Introduction to the shooting of star film company

Of the first four experimental films of Star, three are funny films, and the fourth is the so-called current affairs film. They are all edited by Zheng Qiuzheng and directed by Zhang Shichuan. The first one is called A Trip to China. At that time, the film starring Chaplin was popular in Shanghai. Zhang Shichuan wanted the funny king to earn some money for himself, so he asked Zheng Qiuzheng to make up a story: suppose Chaplin arrived in Shanghai and made a series of jokes because he was a stranger. Chaplin was played by an Englishman, Richard Bell, who used to be a clown in the "New World" circus.

The second comedy was also edited by Zheng Qiuzheng, called "Throwing Fruit". Describe a fruit merchant who falls in love with a doctor's daughter. In order to please the doctor, he deliberately broke the stairs of a club and created a large number of patients for the doctor. Doctors get rich, and couples get better. Businessmen and doctors are decorated by Zhengqiuzheng and Zheguzheng. The daughter's name is Yu Ying.

The third movie is called "Make a scene in Heaven". This time, not only Chaplin, but also Locke (someone translated it as "Nerve Six" and was also a famous funny star in the United States at that time) met in the theater and made a scene. The content is similar to Zhang Shichuan's bicycle in trouble, but it is even more ridiculous. Chaplin and Roque are fake foreign devils, played by Zhe Guzheng and Yan Zhongying.

Zhang Xinsheng, the fourth current affairs film, was written by Zheng Qiuzheng based on a case of killing his father in Pudong at that time. Not long ago, there was another murder in Shanghai. Yan, an employee of a foreign firm, killed a prostitute. This incident shocked the whole of Shanghai. Yan's friend Chen Shouyin used the dead to make a fortune, organized the "China Shadow Play Research Association" and made the film "Shooting Yan". Chen Shouyin played Yan himself, and invited a young lady from Lianying Wang to play it. It was a big stunt. When the film came out, it was in full swing. Zhang Shichuan was so excited that he decided to make a current affairs film. He worked so hard in this film "Zhang Xinsheng" that he photographed the cruel process of the murderer's killing incisively and vividly. As a result, even the reactionary authorities found it too exciting and banned it because it was "inhuman and could not bear to look directly at it."

But it turns out that three funny short films are still inferior to American comedies, and no one watches them. Zhang Xinsheng was banned again, so everyone decided to go back and try Zheng Qiuzheng's idea of "full-length drama". As a result, orphans came into being to save their ancestors.

The Orphan Save the Ancestor is the first official production of Star. It can also be said that with it, the real "Star Film Co., Ltd." came into being. This is a family ethics film based on Zheng Qiuzheng's idea of "educating" the society, directed by Zhang Shichuan. Yang Shouchang, a millionaire who wrote stories, listened to the slanderous remarks of his nephew Dao Pei and drove away the pregnant widow. Ten years later, Wei Ru's son Yu Pu grew up and studied in a school run by Yang Shouchang. By this time, Yang had discovered that Dao Pei was misbehaving and no longer trusted him. Dao Pei bears a grudge and wants to kill his uncle and seize the property. On this day, it happened that Yupu visited, the child bravely saved his grandfather, and the family was reunited. Wei Ru felt that the injustice was caused by the school, so he set up a compulsory school with half of his property to recruit children from poor families. Such a story seems very old-fashioned today, but at that time it was in line with the psychology of ordinary people in society. Therefore, when the film came out, it was a sensation.

Before The Orphan Save the Ancestor, the "star" had no basic actors. Except Zheng Qiuzheng and Zhe Guzheng, the rest of the actors were hired temporarily to help. This film needs four main characters. Xiaoqiu, the son of Zhe Guzheng and Zhengqiu Zhengzheng (he is only a teenager this year and just played Yu Pu), plays the role of three grandparents and grandchildren, and specially invited the role of Dao Pei in the trip of Funny King to China and Zhang Xinsheng. Haven't landed yet. Zhang Shichuan went around and set off.

Speaking of finding actors, Zhang Shichuan really spent a lot of time. However, his approach is a bit like gambling, which always brings great risks. For example, Xianzhai Wang is an optometrist in an optical company. He is honest and upright. Somehow Zhang Shichuan felt that he was full of facial expressions and could take pictures. Every time I go to get glasses, I persuade him to resign from the company and become an actor. Xianzhai Wang was finally pulled in by him. In "The Orphan Save the Ancestor", he played Dao Pei very well. From then on, Zhang Shichuan specially sent him to play the villain role. Later, he accompanied Hu Die in dozens of films and became a famous "screen villain".

Now, there is only one corner left. After some calculation, Zhang Shichuan took a fancy to a girl who worked as a typist in a tobacco company. Her name is Hanlun Wang. The girl was fashionable in dress and fluent in English. She was a rare modern girl at that time. It seems a bit risky for a modern girl to play a widowed wife and mother. Hanlun Wang appeared on the screen for the first time, but she completed her role well, creating a gentle and tough old woman for early China films. She starred in the first three "plot" feature films of the star company, Orphan Save the Ancestor, Jade Pear Soul and Weak Girl. Since then, Hanlun Wang has also become a red star among the early female stars in China films.