1928: The rise of giant merchants

August 15, the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928).

Yip's Guangming Cinema, located at the intersection of Aidoya Road and Minti Niyam Road, has officially opened.

Three days before the opening, major newspapers and periodicals had already highlighted the matter in their headline sections. Yip's Advertising Company (formerly Huashang Advertising Company) also produced a large number of leaflets, advertising signs, etc. to assist in the promotion of the cinema.

Naturally, the free publicity slots in the four major public parks will not be left behind.

Since the right to use the park was taken over by Ye Luo, it has become an advertising base for Ye's Investment Company to advertise to people from all walks of life in Shanghai.

After public parks were opened to the Chinese for free, people gradually forgot how the foreigners in the concession had disliked them, and even put up disgusting signs saying "Chinese and dogs are not allowed".

Time can heal everything, but it cannot control what people think every moment.

They will forget the humiliation of the past and many bad memories, but as soon as they enter the four major parks, they will see the billboards erected by Ye Luo. Gradually, this way of advertising becomes deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and becomes a part of their lives. a part of.

Some people will even go to the park to see what new announcements Yip's Investment Company has recently.

The opening ceremony of Yip's Guangming Cinema is the most anticipated event in mid-August, and the accompanying battle between Yip's, Tianyi, and Lianhua Film Companies has also been described by newspapers as the aftermath of Shanghai's film industry being divided into three parts. The final battle for the Central Plains!

Because on this day, in addition to the release of the first episode of "Braised Red Lotus Temple", Tianyi's "The King of Fighters" and Lianhua's "Yi Yan Qing Yuan" were also screened at the Jinling Grand Theater and Shanghai Grand Theater.

Regarding the grievances and grievances between the three film companies, Luo Mingyou, the boss of Lianhua, has already revealed it to Shenbao and the News.

He claimed that Yip Luofei wanted to go against the trend and make a talkie film, which was a typical behavior of an outsider guiding an expert. Moreover, he was also worried that Yip's silent films would not be able to compete with Tianyi and Lianhua, so he wanted to find another way and find a path forward.

Now Yip is determined to make his first silent film "The Braised Red Lotus Temple", but it will only fail miserably.

After all, the producer of this movie is Zhang Shichuan, who was defeated by Luo Mingyou and has no one left in the Star Film Company!

Luo Mingyou felt even more relieved when he learned that the heroine of "The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple" was newcomer Xia Peizhen.

Ten o'clock in the morning.

There was a huge flow of people at the entrance of Ye's Guangming Cinema, and the road was crowded with a large number of citizens who came to watch the movie, so that the patrol room had to send a lot of manpower to escort the opening ceremony.

Who made Ye Luo now both the Chinese director of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Chinese consul of the consulate?

After all, he is still the superior leader of the patrol room.

In the crowd, a middle-aged man with a clean shaven head smiled at the female family members beside him and said: "Guangping, look, this cinema is very grand. It seems that this second young master is not a person who makes big noises and makes raindrops." "

"Yes, I heard that he also invited Mr. Mei to be the ribbon-cutting guest. I'm very interested." The woman in her thirties nodded in agreement.

After a while, the crowd became commotion, and it turned out that Ye Luo, Lin Ruxian and Mei Lanfang appeared on the stage together.

The middle-aged man was quite curious. Today he came to the public concession from the Hongkou Japanese Concession in order to see what the charm of the newly opened Ye's Guangming Cinema was, and how it could attract countless people's expectations and publicity.

He is a movie fan and a great writer with sharp words. If the movie theater exaggerates and the premiere of "The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple" is not interesting, he will not hesitate to write and ink, and he will have to criticize it verbally.

"Yucai, that second young master is very young. He looks like a movie star. The last time I read the declaration, it was said that his net worth exceeds 7 million yuan. It's unbelievable." Xu Guangping looked surprised and kept looking at Ye Luo. Even Mei Lanfang, who was cutting the ribbon on the side, didn't notice.

"Well, I heard that he is only twenty-two years old, and he is a new upstart in the business world. It's amazing. He came to negotiate with foreigners for the Bund Park we visited. The Chevrolet 490 taxis that can be seen everywhere are also owned by his company. I didn't know this. How will the movie theater do?" The middle-aged man's name was Zhou Yucai, with the Chinese character Yucai and Shuren. In 1927, he and his wife Xu Guangping came to Shanghai to settle in Hongkou until his death in 1936, never leaving again.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was very simple, and Ye Luo didn't say a few words, because he knew that the people below were impatient to wait, and there was no need to keep people interested here.

After the ceremony, Zhou Yucai and Xu Guangping entered the cinema hand in hand, preparing to buy tickets and watch the movie.

Yip's Guangming Cinema is a typical modern decorative art style. There is a 30.5-meter-high rectangular translucent glass lamppost above the entrance, which is particularly dazzling at night. It has a tea room, a wine reception room, a smoking room, and a waiting room, divided into upper and lower rooms. The two-story movie theater has more than 1,000 seats on the first floor, more than 800 seats on the second floor, and 12 private rooms, which can accommodate more than 1,900 people to watch the movie together!

With such a majestic and luxurious layout, it’s no wonder that Yip’s Film Company invested no less than 300,000 yuan in it!

The price of movie tickets in different areas of the cinema is different. The most expensive one is in the box on the second floor, which costs 15 yuan a ticket. The cheapest one in the corner on the first floor only costs 40 cents.

The box seats were already fully booked, so Zhou Yucai and his wife had to choose the relatively good middle seat on the second floor. The ticket price was one yuan and two per person.

The price is not cheap, it is almost a day’s salary for a worker.

When buying a ticket, Zhou Yucai was suddenly tapped on the back. He turned around and found that it was an acquaintance.

"Wangshu?" he shouted happily.

"Mr. Zhou, are you here to buy a ticket to watch a movie?" Dai Wangshu saw him turn around and knew that he was right. He quickly introduced this great writer to his close friends who were accompanying him.

Accompanying him were Liu Naou, Shi Zhecun, and Shi Zhecun's sister, his girlfriend Shi Jiangnian.

These people are all representatives of the New Sensation School. They all live in Hongkou now and often travel together. Today, Ye's Guangming Cinema is opening, so naturally they want to join in the fun.

Dai Wangshu is a famous Yuxiang poet in later generations. In the song "Rainxiang" that made him famous, there is a line "a lilac-like girl with sorrow and resentment", which refers to Shi Jiangnian beside him. Unfortunately, now One of them is 23 years old and the other is 18 years old. They are both at an ignorant age and do not understand true love.

In 1932, Dai Wangshu went to France to study abroad. Shi Jiangnian fell in love with another man. When he came back, his head was covered with green grassland, so he had no choice but to slap Shi Jiangnian in the face and break off the engagement. But for the girl he loved, Lilac, he wrote "Lilac" for her. So many poems, after all, can't match the sentence "She doesn't love him."

"Yes, what a coincidence." Zhou Yucai nodded with a smile.

He is much older than this group of people and is not as energetic and energetic as young people. His eyes are still fixed on the movie itself, while Dai Wangshu and others are more like a gathering of friends.

After buying the tickets, a few people took their seats and stared at the screen attentively. It was still the familiar beginning, with the black and white color of the silent film, the film title, producer, and film company and other information floating by.

Nothing seems particularly surprising.

But soon, moviegoers were frightened by the first scene.

Countless ghosts kneel down to the temple that symbolizes justice and kindness, just like a cult worshiping its leader. The weird and permeating scenery and scenes make people curious and frightened.

Only then did Zhou Yu realize that this was an unusual martial arts film about gods and ghosts, and he immediately became interested. He sat up straight and waited for the follow-up.