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The Movie Theater in Republican China

History of the Movie Theater

In short: a chaotic situation, films are associated with other types of entertainment such as dancing, music hall, opera and theater. Cinema houses are in main cities and provincial capitals but the overall number of movie theaters in China is low. The arrival of sound movie in 1927-1929 changes the all situation.

From 1905 to 1926: foreigners own most movie theaters

The Chinese urbanites learn to adapt themselves to this new kind of entertainment. The first screenings were in teahouses, gardens, and outdoors tents. Men and women set separately. Feature films are shown amongst variety shows; chained sequence plays.

Foreign companies are controlling the distribution business; they want to build cinema theaters to show their productions.
Such is the case with the building of the first Chinese movie theater, the Ping'an (Pavilion Cinema), foreign owned and for foreign patrons. By end of 1926, there are 156 cinemas in China, majority owned by foreigners.

See slides 1, 2

Slide_Movie_Theater_01
 Slide_Movie_Theater_02

Between 1926 and 1929: development of theater chains

The fierce competition between studios leads to the necessity to build more cinemas in order to have them distribute Chinese films: this is the beginning of theater chains.

The first theater chain is created in spring 1926. It is the Central Movie Company (Zhongyang), owned by Zhang Changfu and Zhang Juchuan. They leased five theater in Shanghai, one in Hankou from a Spanish borned millionnaire, Ramos, who owned through its company (Ramos Amusement Comapny) several theaters in Shanghai. Shanghai theaters leased by the Zhongyang are: Carter, Embassy, Empire, Victoria, Wanguo, Palace (Zhongyang) and New Palace. This chain is affiliated with Mingxing Film Company.

A strict hierarchy exists between these movie theaters: The Palace is the most important; it shows silent movies from Chinese companies and later speaking movie second run. Other cinemas show second, third, fourth run.

See slides 3, 4, 5

Slide_Movie_Theater_03 Slide_Movie_Theater_04
Slide_Movie_Theater_05

In Beijing, another chain is created by Luo Mingyou: the Huabei companie owns over thirty cinema in Northern China but also in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jinan, Qingdao and Guangzhou. All started with the Beijing Theater Zhenguang, opened by Luo in 1918 as a luxurious, modern cinema for Chinese. Luo idea is to build Chinese theater owned and run by Chinese for Chinese.

See slides 6, 7

Slide_Movie_Theater_01 Slide_Movie_Theater_02

Tianyi Film Company creates its own chain for Southeast Asia. In 1931 the company runs 139 cinemas in Singapour, Kuala Lumpur, Malysia. Mainly foreign films are shown in these cinemas.

By the end of 1920's these Chinese chains own 25% of the cinemas.

The arrival of sound movie

The first sound movies are screened in 1926 in Shanghai with material from foreign companies. No cinema has its own material.
The Embassy is the first cinema to get sound system; it shows in February 1929 foreign speaking films.

By the end of 1929 the Shanghai big cinema, owned by foreign companies, can show foreign movies with sound. But until 1935 the majority of Chinese films are still silent. Small theater cannot afford the sound system.

In 1930: there are 240 cinemas in China and 40 only have sound system (by comparison, in the USA in 1931 there are 13880 cinema with sound). Shanghai by itself had 49 cinemas.

See slides 8, 9

Slide_Movie_Theater_01 Slide_Movie_Theater_02

During the Shanghai war some important facilities were destroyed however, like the Odeon. In 1934, due to the war and also the change in the economy, Shanghai had only 36 movie theaters, but all but 5 were equipped with sound system. In fact, 1934 was the year of the generalization of sound, in the production and distribution. In Shanghai, Beijing and in the main cities of Republican China, Mandarin became the common language in the films.

See slides 10, 11, 12

Slide_Movie_Theater_01 Slide_Movie_Theater_02 Slide_Movie_Theater_02

The situation was different in Hong Kong and Guangzhou where Cantonese was also common in films. In 1931, Hong Kong had 7 cinema screening speaking foreign movies and 5 screening Chinese films in Cantonese and Mandarin. Guangdong was another very dynamic part of China for cinema: in 1934, there were 11 cinemas in Guangzhou, and a total of 37 in all Guangdong.

See slide 13

Slide_Movie_Theater_01

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Last update Wednesday 27 May 2015 by G. Foliot