The history of Zhejiang movie in
its real sense dated back to the movie shows by the foreigners in
Zhejiang. At the end of Qing dynasty, some foreigners played films in
Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou and started their movie shops to play western
movies to the local people. Later, the Shanghai and Hangzhou merchants
opened some teahouses and theaters to play movies.
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In the early movie history of
China, the Zhejiang natives occupied about one third of the celebrities in
the movie industry, such as the well-known investors Zhang Shichuan, Zhang
Yuanji and Shao Zuiwen, and the playwright Xia Yan.
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In 1913, the Ningbo native Zhang
Shichuan and the Cantonese Zheng Zhengqiu directed and screened the movie
the Sorehead Couple, which was regarded as the start of the Chinese
feature films. In 1922, Zhang Shichuan established the Movie Star Pictures
and screened the first long feature film The Orphan Saves His
Grandparents. In 1931, the company screened the first wax disc dubbed
sound film Red Peony The Girl Singer that became the foundation
work of the Chinese film art. Cooperated with the enlightened artists,
Zhang Shichuan screened two excellent films of the anti-imperialism and
anti-feudalism themes. During those 15 years, the company had screened
over 200 films and trained a large quantity of the film professionals.
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In
1917, the Haiyan native ZhangYuanji opened the functional film department
in his Commercial Press. In the following 10 years, the department had
screened 28 feature films. In 1925, the Ningbo native Shao Zuiwen opened
the Tianyi Pictures Company together with his brothers Shao Tunren, Shao
Renmei and Shao Yifu. The company had produced over 60 films during the
following 12 years. In 1937 when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, the
company moved to Hong Kong and renamed as the Nan Yang Film Industry
Company and later the Shao's Company in 1950. All of these movie
industrialists contributed positive efforts to the development of the
early national film course.
In
1930s, a lot of advanced Zhejiang native writers, such as Xia Yan,
devoted themselves into the movie industry and wrote many
screenplays. Appointed by the Movie Star Pictures in 1932, Xia Yan,
Ah Ying and Zheng Boqi took the position in the company as the
screenwriters and advisors. In 1933, the subterranean branch of CCP
(Chinese Communist Party) set up a team heading Xia Yan to lead the
left-wing movie movement in the enemy ruled territory. The team had
screened many revolutionary tendency films, such as Violent
Current and Spring Silkworms written by Xia yan and
directed by Cheng Bugao, 24 Hours In Shanghai and Women's
Calls written by Xia Yan and directed by Shen Xiling,
Cosmetics Fair and Futurity written by Xia Yan and
directed by Zhang Shichuan, Boatman's Daughter and
Crossroad written and directed by Shen Xiling, Disaster of
the Graduates, Urban Scenery and Angels of the Street
written and directed by Yuan Muzhi. These films portrayed the
social problem then and were strong in their anti- imperialism and
anti-feudalism standing. These artists put many new art elements in
the films and made innovations in style and form, so these films had
won a lot of audiences in the national revolutionary
epoch.
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Taken in
Shipu of Xiangshan, the locale of the film Fishing Glitter
Melody in Sep. 1933. From left to right: Meng Junmo, Han Langen,
Cai Chusheng, Wang Renmei, Nie Er, Tan Youliu, Luo Peng and Zhou
Guang. |
During the period,
many films drew subject materials directly from the real life of
Zhejiang people and some of them made Zhejiang as exteriors.
Fishing Glitter Melody, directed by Cai Chusheng, music
composed by Nie Er and starring Wang Renmei and Han Langen, made
Shipu (a seaside town in Zhejiang) as the exterior. The film
portrayed the poverty of the piscatorial lives and won the Honored
Award in Moscow Movies Festival of the Soviet Union in 1935. That
was the first ever international movie award won by a Chinese movie.
Boatman's Daughter reflected the misery of the boat-women on
the West Lake and the Hangzhou workers' struggling movements.
Salty Tides made Xiepu and South & North Lake as its
exterior and was about how the salt processing workers struggled
against the feudal system. It was directed by Xu Xinfu, written by
Lou Shiyi, screen played by Ah Ying and acted by Hu Die and Gu
Meijun. Glory of a Mother made Hangzhou its exterior and reflected
the vicissitudes of life during the confliction of the opposite
social classes. It was written by Tian Han, directed by Pu Wanquan
and acted by Jin Yan, Chen Yanyan and Li Zhuozhuo. Tian Han's
another work Triumphant Songs screened part of its exterior
in Zhuji. It showed that the peasants overcame the disasters and the
feudal powers. The films like Tales of Iron-plate Red Tears,
Bores on China Sea and Big Road were all screened in
Zhejiang and with revolutionary tendencies.
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| These films related to
Zhejiang made great contributions to the healthy development of the
Chinese film industry. They conflicted to the low taste movies that
aired feudal thoughts and superstition as well as some foreign
movies. To Summarize, these revolutionary tendency films educated
and influenced the people of the time.
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The
Anti-Japan War burst out in July 1937, inflicted heavy losses on the
Chinese film industry and made the industry experience a great
historical countermarch. Though in the territory of the Kuomintang
regime, there were still some anti-war films like 800 Heroes,
Enthusiastic Spirits and Protecting Our Lands, the
positive film industry fell into depression, especially in the Japan
troop's occupied territory. The screen was taken by some ghost
movies and blue movies like A fire in Honglian Temple and
Charming Corpse, and some Japanese militaristic
films.
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| After the victory of the
World War II, the conflictions of the positive movies and negative
reactionary movies, the American movies and the national movies were
still going on in Zhejiang Movie market. Such great artists like
Shi Dongshan, Cai Chusheng, Tian Han and Chen
Baicheng produced lots of movies like The Long Journey Under
Clouds and Moon, The Spring River Floats to East, The
Beauty and A Myriad Twinkling Lights of City and made
important contributions to the development of the national movie
industry. Especially, the movie The Spring River Floats To East
achieved the record then for a period of continuous 35 days on
screen. Some of the press praised the movie as follows: "Unlike the
bloody and sexy Hollywood movies, this one is a meaningful, positive
movie with high art value and points out the way of the development
of the national movie
industry." | | |
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