A Brief History of Hong Kong Cinema to 1988 – Film Studios and Personalities

HF: Paul Fonoroff, well known Hong Kong film critic and historian, wrote, A Brief History of Hong Kong Cinema. I believe it was published in 1988, in Renditions, a literary magazine published by the Research Centre for Translation (RCT) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The copy of the article I link below comes from the CUHK library.

Of particular interest to us, I think, is where film studios are mentioned, which is where of course films were largely made. They are thus part of HK’s industrial history.

I have extracted brief details from Mr Fonoroff’s article recording important dates and landmarks in HK film production but concentratng on film studios. The comments within square brackets are mine. Please note the images do not come from the article.

1896 Lumière Studio camera crew visited HK [from China?]

1909 HK’s first film production by Shanghai’s Asia Film Studios –Stealing the [or “a”?] Roast Duck
The Guardian – Quest for the long lost roast duck 2009 article

1913 American, Benjamin Brosky and Li Minwei co-founded HK’s first film studio, Huamei (Chinese-American). [Brosky appears to have been actually called Brodsky but has also been written about as Brasky and Polasky.]

1914 While the firm ended up providing a wide range of shipping-related services, its original business was in provisions and one of its early employees was Law Wing-cheung (羅永祥), who introduced his friend Lai Man-wai, the head of a local acting troupe, to Benjamin Brodsky, a Russian American filmmaker who came to HK to make movies on a ship which Wang Kee provided provisions for in 1914. Together, Lai and Brodsky made the first dramatic film produced in Hong Kong – “Chuang Chi Tests His Wife”(莊子試妻)and launched the HK film industry. Wong Tai-chiu (黃大釗), the labor union leader and director of the pro-Beijing Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, also worked as a foreman for Wang Kee in his younger days in the early 1920s.

York Lo: Wang Kee(宏記) – A Century of Service in the Port of Hong Kong

1922 Li Minwei formed HK’s first Chinese-owned film company, China Sun Company

1924 China Sun produced HK’s first full-length dramatic film, Rouge. The studio was in Ngan Mok (Silver Screen) Street, Tin Hau, but because of water shortages the film was made in Guangzhou.

1925-26 The Great Strike closed a number of fledgling film companies including China Sun’s studio in HK

1925- 30 Production moved to Guangzhou and no films were made in HK during this period

1930 Li Beihai founded the Hong Kong Film Company

1930 The merger of Li Minwei’s China Sun with North China studio headed by Luo Mingyou, along with two other studios, to form United Photoplay Service

1931 A HK studio of United Photoplay  was set up with Li Beihai as studio head

1933 The first Cantonese language talkie, Platinum Dragon, was made in Shanghai, not HK, by Tianyi Studio, run by the eldest of the Shaw brothers, Shao Zuiweng

1935 Grandview Film Company had begun in the USA funded by Chinese-Americans. In this year it moved its base to HK.

Around this time the other important HK studio was Nanyang, Tianyi’s HK operation

Pre-WW2 Events in Shanghai and China generally led to an exodus of film talent to HK. This section of the article needs to be read to absorb the complexities of the film industry in both China and HK during this period. Sound films becoming the norm pre and post war led to a huge increase in the number of fims being made in HK with dozens of small studios opening “overnight”.

1941 Dec – Grandview studios and other film facilities were bombed. Film production stopped in HK until 1946

Post WW2 The largest film studio was Great China. Smaller ones were Yonghua and Nan Kuen.

Late 1940s to mid-1960s Cantonese film studios, including Sun Luen and Chung Luen,concentrated on cheap and quickly made films. Mandarin studios were, Great Wall, Feng Huang, Motion Pictures & General Investment (MP&GI) and Shaw Brothers

Cheng Keng Chuan York Lo: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, one of most active property developers in Hong Kong was Cheng Keng-chuan, whose property companies were involved in landmark projects such as Alhambra Building on Nathan Road and Evergreen Villa on Stubbs Road in partnership with other developers such Kwan Kai-ming, Tseng Cheng and Chui Yu-chuen covered earlier in the article about Kiu Fung Investment.

Born in 1911, Cheng was a native of Weiyang in Guangdong province. Little information is available about the early years of Cheng Keng-chuen – an individual of the same name is listed as producer of three films – Wife in the Morning, Sister in law at Night (1947, starring Pak Suet-sin), Prostituting to Raise an Orphan (1947, starring Cheung Yuet-yee and Sun Ma Sze-tsang) and Poor Daddy (1952, starring Pak Yin and Cheung Wood-yau). The first two movies were directed by Hung Chung-ho (1902-1963), famous director and grandfather of famous action star Sammo Hung and both were produced by Universe Films and distributed by Lifu Films (利孚影業). After he made his fortune in the real estate business, Cheng also served as director of several leading charitable organizations such as Lok Sin Tong and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (1960-61).

Full article containing the above – Cheng Keng-chuen (鄭鏡泉) – Developer behind Alhambra Building (平安大厦) and Evergreen Villa (松柏新邨)

1952 The remaining Shanghai studios were nationalized

1950s and 1960s The largest HK studios were Shaw Brothers and MP&GI

York Lo: In December 1957, Cheng incorporated Alhambra Investment Co Ltd (平安置業) in partnership with the trios behind Kiu Fung Investment – Kwan Kai-ming, Chui Yue-chuen and Tseng Cheng and acquired the landmark Alhambra Theatre (平安戲院) at 383-389 Nathan Road, the first luxurious theater in Kowloon which was originally opened in 1934 by HK Amusements controlled by Lo Kan, the cinema king of southern China.

Full article containing the above – Cheng Keng-chuen (鄭鏡泉) – Developer behind Alhambra Building (平安大厦) and Evergreen Villa (松柏新邨)

1964 [?] MP&GI became Cathay which closed in 1972

1960 to 1971 Cantonese films produced dropped dramatically

Early 1970s The new film industry giant was Golden Harvest [this photo shows Golden Studios Ltd which I believe was the same company?]

1970s to late 1980s The articles mentions HK made films but no studios are mentioned

1988 The year the article was, I think, published.

This Indhhk article was first published on 27th September 2014.

Sources:

1. A Brief History of Hong Kong Cinema  Paul Fonoroff, Renditions, CUHK, 1988

See:

1. Hong Kong’s film and TV industry after 40 years of China’s opening up and reform: once ‘Hollywood of the East’, does future now lie in being mainland’s supporting cast? SCMP 30th November 2018
2. New deal opens up mainland China to Hong Kong film industry, but Chief Executive Carrie Lam says it comes with conditions SCMP 16th April 2019
3. A chance to revive Hong Kong’s film industry SCMP 23rd April 2019
4. From Suzie Wong to Batman – how Hollywood studios have used Hong Kong’s distinctive cityscape to bring a splash of colour to the silver screen SCMP 22nd June 2019
5. Hong Kong Film Locations

Related Indhhk articles:

1. Film Studios, Hong Kong – dates, locations, layout, founders…
2. Golden Harvest Film Studio – Diamond Hill
3. The Aircraft Maintenance Industry in Hong Kong – post WW2
   Run Run Shaw’s film studio complex at Clearwater Bay re-erected the PAMAS hangar at Kai Tak airport after it was dismantled when the new runway pointing out to sea was brought into service.