Stories Longer in the Telling
After the Commercial Press of Shanghai (CP) established its Motion Picture Division, the new venture's activities were not limited to its own productions: it also made its advanced technology and facilities available to small-scale, independent film studios. Of China’s first three full-length narrative films, all made in 1921, only 《Yan Ruisheng》was a CP production; the other two were made by independents, with CP technical assistance.
Unlike earlier films like 《A Couple in Difficulty》,《Yan Ruisheng》, 《The Sea Oath》and 《Women Skeletons》[aka 《The Ten Sisters》 were more comparable to full-length foreign films of that time, and more intricately plotted, especially the semi-documentary 《Yan Ruisheng》, which proved a massive success with its accurate recreation of a sensational contemporary murder case. The appearance of these three films is generally regarded as marking the end of Chinese cinema’s exploratory phase.
Enthusiasm is Not Enough
At least some of China’s earliest filmmakers, for example Mei Lanfang, came into this new industry from the theater. Their motivation for making the change might have been entirely due to a love of movies, but in every line of endeavour enthusiasm alone is far from sufficient to achieve success. During a recent interview, the publisher of a very successful blog replied to a question about the future of this booming enterprise with the comment that, while enthusiastic amateurs have brought blogging to the popularity it currently enjoys, its future will depend on the degree to which commercial interests become involved. This was indeed the development pattern of early radio, and was also the case with Chinese motion pictures, where commercialization was key to development.
As mentioned earlier, these three productions were the earliest full-length narrative films from Chinese studios. But there is also no question that each was the earliest of its individual genre: 《Yan Ruisheng》was the first docudrama, 《The Sea Oath》 the start of love stories, and 《Women Skeletons》the original detective film. But in a broader sense, 《Yan Ruisheng》 also marked the beginning of commercialization of China’s motion picture industry. So when later generations of film historians assess its impact, they should note that it proves the adage that the prospect of gain can produce good art. Such was the case with 《Yan Ruisheng》.
Chinese writers began making this point more than 20 years ago, but before that time, in the early days of Chinese film, the word “commercial” in relation to motion pictures was employed negatively, almost with guilt. Similarly, there were those who believed that reliance on enthusiasm was the only path to healthy development. Whether it be blogging or motion pictures or whatever, there have always seemed to be those who look upon art motivated by profit as a pernicious influence, profound and far-reaching.
Based on an actual murder case, one which riveted Shanghai at the time, 《Yan Ruisheng》 attracted strong investor interest as the subject of a motion picture. Looking at the news stories of that time makes it very understandable why investors would so readily queue up to finance a film based on this case. Investor confidence must have been high indeed, for they were putting their money into a new and untried industry, with no track record of success to bolster their expectations.
Chinese film theorists believe that all three of these early features were made with their commercial potential in mind, so the romance and detective genres were natural choices. All three catered to the value judgements and aesthetic tastes of the audiences of the time: 《Yan Ruisheng》 and 《Women Skeletons》 ended with the villains getting their just desserts, while 《Sea Oath》 and 《Women Skeletons》 had happy-ever-after endings for the lovers. Also, Yang Xiaozhong 杨小仲 and Guan Haifeng 管海峰, the scenarists of 《Yan Ruisheng》 and 《Women Skeletons》, respectively, imitated the styles of American detective movies, with plot tension and some scenes of action or violence, dramatic elements which further appealed to audiences.
Several years ago, the highly regarded Hong Kong' singer-songwriter Li Zongsheng 李宗盛 (Jonathan Lee) upset some people when he said that "What people want to hear, I sing; what's popular in society, I write about."
So complaints about "commercialization" of ideological products are really nothing more than words, and while the products may really be homilies on obeying moral standards and laws, they can be acceptable when their framework is something that caters to the psychological and physiological needs of the consumer (the audience). Of course, in the 1920s there were some limits: after 《Yan Ruisheng》 another attempt at true-crime docudrama, 《Zhang Xinsheng》张欣生 had exhumation and autopsy scenes so graphic audiences were driven from the theater and the film promptly withdrawn. As the Chinese idiom expresses it, "guo you bu ji" 过犹不及, "too much is as bad as too little."
In the next post, we will look at the second of these three commercial films: 《The Sea Oath》 and its director, all-around auteur Dan Duyu.
