¹ Cheng, Jihua, Zhongguo dianying fazhan shi (The History of the Development of Chinese Cinema) (Beijing, 1963), vol. II, 8Google Scholar.

² Huang, Dequan, ‘Dianying chudao Shanghai kao’ (The study of the first projection of film in Shanghai)’, Dianying Yishu (Film Art), 3 (2007), 102–9Google Scholar.

³ National Archives and Records Administration College Park (NARA), Records group (RG) 84, vol. 986, ‘Letter from American consul-general to secretary of the Foreign Trade Department, San Francisco, California, USA, 7 Dec. 1914’.

⁴ NARA/RG 84, vol. 1557, ‘Letter from American consul in charge, Shanghai, China to Department of State, 16 Oct. 1925’; NARA/RG 84, vol. 1557, ‘Letter from Peacock Motion Picture Corporation to Hayden Nichols, American consulate-general, 14 Oct. 1925’.

⁵ Song, Weicai, ‘Zhongguo zaoqi dianying shichang luekao’ (A brief study on the early Chinese films’ market), Dangdai Dianying (Contemporary Cinema), 3 (2004), 53–5Google Scholar.

⁶ Before the 1920s, the cinemas were mainly distributed in the International Settlement, on the north bank of Suzhou Creek. At the start of the 1920s, the number of cinemas in the settlements on the south bank of Suzhou Creek began to increase. The foreign settlements in Shanghai became film production and projection centres, so the author chose the year 1919 as the beginning of the research. By the end of 1941, the International Settlement came to an abrupt end as a result of the Japanese occupation after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Soon after, in 1943, the French Concession was withdrawn by the Japanese-supported collaborationist government in Nanjing. So the author chose this year as the terminal date for this research.

⁷ Shanghai tongshe (comp.), Shanghai yanjiu ziliao xuji (A Sequel to Materials for Research on Shanghai) (Beijing, 1998), 541Google Scholar; Tu, Shipin (ed.), Shanghai Shi Daguan (Shanghai Panorama) (Shanghai, 1933), vol. II, 40Google Scholar.

⁸ The specialized cinemas refer to the theatres that were used only for screening films.

⁹ Shanghai Municipal Archives (SMA), U1–3–3545, ‘Theatres, cinemas: applications to erect, 1928–1930’.

¹⁰ Shanghai gonggong zujie gongbuju nianbao, 1932 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1932) (Shanghai, 1933), 145Google Scholar.

¹¹ Here, the number of movie theatres does not include those that were built on the original site; the movie theatres that were at the same address are listed only once.

¹² The New Helen Theatre in Hongkew District was closed because of the January 28 Incident in 1932, and was soon demolished due to the construction of North Jiangxi Xue, Road. Liyong, ‘Hongkou de yingxiyuan zhi zhan’ (The competition among the theatres in Hongkew District)’, in Xianhua Shanghai (Talk Casually about Shanghai) (Shanghai, 1996), 126–7Google Scholar.

¹³ Li, Suyuan and Hu, Jubin, Zhongguo wusheng dianyingshi (The History of the Chinese Silent Cinema) (Beijing, 1996), 284–5Google Scholar.

¹⁴ Shanghai gonggong zujie gongbuju nianbao, 1933 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1933) (Shanghai, 1934), 16–17Google Scholar.

¹⁵ A movie theatre that runs primarily mainstream film fare from the major film companies and distributors, during the initial release period of each film. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_theatre, accessed 22 Dec. 2018.

¹⁶ ‘Dushihua yu jindaihua de Shanghai zhi dianyingre’ (Film fever in urban and modern Shanghai), Wenyi Xinwen (Literature and Art News), 16 Mar. 1931.

¹⁷ Lau, Shing hon, ‘Deux âge d'or du cinema chinois: les annees 30 et l'apres-guerre Paris’, in Quiquemelle, M.-C. and Passek, J.-L. (eds.), Le cinema chinois (Paris, 1985), 61–72Google Scholar.

¹⁸ Li, Peide, ‘Weiji zhong de wending – 1930 niandai zhongguo de ziben shichang’ (Stability in the crisis – the Chinese capital market in the 1930s), Guoshiguan Guanxun (Academia Historica Newsletter), 2 (2009), 187–93Google Scholar.

¹⁹ Tao, Juyin, Gudao jianwen-kangzhan shiqi de Shanghai (The Things I Witnessed in ‘Island’ Shanghai) (Shanghai, 1979), 4Google Scholar.

²⁰ SMA, U38–2–804, ‘Traduction de la lettre Sung Ze Heu, directeur, Kiu Sing Théâtre, N°359 Avenue Foch au directeur de la municipalite française, August 17, 1937’.

²¹ Shanghai Gonggong Zujie Gongbuju Nianbao, 1936 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1936) (Shanghai, 1937), 215–16; Shanghai Gonggong Zujie Gongbuju Nianbao, 1937 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1937) (Shanghai, 1938), 340–3.

²² SMA, U38–2–804, ‘Affiches de Kung Woo Dai, October 27, 1937’.

²³ Shanghai Gonggong Zujie Gongbuju Nianbao, 1938 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1938) (Shanghai, 1939), 278; Shanghai Gonggong Zujie Gongbuju Nianbao, 1939 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1939) (Shanghai, 1940), 247; Shanghai Gonggong Zujie Gongbuju Nianbao, 1940 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1940) (Shanghai, 1941), 285; Shanghai Gonggong Zujie Gongbuju Nianbao, 1941 (Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1941) (Shanghai, 1942), 63.

²⁴ Weiqing Zhao, ‘Pouvoir et espace: la censure cinematographique dans les concessions à Shanghai (1927–1943’), École Normale Supérieur de Lyon Ph.D. thesis, 2014, 209–12.

²⁵ Most cinemas in the Chinese-administered territory were situated in North Sichuan Road.

²⁶ Ye Lu, ‘Shanghai fazujie “changzhai hunhe” jiequ chengyin tanjiu’ (A study on the causes of ‘factories and residences mixed’ in the Shanghai French Concession), Shilin (Historical Review), 6 (2011), 14–23; Sun, Qian, Shanghai jindai chengshi gonggong guanli zhidu yu kongjian jianshe (Urban Public Management System and Space Construction in Modern Shanghai) (Nanjing, 2009), 80Google Scholar.

²⁷ The business classification offices were in charge of the preliminary examination, while the business classification committee and its board took charge of re-examination. Lu, ‘Shanghai fazujie “changzhai hunhe” jiequ chengyin tanjiu’.

²⁸ Darwent, E., Shanghai: A Handbook for Travellers and Residents to the Chief Objects of Interest in and around the Foreign Settlements and Native City (revised edn, Shanghai, 1920; reprint Taipei, 1973), 77Google Scholar. Quoted in Lee, Ou-fan, Shanghai Modern: The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China (1930–1945) (Cambridge, MA, 1999), 18Google Scholar.

²⁹ Lu, ‘Shanghai fazujie “changzhai hunhe” jiequ chengyin tanjiu’.

³⁰ SMA, U38–4–1214, ‘Demande d'autorisation pour l'ouverture d'une porte dans la palissade du Lawn Cinema, 3 juillet 1936’.

³¹ Shi, Meiding (comp.), Shanghai zujie zhi (Gazetteer of Shanghai's Settlements) (Shanghai, 2001), 327–9Google Scholar; Land Renters, Land Regulations and By-Laws for the Foreign Settlement of Shanghai, North of the Yang-King-Pang (Shanghai, 1907), 18.

³² SMA, U1–4–2309, ‘Shanghai Municipal Council Cinematograph Licence, 1930’.

³³ ‘Shanghai ge yingxiyuan de tedian’ (The characteristics of cinemas in Shanghai)’, Dianying (Shanghai 1938) (Film (Shanghai 1938)), 101 (1940), 9.

³⁴ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Extract from Works Committee minutes, 21 Apr. 1925’; SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from deputy secretary to commissioner of police about proposed theatre – Nanking Road, 4 May 1925’; SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from secretary to the Crane Construction Co., 28 May 1925’; SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from commissioner of police to secretary of SMC, 11 May 1925’.

³⁵ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from secretary to Works & Watch Committees, Sujet: proposed theatre Nanking Road –Cadastral Lot 29c, 14 May 1925, SMC’.

³⁶ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from Public Works Department to secretary of SMC about: application to erect cinematograph theatre Nanking Road. – Cad. Lot 29C Central, 23 Sept. 1925’; SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from Crane Construction Company to Public Works Department, 4 Sep. 1925’.

³⁷ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from secretary of SMC to Crane Construction Company, 26 Sept. 1925’.

³⁸ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Extract from Watch Committee minutes, 28 Sept. 1925’.

³⁹ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from R. Fan, architect to the commissioner general, SMC, 5 Nov. 1927’.

⁴⁰ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from secretary of SMC to C.M. Bain, chairman of trustees, the Lester Chinese Hospital, 30 Nov. 1927’; SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from C.M. Bain, chairman of trustees, the Lester Chinese Hospital to S.M. Edwards, secretary, 15 Dec. 1927’.

⁴¹ SMA, U1–3–3544, ‘Letter from deputy secretary to R. Fan, 24 Dec. 1927’.

⁴² Xu, Xueqiang and Zhou, Yixing, Xiandai chengshi dilixue (Modern Urban Geography) (Beijing, 2009), 47Google Scholar.

⁴³ From the 1850s to the 1860s, a large number of traditional Chinese theatres were gradually relocated to the settlements where it was relatively stable and peaceful. According to the annual report of the SMC, during this period, Chinese traditional theatres were mostly located in the Central District, on Nanjing Road, Guangdong Road, Guangxi Road, Fujian Road, Jingyuan Street and other districts. Annual Report of the Shanghai Municipal Council, 1877 (Shanghai, 1878), 18.

⁴⁴ The Central District was centred on Nanjing Road, which was on the east side of the Huangpu River, from Suzhou Creek in the north to the central area of the French Concession in the south, with a total surface area of 2,820 acres. The Northern District refers to Hongkew District, which took North Sichuan Road as its centre, near the North Railway Station, with a total surface of 3,040 acres. The Eastern District was mainly the old American Settlement, especially Tilanqiao and Yangshupu areas, with a total surface area of 16,193 acres. The West was Huxi District which was occupied by the International Settlement during the expansion of 1899, with a total surface area of 11,450 acres. Zou, Yiren, Jiu Shanghai renkou bianqian de yanjiu (A Study of Population Change in Old Shanghai) (Shanghai, 1980), 16–17Google Scholar.

⁴⁵ Ibid., 17–18, 94; Shi (comp.), Shanghai Zujie Zhi, 122.

⁴⁶ Zou, Jiu Shanghai renkou bianqian de yanjiu, 94.

⁴⁷ Ibid., 4.

⁴⁸ Fan, Weiguo, Jihuo yu zengzhang – Shanghai xiandai jingji xingqi zhi ruogan fenxi (1870–1941) (Activation and Growth – Some Analysis of the Emergence of Shanghai Modern Economy (1870–1941)) (Shanghai, 2002), 71Google Scholar.

⁴⁹ Generally speaking, the war weathered all kinds of industries, but the situation in Shanghai's settlements was just the opposite. The entertainment industry was prosperous because of the war, so this abnormal phenomenon was termed a ‘deformity’.

⁵⁰ Zou, Jiu Shanghai renkou bianqian de yanjiu, 79.

⁵¹ Land prices may have been one of the factors behind such a distribution. The average land price per acre in the Hongkew area was far cheaper than in the International Settlement, in the south of Suzhou Creek. In 1903, the real estate per acre in the centre of the International Settlement (the original British Settlement) was valued at 13,549 taels, while the northern area was valued at 4,819 taels per acre and the eastern part per acre was valued at 2,539 taels. Initially, the audience was limited in size, so land prices were probably a factor for site selection. But land prices were less important than population density and population structure. In 1930, in the International Settlement, the real estate in the central area was valued at 107,882 taels per acre, as compared to 37,863 taels of the northern area, and about 11,864 taels per acre of the eastern area. In contrast, the number of cinemas in the central area has increased since the late 1920s, which suggests that land prices were not the most critical factor in the siting of cinemas. ‘Yinian lai zhi Shanghai dichan shiye’ (Shanghai property business over the past year), in Pan, Gongbi (comp.), Nian'er zhi niansan shishi daguan (Great Views of the Current Events between 1943 and 1944) (Shanghai, 1934), vol. IGoogle Scholar.

⁵² After the opening of the Helen Theatre (opened in 1913) and the Isis Theatre (opened in 1917), the Chinese audience grew significantly. Shanghai tongshe (comp.), Shanghai yanjiu ziliao xuji, 534.

⁵³ Among foreigners living on the north bank of Suzhou Creek, the Japanese accounted for a large proportion. By the mid-1920s, the number of Japanese in the north of the International Settlement and in the adjacent extra-settlements roads was nearly 10,000, 47% of the total number of foreigners in Shanghai, of which the vast majority lived in Wusong Road and North Sichuan Road. Zheng, Zeqing, Laoshanghai qiaomin shenghuo (The Life of Expatriates in Old Shanghai) (Shanghai, 2004), 159Google Scholar. According to the study of Zu'en Chen, most of the Japanese who lived in residential areas of North Sichuan Road were staff with relatively high and stable incomes as well as a good standard of living. Chen, Zu'en, Shanghai riqiao shehui shenghuoshi (1868–1945) (The Social Life History of Japanese Diaspora (1868–1945)) (Shanghai, 2009), 96Google Scholar. The Japanese who lived there had well-paid jobs and were accustomed to watching moving pictures. This was one of the factors that promoted the prosperity of the film industry in Hongkew District.

⁵⁴ NARA/RG 84, vol.1557, ‘Letter from American consul in charge, Shanghai, China to Department of State, October 16, 1925’.

⁵⁵ Zou, Jiu Shanghai renkou bianqian de yanjiu, 42.

⁵⁶ Liyong Xue, ‘Shanghai guangdong yueju huajiu’ (Reminiscing about Shanghai Cantonese Opera), in Xianhua Shanghai, 114–15.

⁵⁷ Zou, Jiu Shanghai renkou bianqian de yanjiu, 114; Shi, Yi, ‘Hongkou de Guangdong Ren’ (Cantonese of Hongkew), in Wenshi yuan (Cultural and Historical Collection) (Shanghai, 1998), 62–4Google Scholar.

⁵⁸ Shanghai tongshe (comp.), Shanghai yanjiu ziliao xuji, 533–4.

⁵⁹ Yu, Muxia, Shanghai linzhao (Shanghai tidbits) (Shanghai, 1933), 32Google Scholar.

⁶⁰ Liyong Xue, Hongkou yingxiye huajiu (Reminiscing about the Film Industry in Hongkew District)’, in Xianhua Shanghai, 125–6.

⁶¹ Wenbin Chen, ‘Jindaihua jincheng zhong de Shanghai chengshi gonggong jiaotong yanjiu’ (The study on the public transport of Shanghai city in the process of modernization)’, Fudan University Ph.D. thesis, 2004, 13.

⁶² Zou, Jiu Shanghai renkou bianqian de yanjiu, 82, 94.

⁶³ Ye Lu, ‘Jindai Shanghai fazujie tese jiequ goucheng yanjiu (1911–1943)’ (The study on the characteristics block of the modern Shanghai French Concession), Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (Historical Institute), MA thesis, 2009, 41.

⁶⁴ ‘Yingmi men keyu zhidao de Shanghai yingxiyuan neimu zhongzhong’ (The inside details on the Shanghai cinemas that the movie fans are eager to know), Dianying Zhoukan, 44 (1939), 9.

⁶⁵ Jiajun Lou pointed out that there was a critical point of traffic distance between entertainment places and residential areas. Within reach of the critical point, a reasonable number of visitors attended entertainment venues. Beyond the reach of the critical point, the number of visitors might decline dramatically. The critical point by foot was usually the distance from the remote areas to the city centre. Jiajun Lou, ‘Shanghai Chengshi Yule(1930–1939)’ (Shanghai urban entertainment(1930–1939)’, East China Normal University Ph.D. thesis, 2004, 21.

⁶⁶ Chen, ‘Jindaihua jincheng zhong de Shanghai chengshi gonggong jiaotong yanjiu’, 100.

⁶⁷ Xu, Guozhen, Shanghai shenghuo (Shanghai Life) (Shanghai, 1932), 13Google Scholar.

⁶⁸ Shen Bao (SB), 31 Jan. 1935, vol. 3, col. 12.

⁶⁹ The three cinemas were: the Ward Theatre, the Cosmopolitan Theatre and the China Cinema.

⁷⁰ SB, 31 Jan. 1935, vol. supplement, col. 9.

⁷¹ shehuiju, Shanghaishi, Shanghaishi zhi gongzilü (Wage Rates in Shanghai) (Shanghai, 1935), 97Google Scholar.

⁷² Wang, Jie, Shanghai jiagezhi (Shanghai Prices Records) (Shanghai, 1998), 23Google Scholar.

⁷³ Chen, ‘Jindaihua jincheng zhong de Shanghai chengshi gonggong jiaotong yanjiu’, 110.

⁷⁴ Luo, Suwen, Jindai Shanghai dushi shehui yu shenghuo (The Urban Society and Life of Modern Shanghai) (Beijing, 2006), 31Google Scholar; Bredon, R.E., Shanghai jindai shehui fazhan gaikuang (1882–1931) (A Profile about the Modern Social Development in Shanghai), trans. Xu, Xuejun (Shanghai, 1985), 216–17Google Scholar.

⁷⁵ Yang, Ximeng, Shanghai gongren shenghuo chengdu de yige yanjiu (A Study on the Standard of Living of Shanghai Labourers) (Beijing, 1930), vol. I, 81–4, vol. II, 6Google Scholar.

⁷⁶ According to the information at that time, it cost about 0.4 Yuan from Baoshan intersection to the Jiangwan racecourse by car. Zhou, Shixun (ed.), Shanghaishi daguan (A Panorama of Shanghai) (Shanghai, 1933), 58Google Scholar; Xiong, Yuezhi, Shanghai tongshi – Minguo shehui (General History of Shanghai – The Republican Society) (Shanghai, 1999), 12–14, 20Google Scholar.

⁷⁷ Lee, Shanghai Modern, 92.

⁷⁸ Liyong Xue, ‘Hongkou de waiguo lingshi guan’ (Foreign consulate of Hongkew), in Xianhua Shanghai, 31–4.

⁷⁹ Zhongguo tushu bianyi guan (comp.), Shanghai Chunqiu (Shanghai Annals) (Hong Kong, 1968), vol. II, 88Google Scholar. Quoted from Lee, Shanghai Modern, 18.

⁸⁰ Lee, Shanghai Modern, 118.

⁸¹ ‘Yingmi men keyu zhidao de Shanghai yingxiyuan neimu zhongzhong’.

⁸² Ibid.

⁸³ ‘Clearance’ refers to the amount of time between runs, and ‘zone’ refers to the specific areas in which a film played. Schatz, T., Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s (Berkeley, 1999), 16Google Scholar.

⁸⁴ Davis, B., The Battle for the Bs: 1950s Hollywood and the Rebirth of Low-Budget Cinema (New Brunswick, 2012), 21CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁸⁵ Song, ‘Zhongguo zaoqi dianying shichang luekao’.

⁸⁶ Lee, Shanghai Modern, 6.

⁸⁷ Ibid., 82.

⁸⁸ ‘Yingmi men keyu zhidao de Shanghai yingxiyuan neimu zhongzhong’.

⁸⁹ Bruno, G., Streetwalking on a Ruined Map: Cultural Theory and the City Films of Elvira Notari (Princeton, 1993), 48CrossRefGoogle Scholar.