Ross Hunter

Set in San Francisco's Chinatown in the late 1950's. Pretty Mei Li has stowed away on a Chinese steamer with her professor father to become a mail-order bride for nightclub owner Sammy Fong. Sammy, however, is completely infatuated with saucy showgirl Linda Low, who is intent on making him jealous enough to propose to her. As Sammy sets out to assign his marriage contract (and Mei Li) to Wang Ta, a handsome college student living in Chinatown, complications,...

1934 version: Two single mothers join together to form a successful business, but find that material success does nothing to stabilize their personal lives. 1959 version: Two single mothers, a down-on-her-luck actress and a homeless woman, attempt to find happiness for themselves and their daughters.

Tells the story of an uptight interior decorator who must share a party line with a laid-back playboy. But the real connection is made when the two meet and he starts wooing her with late-night calls while pretending to be someone else.