3.1 HOLLYWOOD AGENTS AND OFFICES IN 1920S SHANGHAI
Distributing agents for the Hollywood majors could be a law firm such as the Krisels or a company that specialized in the film-related business like the Peacock Motion Pictures Corporation. More often than not, agents handled business for more than one Hollywood major studio. Krisel and Krisel is a case in point. By early 1927, the firm was distributing films for three majors: UA, MGM, and Paramount. Sometimes, a company was also involved in producing a film and selling film-related products. Take Peacock Motion Pictures for an example; founded in 1922, the company not only distributed the First National films, but also sold motion picture equipment including Simplex motion picture projectors and Holmes Portable
Projectors.179 In addition, it was also the producer of the Chinese film Lovers’ Sacrifice, or Kong Que Dong Nan Fei. Based upon the classic Chinese love tragedy, the film recounts a story of an ill-fated couple who are forced to divorce by the manipulative and merciless mother-in-law.180 Pathé-Orient is another example that shows the scope of business of a Hollywood agent in 1920s Shanghai. The company handled a wide range of business in films and film-related business. In terms of films, it claimed to have a stock of over 8,000 films of different genres and by different companies for rental. They included Pathé’s productions such as Pathé features, serials, British Gazettes, and American Gazettes. It also had films of other studios such as Warner Brothers Pictures and Producers Distributing Production. Felix and Inkwell cartoons and comedies by Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Mack Sennett were also among their list. In addition to the film rental business, the company also sold Pathé projectors, Debrie cameras, and Matipo printing machines, as well as “everything for the professional studio and laboratory works.”181
Usually, a company with various film products had different offices or agents to take care of its business in several cities in China. For instance, in addition to Shanghai, Pathé also had offices in Hong Kong and Tianjin. Also, the Universal Pictures Corporation had branch offices in five cities: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Harbin, and Hankow. Obviously, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong were among the most frequently chosen cities to set up an agent or a branch office. The reason is self-evident, as the three coastal cities were located respectively in the northeastern, central-eastern, and southeastern parts of China, the country’s most populous and Apparently, the company aimed to provide all the materials and equipment used for film production and exhibition.
179 C.J. North to Shanghai China Office, Washington, D.C., November 1927, NARA, 281, RG-59.
180 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
181 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
developed regions. An agent in the port city Tianjin was able to facilitate business in the northern parts of China; an agent in Hong Kong could take care of the business in southern China as evidenced by the Pathé’s Hong Kong office that supplied foreign films to Amoy, a city in the south.182
There were two main ways to become an agent of a Hollywood major or an American distributor: one was through mutual contact, and the other was through the third party’s introduction. It was through a long-term contact that the Odeon Theater and Company became an agent for the Paramount. Likewise, Pathé might also have established contact with the Warner Brothers through business. Sometimes, a company in Shanghai with the intention of being an agent might just request a third party to introduce it to a Hollywood studio. For example, in May 1925, B. Roth and Co., an American company located on the 24 Bund of Shanghai in the International Settlement wrote a letter to the U.S. trade commissioner in Shanghai, expressing its intention in serving in China as its representative for the motion pictures made by the Schulberg Productions.
Also, as a hub for international transportation and commerce in 1920s China, Shanghai was an entrepot. A studio with a larger number of agents or offices generally had a better distribution network as it allowed the company to cover a wider area. With two more offices in Haerbin and Hankow, Universal was able to handle its business in central and far northern China. From the locations of the agents or branch offices of Hollywood majors, we can see that the remote regions in Western China were not prime markets due to their unstable situation, inconvenient transportation, and sparse population.
183
182 Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs of China, 1910-1929, M 329, Microfilm Roll 123, 0943, NARA, RG-59.
The letter was forwarded to the director of the Bureau of the Foreign and
183Viola Smith to the director of the Bureau of the Foreign and Domestic Commerce, May 27, 1925, NARA, 281, RG-59
Domestic Commerce in Washington D.C.,184 then, it was sent to A.S. Hillyer, chief of the Commercial Intelligence Division, from him, it was forwarded to the Division’s New York District Office.185 Later, A.J. Barnard, the district manager sent his response back to the Bureau of the Foreign and Domestic Commerce in the capital, together with a letter addressed to B. Roth written by the vice president of the Schulberg Productions.186 Finally, the letter from the Schulberg was sent by Herbert W. Gruber, acting chief of the Commercial Intelligence to George Howard, American Trade Commissioner in Shanghai on August 12, 1925.187
The branch offices and agents of the Hollywood’s majors were all located in the International Settlement, three of which were on the Sichuan Road in the Hongkew District.
These included the Pathé, the Odeon Theater and Co., and the Universal Pictures.
The whole contact-establishing process lasted almost four months. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Schulberg Productions did not have rights to distribute its pictures in countries other than the United States because it already had its overseas agent. Obviously, we can imagine that most local companies would prefer direct contact with American producers rather than through a third party such as the American Trade Commissioner. It took time to establish an initial contact, and it took more time to build trust. For the companies that were already in the film distributing business, a third-party introduction was unnecessary. However, for those interested in starting the business, it was a good way to approach an American film distributor and producer, or at least to get some basic information about the business concerned.
188
184 Ibid.
Fox Film
185 A.S. Hillyer to New York District Office of Commercial Intelligence Division, August 1, 1925, NARA, 281, RG-59.
186 A. J. Barnard to Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, August 6, 1925, NARA, 281, RG-59.
187 Herbert W. Gruber to George Howard, August 12, 1925, NARA, 281, RG-59.
188 The Pathé was located at 234 Middle Sichuan Road; The Odeon Theater and Co. was located on 2512 North Sichuan Road; the Universal Pictures were located at 4978 Middle Sichuan Road. 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
Corporation was almost next door to the Krisel and Krisel;189 Fox seemingly shared the same office building with the United Film Exchange, a major distributor of Chinese pictures for the domestic market.190 Most likely, all of these eight agents and offices were formed and registered as American companies because such a business could be better protected whenever a lawsuit arose. As an American company, it was only subject to U.S. laws. In addition, a U.S. company could also have a tax relief according the China Trade Act (1922), a law that aimed to help sell American products in China that were made in the United States.191 The main requirements to be deemed a firm covered by the American Trade Act corporation included: 1) the president and treasurer must be Americans; 2) the company must handle business furthering American trade in China; 3) the account books must be kept in English subject to annual auditing; and 4) majority of the directors, usually three, must be residents in China.192
189 Fox Film Corp. was located at 35 Jinkee Road (Renji Road); the Krisel and Krisel was located at 25 Jinkee Road, 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
Because of the tax break, branch offices and agents of American films were likely to enroll as American Trade Corporation companies as they could easily meet the pre-requisites. To fulfill the afore-mentioned fourth requirement, a Hollywood major could hire local Chinese or Chinese with an overseas education to be directors or chief staff members. People who headed the agencies were mostly foreigners.
Chinese who had overseas educational experience were usually hired as managers because of their knowledge and expertise in films, bilingual ability, and familiarity with the local culture.
For example, Luther M. Jee, a Chinese graduate from Harvard University, was hired by the
190 Both Fox Film Corporation and the United Film Exchange were located on the 35 Jinkee Road, however, they had different phone numbers. They might shared a house with different floors, or they might be in different rooms of an office building. 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
191 The China Trade Act, June 15, 1982, www.ita.doc.gov/ooms/ChinaTradeActRCS.pdf, last accessed October 29, 2008.
192 China Trade Act, 1934, O’Brien, 58/5, UAC.
Peacock Motion Pictures Corporation as a general manager.193 Before him, it was Chamberlain and Richard Patterson that held that position. However, after reportedly mismanagement and bad office politics, finally, a Chinese manager took over.194 Jee did much work to promote the company and First National productions. He was not only active in translating film-related materials in both Chinese and English, but also good at writing articles on film industry for both the Chinese and English journals in Shanghai. Aside from Peacock Motion Picture’s Jee, Gui Zhongshu, a Chinese graduate from the University of Madison in Wisconsin, was hired by the Odeon Theater and Corporation as a chief translator for motion pictures and other film-related publicity materials.195
Interestingly, some of these agents had logos that had vivid visual representations of their names. For example, Peacock Motion Pictures had as its logo a heavy-feathered, chubby peacock (Fig.1); for Universal Pictures, its logo was a round ball circled by the company name, which symbolizes the company’s wide coverage of business (Fig.2). Also, Universal’s logo conveys a sense of speed and modernity.
Apparently, the act had a double effect on Chinese employees. On the one hand, it encouraged an American company to hire talented Chinese; on the other hand, it prevented a Chinese manager from getting a top position in an American company in China because of his or her nationality. The law aimed to make sure that it was an American company that benefited from the tax policy.
196
193 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
The logo of the Pathé had a happy rooster singing and dancing in the spotlight, with the flowery-style word Pathé covering most of the proud bird’s small body (Fig.3). A rooster communicates a sense of earliness and freshness as its singing indicates the breaking of a new day. Imaginably, by using a rooster as its logo, the company tried to shape its
194 A. J. Barnaud to Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, March, 4, 1926, NARA, 281, RG-59.
195 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
196 1927 China Cinema Yearbook.
image as the earliest film distributor in the world. The clear and concise logos helped the local distributing agents establish their products’ identity and play into the local film market.