves on the virtuous Yu Feng. On the side of good, we have Yu Feng, the dutiful daughter who walks to school so that her poor ailing father won’t pawn his overcoat to pay for her bus fare; Mr. Ho (Wu Fung), the concerned teacher who looks after her and becomes her advocate and savior; Inspector Tao (Tso Tat-wah), who gives money to her parents when he sees how poor they are; and Jo Lei, who selflessly offers to pay Yu Feng’s debt to Miss Hua so she can stop working at the bar. Like the social melodramas of the 50s, class consciousness speaks loudly in The Young Girl Dares Not Homeward. Lack of money causes problem after problem. As Miss Hua tells Mr. Ho when he unsuccessfully tries to rescue Yu Feng from her hostess job by buying off her debt, “You can’t do anything if you don’t have money.” Yu Feng starts working as a bar girl in order to help support her family, while Jo Lei just want to own a sports car like the snobby girl (and thus not be looked down on). Cars in this film are dangerous emblems of wealth and selfishness. Not only do they symbolize the divide between the haves and the have-nots, they also signify the unrestrained power of the wealthy, shown quite literally when Peter Kuo terrorizes Connie with his car and later tries to run over Mr. Ho after he comes to her defense. Peter Kuo is the anti-hero who must be reformed and integrated back into society. In a concession to the times, it is not the tough love of a father figure that brings him back into the fold. Rather it is the nurturing love of Yu Feng that redeems him. True to the didactic tradition of the social melodrama, The Young Girl Dares Not Homeward states its moral message directly through Inspector Tao, appropriately played by Tso Tat-wah, an icon of righteousness ever since the 50s when he starred as Wong Fei-hung’s number one disciple in nearly fifty films. Although the conclusion is unabashedly heavy-handed, it is a welcome relief from the grim mood and shocking violence that precedes it. The Young Girl Dares Not Homeward may be old wine in a new bottle, but it is an excellent vintage that still tastes good even today. Reviewed by Dave Wells NOTE: There are two VCD versions of this film: the version sold as Girl Wanders Around has English subtitles while the version erroneously sold as I’ll Remember You Always does not.