Song of the White Orchid [白兰之歌] (1939)

This is the first in the Continental Trilogy of films set in China and stars Li Xianglan (aka Yoshiko Yamaguchi) and Japanese matinee idol Kazuo Hasegawa. It's a co-production between Toho and the Manchurian Man'ei company (on which see here). In contrast to the stage-bound Shanghai of the later China Nights (the next in the…

The films of Wu Yonggang

Wu Yonggang (born 1907) is famous as the director of his first film The Goddess, starring Ruan Lingyu. This is justly regarded as one of the best ever Chinese movies and indeed a classic of silent cinema. But who has seen any of his other films? In fact, based on Douban, Wu directed 34 films…

Crossroads [十字街头] (1937)

Crossorads tells the story of a small group of young men and women struggling to survive in 1930s Shanghai or as the film would have it 'at the crossroads' in their lives. After a montage of city sights, the film opens on the riverside where Xu [Yi Ming] is contemplating suicide. His fried Zhao [Zhao…

Life and Death [生死同心] (1936)

An interesting left-wing film of the 1930s although it does not have the subtlety of the best of the genre. Set in 1926 during the Warlord era, political prisoner Li Tao [Yuan Muzhi who directed Scenes of City Life and Street Angel] is in prison. When a fire breaks out, he takes advantage of the…

Two Manchurian films from the 1940s: Winter Jasmine [迎春花] (1942) & My Nightingale [私の鶯] (1944)

The Manchukuo Film Association Corporation  (or Man'ei) is a particularly interesting creation in Chinese film history. Established by the Japanese in the colony of Manchuria in 1937, Man'ei made films in both Chinese and Japanese using cast and crew from both countries. But, with limited exceptions, it has been largely ignored in the history of…

Mother’s Happiness [儿孙福] (1926)

There is, in fact, very little maternal happiness in this film, one of the earliest extant Chinese movies (or rather largely extant). Like many Chinese films of the time (or at least the surviving versions), the film has English and Chinese intertitles. The film opens as the mother of four [Zhou Wenzhu who appeared in…

Li Lili in two wartime movies: Orphan Island Paradise [孤島天堂] (1939) & Storm 0n the Border [塞上风云] (1940)

Li Lili is perhaps most famous for her roles in several films of the first Golden Age of Chinese cinema in the 1930s, especially those directed by Sun Yu (see below for a full filmography and links to reviews). Unlike many stars, she did not continue to make films in occupied Shanghai after the Japanese…

Song at Midnight [夜半歌声] (1937)

Song at Midnight is often described as the first Chinese horror movie. It is inspired by the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera. The film was a huge success at the time. Presumably the fact that there is no supernatural element helped it to get through the KMT censorship which discouraged .superstition The film…

Along the Sungari River [松花江上] (1947)

Along the Sungari (or Songhua) River is an interesting example of the complexity of Chinese film making in the period from 1931 to 1949 (or even the early 1950s when privately owned studios were finally abolished). After the Japanese colonised the north-east (Manchuria) in 1931, they set up a film studio (Man'ei) which made a…

An Amorous History of the Silver Screen [银幕艳史] & Two Stars of the Milky Way [银汉双星) (1931)

Two striking self-reflective films about Chinese cinema made by two of the main film companies at the time Mingxing and Lianhua. These films mark the end of the initial period of Chinese cinema before the democratisation and politicisation of cinema which was to come in the period from 1932-37. In the coming years, films were…