HERE COME THE BRIDES: MARRIAGE, CHINESE STYLE (TV)
Summary
One in this series about the men of Bridal Veil Mountain logging camp in Seattle, who import 100 eligible brides as a cure for their loneliness. Jeremy accidentally finds himself in the middle of an argument between a Captain Hale and one of his passengers, a Chinese woman named Toy Quan. Hale wants his fee for transporting her, but she claims her fiancée, picked for her via a pre-arranged marriage, will pay for her. However, her fiancée has not arrived and Hale threatens to sell Toy Quan to a brothel if payment isn't received. Jeremy pays the captain and Toy Quan is left with him. He takes her to the nearby mission to wait for her fiancée, but she immediately sneaks out and hides on Jeremy's wagon as he rides back to the cabin. Soon he, Jason, and Joshua discover Toy Quan's presence. She reveals that according to Chinese traditions, she now "belongs" to Jeremy since he paid for her passage. It seems she cannot be convinced otherwise despite Jeremy's protestations. Jason has Joshua drive Toy Quan into Tacoma to look for her fiancée. Meanwhile, Toy Quan's actual fiancée, Lin Sung, prepares to leave; he did not arrive to claim her on purpose since he does not feel comfortable marrying a woman he has never met. However, the members of the "society" he belongs to, led by a man named Chi Pei, disagree with his decision and hold him at knifepoint. Jeremy tries to pull Candy out of a meeting of the "Ladies' Betterment League" to explain the situation with Toy Quan, but Toy Quan escapes Joshua's custody and manages to find Jeremy. The assembled ladies ask them to explain, but they misunderstand and believe that Jeremy "purchased" her as a prostitute. They are aghast and Candy takes it particularly hard, no longer wishing to speak to Jeremy. Lin Sung meets with Chi Pei. Despite Lin Sung's distaste for their traditions, Chi Pei insists they must be upheld, and to do so he must find and kill the man who claimed Toy Quan. The townsfolk all insist that Toy Quan must leave town to avoid attracting further trouble. Jason decides that they will put Toy Quan up at the ladies' dormitory for the time being until her fiancée can be located. Lottie talks with Candy, trying to convince her that she's wrong about Jeremy and that Toy Quan is not to blame for this series of events. Candy does her best to make Toy Quan feel welcome and apologizes to her. Later that night, Toy Quan sneaks out of the dormitory to find Jeremy at his cabin. He yells at her and she starts crying; Jeremy apologizes and comforts her. However, Jason, Candy, and Biddie come upon this scene and believe Jeremy was trying to take advantage of Toy Quan. Outraged, Candy and Biddie take Toy Quan away. Eventually Joshua finds Chi Pei, who attempts to explain what happened with Lin Sung. Chi Pei orders his men to go to Seattle to get Toy Quan back, and Joshua realizes they mean to kill Jeremy. They knock him unconscious before he can stop them. The next morning, Toy Quan explains what happened the previous night to Candy and gets her to apologize to Jeremy for drawing her own conclusions. The three of them come to much more amenable terms. A couple of ladies from town spy on Jeremy and attempt to convince Aaron to arrest him, but Aaron points out Jeremy has broken no laws as of yet. Supper is prepared at the Bolt residence and Jeremy steps out while Chi Pei's men approach from the shadows. They try to get Lin Sung to kill Jason, whom they mistake for Jeremy. However, Lin Sung can't bring himself to do it and so one of them makes the attempt and misses. Soon a chase ensues and Lin Sung and the other men are captured by Jeremy. Lin Sung is brought back to the Bolt house, where he explains everything to them. They decide not to throw him in jail and Lin Sung begins to regret his decision not to pick up Toy Quan in the first place. He cannot act since his traditions dictate that Toy Quan belongs to Jeremy, but Jason gets an idea to fix that. Jeremy takes Toy Quan down to the river and "accidentally" pushes her in. Lin Sung bursts out from hiding and "saves" her, thus redirecting her loyalties to him. All seems to have proceeded according to plan, but the two ladies from town are secretly watching and run off to inform Aaron that Jeremy has committed murder. While celebrating the successful plan at the saloon, Aaron arrives and reluctantly arrests Jeremy for the "murder," although Jason promises to clear it up quickly by showing him Toy Quan alive and well. Jeremy is put in jail with a cell next to Chi Pei's men. They reveal that Chi Pei is holding Joshua hostage and will kill him unless they are released. Jason asks Lin Sung to help prove Jeremy's innocence; Lin Sung is reluctant but Jason convinces him that he owes the Bolt family a favor. While on the way, Candy informs Jason of Joshua's plight. Toy Quan is sent back to town while Jason and Lin Sung ride out to rescue him. They find Joshua and Jason gets a hold of Chi Pei, threatening to kill him. Lin Sung comes up behind him and apparently knocks him unconscious, but it is all a ruse: since Lin Sung has "saved" Chi Pei, he asks that the Bolt brothers be released and left alone by Chi Pei, and he is forced to comply. Everyone returns to Seattle to have a party, and Jeremy pulls Candy aside to clear up their recent misunderstandings. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: April 9, 1969 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:52:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:57615
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1968-1970
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Bob Claver … Executive Producer
- Stan Schwimmer … Producer
- Paul Junger Witt … Producer
- Richard Kinon … Director
- N. Richard Nash … Developed by
- Skip Webster … Writer
- Alan Marcus … Based on a story by
- Warren Barker … Music by
- Jack Keller … Theme Music by
- Hugo Montenegro … Theme Music by
- Ernie Sheldon … Theme Music by
- The New Establishment … Theme Music by
- Robert Brown … Cast, Jason Bolt
- Bobby Sherman … Cast, Jeremy Bolt
- David Soul … Cast, Joshua Bolt
- Bridget Hanley … Cast, Candy Pruitt
- Mark Lenard … Cast, Aaron Stemple
- Joan Blondell … Cast, Lottie Hatfield
- Henry Beckman … Cast, Captain Clancey
- Susan Tolsky … Cast, Biddie Cloom
- Linda Dangcil … Cast, Toy Quan
- Bruce Lee … Cast, Lin Sung
- Richard Loo … Cast, Chi Pei
- Weaver Levy … Cast, Kang
- Helen Kleeb … Cast, Lucy
- Hideo Imamura … Cast, Chu
- Jeff De Benning … Cast, Captain Hale
- Myra de Groot … Cast, Maude
- Nora Marlowe … Cast, Mrs. Bronson
- Jack Perkins … Cast, Donovan