Xu Zhuodai 徐卓呆 was born Xu Fulin 徐傅霖 in Wuxian, Jiangsu. He studied physical education in Japan during his early years, and after returning to China established a gymnastics school, for which he served as schoolmaster. He also wrote short stories for newspapers and magazines, and later became interested in studying drama. Towards the end of the Qing dynasty he participated in the formation of the Spring Willow Society, which staged modern drama, and contributed articles to major newspapers advocating transformation of Chinese drama. He began in movies when he and director Wang Youyou 汪优游 partnered in founding the Kaixin Film Company, for which Xu became chief writer as well as co-director and actor. Kaixin was seriously damaged financially during the worldwide depression, and was one of the smaller Shanghai studios forced out of business by the Japanese attack on Shanghai in 1932. After the studio folded, Xu turned to writing full time and published a best-selling novel Where Can We Run?, which advocated rallying to the nation's crisis. He returned to movies in 1934 as a writer for the Yihua studio, then in 1936 joined Mingxing in the same capacity. During the "Orphan Island" period, he worked for the Guohua film studio. Among his most popular films during this time were the《Dr. Li》domestic comedy series. After the war, he concentrated on writing, among other works authoring a text on filmmaking and his memoirs.
[Xu Zhuodai's filmography continues after the bump]
1925:
Temporary Residence (writer, co-director)
Love's Fertilizer (co-director, actor)
Cloak of Invisibility (co-director, actor)
1926:
Mr. Wife (writer)
The Red Rose (co-director)
The Magic Stick (actor)
The Moving Silver Case (writer, co-director, actor)
The Living Sign (writer, co-director)
The Strange Doctor (writer, co-director, actor)
Fairy Maiden (actor)
Living Buddha I (actor)
1927:
Living Buddha II,III (writer)
The Magic Sword I,II (writer, director)
1929:
The Three Mutes (director)
1934:
A Fairy Maiden in the Human World (actor)
1935:
The Night Before the Wedding (actor)
1936:
Brothers (lyricist)
1937:
Mother's Secrets (writer)
1938:
Gold (writer)
1939:
Out of Hell (writer, lyricist)
Dr. Li and Miss Tang (writer)
1940:
Dr. Li and Dongfang Shuo (writer)
Dr. Li and the Mummy (writer)
The Emerald Hairpin (adaptation)
The Dissolute Emperor (writer)
1941:
A Soul at Night (writer)
A Female Corpse (writer)
1942:
Precious Love (writer)
Test Wife (writer)
