Li Zuyong, the owner of Yonghua Film Company
At the end of the 40s of the 20th century, there were two films in the Hong Kong film industry that were called "super historical blockbusters" at that time, one was "The Soul of the Nation" (1948), which was based on the national hero Wen Tianxiang, and the other was "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" (1948), which reflected the late Qing dynasty.
These two films are huge, with each film costing more than HK$1 million. At that time, the million Hong Kong dollars was a staggering amount, about 200 million in current currency terms.
The front of the Hong Kong version of the movie "The Soul of the Nation" (1948).
The lineup of writers, directors and actors of the two films is unprecedentedly prosperous, and almost all the top talents in the film industry have been recruited.
In terms of actors, the main actors of "The Soul of the Nation" are roughly as follows: Liu Qiong (1913-2002), Yuan Meiyun (1917-1999), Wang Xichun (1919-2006), Sun Jinglu (1923-1989), Gu Only (1915-1970), Tao Jin (1916-1986), Gao Zhanfei (1904-1969), Gu Yelu (1916-2009), Qiao Qi (1921-2007), Yin Xiucen ( 1911-1979), Han Langen (1909-1982) et al.
Stills from the movie "The Soul of the Nation" (1948), from left: Liu Qiong, Tao Jin, Liao Fan
The main lineup of "The Secret History of the Qing Dynasty" is roughly as follows: Zhou Xuan (1920-1957), Shu Shu (1916-2015), Tang Ruoqing (1918-1983), Xu Li (1917-1998), Luo Wei (1918-1996), Xu Xinyuan (1886-1947), Chen Qi (1922-1965) and others.
Cover of the brochure of the film "The Secret History of the Qing Dynasty" (1948).
After the establishment of the company, the three major box office actresses at that time, Zhou Xuan, Bai Yang (1920-1996), and Li Lihua (1924-2017) were signed to the company, and there was also a huge team of writers, directors, and actors, plus a special "choreographer committee", with Ouyang Yuqian (1889-1962) as the chairman, Gu Zhongyi (1903-1965), Zhou Yibai (1900-1977), Yao Ke ( 1905-1991), Colling (1909-2000), etc., were members of the committee.
A still from the film "Tears of Mountains and Rivers" (1948) shot by Bai Yang (seated) for the "Yonghua" company
At that time, the company had a dedicated studio in Kowloon Tong, with two large recording studios, a post-processing center, and a variety of advanced equipment imported from the United States.
And who is the "behind-the-scenes" boss who presided over the filming of these two films?
This person is Li Zuyong (1903-1959), known as Hong Kong's "film giant".
Li Zuyong took a photo with his wife on his 50th birthday
【Printing Merchant Investing in Films】
Li Zuyong's ancestral home is Ningbo, Zhejiang. His father, Li Zhenqing, ran the printing industry and started by printing banknotes and became a business giant.
Li Zuyong graduated from Nankai University in China and Elmhurst College in the United States. When he returned, he inherited his father's business.
Li Zuyong's mother is the sister of Wang Kemin, a prominent figure in the Beiyang government, ranked seventh, and is known as the "Seventh Aunt".
In the mid-to-late 40s of the 20th century, Li Zuyong came to Hong Kong from the United States with a huge amount of money, intending to invest in the textile industry.
"Producer King" Zhang Shankun
He often appeared in the "Deji Club" where celebrities gathered, and in the club, he was introduced by two friends, Xu Shihao and Zhong Kecheng. He met Jang Shankun (1905-1957), who was known as the "producer king" in the past.
At that time, Zhang Shankun was running a small-scale independent production, planning to spend 400,000 Hong Kong dollars to make a Chinese film.
The budget of 400,000 Hong Kong dollars was 100,000 yuan each from Xu Shihao and Zhong Kecheng, and 100,000 yuan from Zhang Shankun, and they wanted to ask Li Zuyong, a big businessman in the printing industry, to help.
After the inauguration ceremony of "Yonghua" Shed C, from left: Zhang Guoxing, Zhong Qiwen, Li Zuyong
For this reason, Zhang Shankun invited Li Zuyong to visit the "Great China" studio on Pak Tai Street in Kowloon, and prepared to rent a studio on this set to shoot films.
After visiting the studio, Lee Jo-young became very interested in making movies. He believes that although Zhang Shankun is a talent, their small-scale filmmaking concept is not very interesting, and if they want to do it, they have to do it with great fanfare.
He asked Zhang Shankun: "If you want to set up a film company and do it seriously, how much investment do you need?"
"At least 2 million Hong Kong dollars!" Zhang Shankun replied.
At the inauguration ceremony of "Yonghua" C shed, Li Zuyong (front row) delivered a speech
Li Zuyong had money on hand, so he changed his original intention and decided to invest in the film industry.
[Founded "Yonghua" recruitment]
The names of the commercial organizations run by Li Zuyong in Shanghai are all based on the character "Yong", so if he wants to start a film company, he must do the same.
When he said this meaning, he immediately got Zhang Shankun's approval, and Zhang Shankun also proposed to use two "Hua" characters under the word "Yong".
"Producer King" Zhang Shankun
There are many film companies in China that use the word "Hua" as their names, such as "Lianhua", "Yihua", and "Guohua" in Shanghai, "Xinhua", "Huaxin", and "Huacheng" that Zhang Shankun himself once operated, and "Greater China" in Hong Kong.
The signboard of "Yonghua" was set, and Li Zuyong thought of using "pagoda" as a trademark, and the tower was nine stories high, which means that it rose step by step and went straight to the clouds.
Li Zuyong has a villa in Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, which has become a temporary preparatory office for Yonghua Film Company, where he, Zhang Shankun and others plan silver plans day and night.
Li Zuyong and Gülen, the heroine of "Flying Tiger General" (1956).
While they hurried up the registration and business registration, they also searched for a production site and applied to the government for a factory site.
Hong Kong is a city of land, and it is easy to lease land, but there are many procedures to buy land.
To this end, Lee wrote a letter to the then Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Alexander Grantham, stating to him the plans and prospects for developing the film industry in Hong Kong, and requesting the Governor's support.
The development of the film industry is very good for the future prosperity of Hong Kong. Therefore, the Governor of Hong Kong quickly issued instructions and handed over the application of the "Yonghua" Company for land to the Land Administration Bureau for handling.
Lee Jo-young (right) and director Lee Young-won
Eventually, they finally secured a plot of land in Kowloon Tsai.
The land was originally leased from the government by a Portuguese woman, who used it to grow vegetables for her leisure. The two parties went through the procedures for the transfer of land lease.
However, the Land Administration Bureau put forward an additional condition: if this land is needed for municipal construction in the future, the government has the right to take it back, and another piece of land will be allocated to "Yonghua" to relocate the factory, and "Yonghua" shall not be prevented from demolishing it.
Li Zuyong had no choice but to accept this condition. Next came the construction of the project.
In 1955, the first on the left was Chen Hou, the second on the left was Li Zuyong, and the second on the right was Gülen
Soon, Hong Kong's largest film studio was established in Kowloon Chai. The two connected studios were 75 meters long and 26 meters wide, and could be separated or connected as needed.
In addition, there are 12 offices, 10 dressing rooms, a storage room, a printing room, a screening room, and a film storage warehouse.
The studio's photographic equipment was ordered from Britain and the United States.
Director Bu Wancang
At the same time, Zhang Shankun drew up a list and decided to hire Bu Wancang (1903-1974) as the chief director, and entrusted Bu to recruit talents. For the position of factory director, Zhang Shankun hired his old colleague Lu Yuanliang (1911-2014).
As a result, Bu Wancang and Lu Yuanliang flew back and forth between Hong Kong and Shanghai to recruit troops, and the result was: to wipe out all the big names in the film industry at that time.
[Filming a huge film is magnificent]
After the establishment of "Yonghua", the first drama to be filmed was the super blockbuster "Soul of the Nation".
The back of the Hong Kong version of the movie "The Soul of the Nation" (1948).
For "The Soul of the Nation", Li Zuyong invested 1 million yuan as a production fee.
Preparations began in July 1947, including actors, costumes, props, etc., and filming began in March 1948.
The lyrics of the theme song of "The Soul of the Nation" are based on Wen Tianxiang's "Song of Righteousness". score, Li Zuyong advocated public solicitation.
After the advertisement for the theme song of "Soul of the Nation" was published in newspapers at home and abroad, more than 1000 entries were received, and through the selection, the work of Fan Jisen, a professor at the National Music School at the time, was adopted, and he received a very considerable remuneration for it.
Stills from the movie "The Soul of the Nation" (1948), Wen Tianxiang sitting on the ground is played by Liu Qiong
The soundtrack of "The Soul of the Nation" was performed by Professor Zhang Zhengfan, head of the "Yonghua" Music Section. There are a total of five musicians in the "Yonghua" music department, and they have worked hard to make the music of "The Soul of the Nation" have a majestic momentum between heaven and earth.
The music of the whole film is played by two bands, Chinese and Western. Most of the musicians in the band are from places such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, and they are all Chinese.
Among them, there is a Shanghai pipa master, who travels back and forth between Shanghai and Hong Kong by plane.
Stills from the movie "The Soul of the Nation" (1948), Yuan Meiyun
As long as the performers are of high level, Li Zuyong does not care about spending money.
The film "Soul of the Nation" is known to everyone before it is released. With the completion of "The Soul of the Nation", the preparations for another super blockbuster "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" are also in full swing in the "Yonghua" company.
The script of "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" was adapted by the author Yao Ke based on his stage play "The Resentment of the Qing Palace".
Stills from the movie "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" (1948), Zhou Xuan and Comfort
In the plot, he strengthened the political struggle between the "Hou Party" and the "Imperial Party" of the Guangxu Dynasty, and highlighted the tragic experience of Concubine Zhen in this struggle.
The director of "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" specially invited Zhu Shilin (1899-1967), who had retired from illness at that time but still had not lost his energy, and took Zhu Shilin's disciples Cen Fan (1926-2008) and Bai Shen (1922-2002) as his deputies.
Director: Zhu Shilin
In order to shoot "The Secret History of the Qing Palace", Yonghua Studio built a 26-meter-long and 13-meter-wide studio, plus the original two studios, "The Soul of the Nation" and "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" were filmed in turn.
The filming momentum of "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" is not under "The Soul of the Nation", and the actors who play the roles of concubines, eunuchs, and ministers of civil and military affairs have a total of more than 1,000 people, and more than 50 large and small sets, all designed by the famous set artist Bao Tianming.
Stills from the movie "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" (1948), Zhou Xuan and Tang Ruoqing
"Yonghua" also sent a photographer to Beijing to shoot the real scene of the Qing officials, and then broadcast it on a "background projector" so that the film produced had the effect of shooting on the spot.
This kind of "background projector" is a product of the "Michael" factory in the United States, and it is expensive, selling for 170,000 Hong Kong dollars each. At that time, in the Far East, there were only three such machines, including one for "Yonghua" and two for Japanese studios.
A still from the movie "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" (1948).
Therefore, this "background projector" of the "Yonghua" factory has become the main visit item of the guests. The "Yonghua" company built a vault for this machine and trained two technicians to be responsible for its storage and use.
Whenever this machine is used, reporters, school students, people from various social groups, and colleagues in the film industry come one after another, hoping to have a look. Therefore, "Yonghua" has also gained a lot of momentum because of such a baby machine.
A still from the movie "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" (1948).
The story of "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" takes place in the late Qing Dynasty, in order to find out the court etiquette and the titles between people at that time, Li Zuyong specially remitted a sum of money to Shanghai, and invited one of his relatives who had dealings with the Xunqing Dynasty to go to Beijing to bring an elderly Sunqing Baylor to Hong Kong as a consultant.
After this Baylor arrived in Hong Kong, he lived in Li Zuyong's villa in Clear Water Bay and became a guest of the Li family. This alone can also show the seriousness of "Yonghua" filmmaking.
Stills from the movie "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" (1948), Zhou Xuan
After the two blockbusters were made, Li Zuyong sent people to Europe to perform with the films, and also sent people to Japan to promote them, his main purpose was to open a way out for domestic films.
Both films were well-received in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
Poster of the Japanese version of the movie "The Secret History of the Qing Dynasty" (1948).
Although it failed to officially enter the international market, "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" participated in the "Seventh World Film Festival" held in Japan in 1948 and won the commemorative award, becoming the first Hong Kong film to win an award at an international film festival;
A still from the film Cremation (1948), poplar and Tao Jin
[Obstinate on burning the "childe"]
"The Soul of the Nation" and "The Secret History of Qing Officials" were vigorous, followed by "Yonghua", "Tears of Mountains and Rivers" (1948), "Cremation" (1948), "Wildfire Spring Breeze" (1948), "Spring Thunder" (1949), "The Enmity of Daliang Mountain" (1949), "Spring City Flowers" (1949), "The Legend of Shrimp Balls Part I" (1949), "Prisoner of Love" (1951), "Money Worshippers" (1953), "Life and Death" (1953), "Cuicui" (1953), " Between Husband and Wife (1953), Wushan League (1953), Rose Rose I Love You (1954), Spring Is Not a Reading Day (1954), Chang'e (1954), Flying Tiger General (1956) and many other films were produced.
Stills from the movie "The Legend of Shrimp Balls Part 1" (1949), Zheng Yuru (right) and Ye Xiaozhu
From the beginning of filming in 1948 to the bankruptcy in 1956, and the demolition of the factory site the following year, Yonghua Film Company lasted 8 years before it died.
In terms of concept, Zhang Shankun is a pure film businessman, while Li Zuyong is a film enthusiast, and this difference between the two cannot be reconciled, which eventually led Zhang Shankun to leave Yonghua Company and found another Great Wall Company.
After Zhang Shankun left, Li Zuyong's poor management of the company, coupled with the closure of the mainland market, the sales of the films produced by Yonghua Company shrank sharply, and there were problems with capital turnover, and they fell into serious losses.
A make-up photo of the actors in the movie "Wushan League" (1953).
The downfall after "Yonghua" has a lot to do with Li Zuyong's single-minded character.
During the filming of "The Secret History of the Qing Palace", Zhang Shankun left Yonghua Film Company. Li Zuyong said of him: "He has the talent of the prime minister, but he has the heart of plotting for the emperor to usurp the throne." He's leaving, and I can't keep it. ”
The fact that Li Zuyong ordered the burning of the film "The Fallen Son" that was being filmed shows that the film company led by Li Zuyong is destined to go downhill.
When Li Pingqian returned to Shanghai to visit relatives, she took a photo with her old friends Jin Yan (left) and Liu Qiong (right).
"The Fallen Son" (1951) is a story written by Zheng Yuanhe and Li Yaxian, directed by Li Pingqian (1902-1984), starring Liu Qiong and Wang Xichun. In order to act well in this film, Liu Qiong also specially learned to sing "Lotus Falling" to adapt to the "teaching song" in the play.
However, because the director and Li Zuyong fought over some things, the director had a plot to use filming to "coerce" Li Zuyong. Li Zuyong knew about this, so the director was summoned to the Li Mansion.
He asked the director, "You want to make things difficult for me, don't you?"
Liu Qiong took a photo on the set of "Yonghua".
The secret was exposed to his face, and the director was dumbfounded. Unexpectedly, Li Zuyong still smiled and said: "You don't need to bother, I'll just burn the film!"
"Burn!"
With Li Zuyong's order, the "Fallen Son", which had been filmed in copy, was immediately burned to ashes.
"Childe" was in trouble, and Li Zuyong's ambition for the film industry was not as good as before.
Many leftist filmmakers have been owed salaries for up to three months because of the company's losses.
In December 1951, Shen Jing (left) and Yang Hua in the "Yonghua" studio
Everyone asked Li Zuyong for salary, and Li Zuyong claimed that he could give money as long as the filming of the new drama started, but the salary was still in arrears after the filming of the new drama started.
In desperation, the crew recommended screenwriter Shen Jing (1924-2016) to negotiate with Li Zuyong, demanding that the three months' arrears be paid first, otherwise the work would be stopped.
But Li Zuyong was insincere, and wooed Shen Silence, warning Shen Silence not to be used by others, and at the same time offered to send Shen Silence to the United States to study film business.
A still from the film "A Year Plan" (1955) directed by Zhu Shipho and others and written by Shen Jing
Under strong public pressure, Li Zuyong was forced to announce on New Year's Day 1952 that he would repay all employees in arrears of wages by January 10. The labor uprising triumphed.
He became increasingly depressed and often did not go to the company. The actual work of the film studio is mainly in charge of Wang Yaotang and four other people.
Worried about the company's future, these four people suggested to Li Zuyong: Rent out the production venue, first, so that the studio will not be vacant, and second, the rent can be used to support a group of employees.
The front of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Spring is Not a Reading Day" (1954).
Who knows, their enthusiasm has attracted Li Zuyong's coldness.
After reading their plan, Li Zuyong sneered and said: "You have this plan, don't you want me to collapse? I have such a perfect factory, and the equipment is all of the latest type. I don't film, but let others use it? Okay, I'm not going to be the general manager anymore, please ask the four of you to take this position!"
The four members held a meeting to deal with the aftermath and unanimously decided: to take the blame and resign, and to go their separate ways.
From left, Chen Hou, Li Zuyong, Gülen and staff in a meeting during the filming of "General Flying Tiger" (1956).
[Refuse to stop and take out Lin Dai]
Li Zuyong appointed students to study in the United States, and Zhong Qiwen (1919-1993), an expert in film and television, succeeded him as the director of the film studio.
After Zhong Qiwen took office, he made a reform of the management organization and formulated a new production policy.
However, despite the good policy, it still needs to be backed by the economy. The economic situation of the "Yonghua" company was not good, which delayed the implementation of Zhong Qiwen's reforms.
Later, the movie finally started filming.
Stills from the movie "Cuicui" (1953), Lin Cui on the right
Zhong Qiwen's first play as the director of the factory was "The Prisoner of Love", and then he successively filmed "Cuicui", "Spring is Not a Reading Day", "Money Worshippers", "Rose Rose I Love You" and other films.
Although these films cost a lot of money, the results were mediocre, and only "Cuicui" brought out an unusual star Lin Dai (1934-1964).
Lin Dai became a blockbuster because of her role in "Cuicui", she has a pair of big eyes, she is lively and charming in the play.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "The Money Worshipper" (1952).
Because of this, she often appears in newspapers and magazines, and has become the idol of thousands of Hong Kong movie fans.
"Cuicui" made "Yonghua" set a good box office record, and the subsequent film "The Money Worshipper" starring Li Lihua (1924-2017) also received praise, but it could not change the decline of "Yonghua".
Li Zuyong sold a lot of property and invested all the money he got into "Yonghua", but the "sub-account" that issued copies could not be recovered for a while, and Xu Shihao and others persuaded Li Zuyong to stop and stop doing it anymore.
Li Zuyong and Gülen
But Li Zuyong refused, he replied: "Now that the situation is bigger, it is not easy to stop, I have a way to continue." ”
His solution was to send Chung Kai-man to the United States to learn how to shoot color films. At that time, the Hong Kong film industry was a world of black and white films.
Therefore, it is indeed a feat to shoot a vivid and eye-catching color film. The main purpose of Li Zuyong's establishment of "Yonghua" is to break into the international market and earn dollars.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Prisoner of Love" (1951).
Now, he pins his hopes for achieving this goal on making color films. As soon as Zhong Qiwen went, the position of factory director was vacant, and Li Zuyong tried every means to find someone to replace him, but it was difficult to replace several people.
"Yonghua" continued to make ends meet, and arrears in various quarters were accumulating more and more.
"Yonghua" owed the Portuguese woman too much land rent, and the two adopted sons adopted by the Portuguese woman came forward to pursue it.
Li Zuyong in his later years
Because they couldn't get it repeatedly, the two of them came up with a prank-style solution.
They found a drum and a gong and brought them to the studio, and when the red light on the set of filming came on, the gongs and drums were immediately beaten, and the noise was so loud that the director covered his ears and shouted "stop filming"!
The director couldn't, so he had to tell Li Zuyong, and Li Zuyong had to hurry up and say a few perfunctory words: "Pay the rent in a few days." ”
On the set of the movie "Chang'e" (1954), the first from the left in the front row is Li Zuyong, the third actor from the left is Tian Mingen, and the first from the right is the director Dan Du Yu
However, a few days passed, the rent was not paid, the gongs and drums sounded again, and so on, the entire "Yonghua" set was turned upside down, and I couldn't cry or laugh.
The company is in such a situation, but Li Zuyong still has a quirk like "playing tickets" for it.
He has an addiction to screenwriting, but the method he adopts is "dismantling the bowl of dishes", that is, acting while writing, and writing while acting.
He asked the director to set up the set, and he wrote and shot the scene to be filmed.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie Between Husband and Wife (1953).
So, the crew shuttled back and forth between the studio and the Li Mansion, and after shooting a few shots, they went to get a script, and so on many times a day.
Li Zuyong never forgot to make color films, and looked forward to Zhong Qiwen, who was studying at Kodak in the United States, returning from his studies as soon as possible. However, by the time Zhong Qiwen returned, "Yonghua" was already dying, and the day was in danger.
Zhong Qiwen did not return to "Yonghua" to resume his post, but instead worked for Kodak's Hong Kong office.
Hong Kong "Life and Death" (1953) Hong Kong edition poster
["Yonghua" changed hands after being hit in a row]
In fact, Li Zuyong's misfortune is the same as the previous predicament encountered by "Greater China", the collapse of the mainland's financial system has made it difficult for "Yonghua" to obtain the box office revenue it deserves from the mainland market, and there is a serious shortage of funds.
In addition, the company's poor management, the discarding of a large number of photographic equipment, the constant conflicts between employees, and the complete loss of the mainland market after 1949, the once invincible "Yonghua" can no longer lead Hong Kong films to face the crisis and move forward.
Liu Qiong played Wen Tianxiang in the movie "The Soul of the Nation" (1948).
Although the "Yonghua" studio suffered a series of misfortunes, it was the two successive blows that led to its downfall in 1954.
The first blow was that copies of dozens of films that had been painstakingly made over the years were destroyed in a sudden explosion and fire in the warehouse one night. Only two films, "The Secret History of the Qing Palace" and "The Soul of the Nation", survived because they were screened overseas.
At Li Zuyong's funeral, the first on the left is Lin Dai, the second on the right is Li Zuyong's wife, and the first on the right is Lin Dai's mother
When Li Zuyong was buried
The second major blow was that a huge amount of money owed to Singapore's "Cathay Pacific" could not be repaid, and as a result, "Yonghua" was annexed by "Cathay Pacific", sovereignty changed hands, and Li Zuyong's industry became Lu Yuntao's from then on.
In 1956, although "Yonghua" was actually taken over by "Cathay". But Li Zuyong still tried his best to prepare for the last film "Flying Tiger General" that belonged to "Yonghua", and had to leave the film industry after that.
At the scene of Li Zuyong's funeral, people from the film industry mourned in unison in the mourning hall
On December 23, 1959, Li Zuyong died of illness, and the couplet of the former "Yonghua" colleagues who held him was:
is neither simple profit, nor famous, in order to fight for the glory of the national film, he does not hesitate to go his own way and go to his family;
Only counts merit, regardless of success or failure, such an artist's demeanor, try to see Yinhai in the drama world, how many are there in the world?
This is a definitive evaluation of the film giant Li Zuyong. Huameng dissipated, and "Yonghua" entered the picture frame of history.
Li Zuyong, the owner of Yonghua Film Company
- He held Hong Lin Dai in one hand, lived together for 4 years with a difference of 17 years old, and married Li Lihua within 2 months of breaking up
- A generation of filmmakers Gu has been exposed by his wife during the movement, and he committed suicide in despair
- Tong Yuejuan, the proprietress of Xinhua Pictures, had a peculiar marriage, banned Liang Jiahui, and died in Shanghai and was buried in Taipei
- entered the film industry because of joining the basketball team, Premier Zhou made a phone call and asked him to withdraw from the list of the "22nd National Congress".
- "A River Flows Eastward" made Tao Jin gain fame and fortune, almost betrayed his marriage, and finally grew old together