The first cinema theatre in Singapore was built in the early years of the 20th century. Pioneer distribution companies, such as Pathe, screened silent films from Europe and America. By the 1910s, Hollywood films dominated the Singapore market. To encourage a movie-going culture in Singapore, film publications, such as Picture Show, were imported from Britain and America.

I would like to share some of the early publications (1924-1941) from my personal collection.

(I) Special Publications

By the early 20s, films made in China were distributed in Southeast Asia, including Singapore. In conjunction with the screenings, special editions of locally printed publication on these films were usually sold to the public .

1. Booklet for the film The Grandson (dated 1924)

The Grandson, also known as An Orphan Rescues his Grandfather, was produced in 1923 by Mingxing Film Company in Shanghai and directed by Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Zhengqiu. One of the earliest silent feature-length films made in China, the film was a box office hit and signified the birth of the film industry in China. My records show that The Grandson was the first Chinese feature-length film to be released in Singapore. Brought in by the film distributor, Nanyang Film and Company, the film was screened at the Empire Theatre from 29 August to 4 September 1924. The Empire Theatre was located at Tanjong Pagar Road and is now the Fairfield Methodist Church.

Front cover (left) and back cover (right) of the film booklet printed by G. S. Hiok, Singapore.

The 20-page booklet was bilingual with three pages in English that gave a brief synopsis of the film.

The rest of the pages in Chinese detailed the story and included some black and white film stills.

2. Booklet for the film The Lover’s Dream (dated 1925)
Made in 1925 by the Great Wall Film Company in Shanghai, The Lovers’ Dream, also known as Between Love and Filial Duty, was distributed by the Nan Hua Trading Company located at 16 Winchester House. The 24-page publication was primarily in Chinese, except for two pages of information on the synopsis in English.

Publication of The Lover’s Dream (1925)

Pages in English in The Lovers’ Dream publication

(II) General Publication

1.  Picture Book

One of the earliest monthly film publications in Singapore was the Picture Book, which I have collected. I hold issues from 1934 to 1938. The publication consisted of news on films, celebrities, film reviews, upcoming film previews, advertisements and other film-related articles.

The first issue was published in October 1932.  It was not known when the last issue was published, but I would guess it would be before the Japanese invasion in 1942. The magazine was sold for in the Straits Settlements consisting of Singapore, Malacca, Penang and the Federated Malay States for 10 cents.  Outside of these regions, it was for sale at 15 cents. It was published monthly by E. M. Glover & Co. located at 9 & 11 The Arcade, and was printed by the Malaya Tribune Press Ltd. at Anson Rd.  All the pages were printed in black and white except for the front covers. Earlier issues of the magazine had 40 pages, while later ones had 48 pages, excluding the cover.  Special issues such as the one for Christmas could be as many as 80 pages. Picture Book mainly covered American Hollywood and British films. From the cinema advertisements, one could tell that the films were screening in theaters such as Capitol, Alhambra, Pavilion and Garrick.

Covers of the Picture Book

2.  Screen Voice
Founded by Sir Run Run Shaw and printed by Shaw Brothers Ltd, Screen Voice (Chinese: 电影圈; pinyin: Dianying quan) was a twice-monthly Chinese movie magazine with a first issue on 16th July 1937. Priced at five cents per issue, each issue contained between 20 to 32 pages. The magazine was also distributed in Hong Kong, Shanghai and other parts of Southeast Asia. It featured mainly the Chinese and Cantonese films produced by Shaw’s Hong Kong studios.

Covers of Screen Voice, founded by Sir Run Run Shaw

FILMS CITED

The Grandson (Chinese: 孤儿救祖记; pinyin: Gu er jiu zu ji). Dirs. Shichuan Zhang and Zhengqiu Zheng. Mingxing Film Company (Chinese: 明星影片公司; pinyin: Mingxing ying pian gongsi). Nanyang Film and Company, 1923.

The Lover’s Dream (Chinese: 摘星之女; pinyin: Zhai xing zhi nü). By Hou Yao. Dirs. Zeyuan Li and Xuechou Mei. Perf. Xiadian Lei and Hanlun Wang. Prod. Zhaoming Liu. Great Wall Film Company (Chinese: 长城画片公司; pinyin: Changcheng huapian gongsi). Nan Hua Trading Company, 1925.