Street Angel – 馬路天使 (1937)

Description

Street Angel (Chinese: 馬路天使; pinyin: Mǎlù tiānshǐ), also known as Street Angels, is a 1937 left-wing Chinese film directed by Yuan Muzhi (袁牧之) and released by Mingxing Film Company. Starring popular Chinese actor Zhao Dan (赵丹) and iconic Chinese singer Zhou Xuan (周璇), the story is set in the slums of Shanghai, chronicling the lives of a band of downtrodden underclass outcasts: a tea house singer, a trumpet player, a newspaper hawker, and a prostitute. By blending elements of romance, comedy, and melodrama into the storyline, the characters find themselves in a variety of difficult situations as they try to navigate the hardships of the city during the 1930s. Released towards the end of the golden age of Shanghai cinema, the film is regarded as a masterpiece of the Chinese left-wing movement. Taking place during a time of national tension within the country, issues such as economic policy and military conflict are explored to raise awareness about some of China’s most pressing concerns. Additionally, the depiction of an impoverished neighborhood in the midst of a contemporary city is a compelling examination of how modernization had affected China during this era. This fusion between the two also provides a commentary on the combined effects that modernization and colonialism had on Shanghai specifically.

Cast

In Order of Appearance:

• • Zhao Dan as Chen Shaoping, also known as Xiao Chen, a trumpet player, and Xiao Hong’s love interest
  • Wei Heling as Wang, a newspaper seller, and Chen’s best friend
  • Zhou Xuan as Xiao Hong, a teahouse songstress
  • Zhao Huishen as Xiao Yun, a prostitute, and Xiao Hong’s older sister
  • Wang Jiting is the fiddle player, the owner of the teahouse who takes in Xiao Hong and Xiao Yun
  • Liu Jinyu as the wife of the teahouse owner
  • Feng Zhicheng as Gu, a wealthy thug
  • Chen Yiting as Parasite, a henchman
  • Qian Qianli as the barber, a friend of Xiao Chen
  • Tang Chaofu as the barber shop owner
  • Shen Jun as Ah Bing, a young peddler and friend of Xiao Chen
  • Qiu Yuanyuan as an unemployed man, a mute, and friend of Xiao Chen
  • Yuan Shaomei as the young widow
  • Sun Jing as Zhang, a lawyer
  • Xie Jun as Young Man Fallen on Hard Times
  • Liu Liying as Young Woman Fallen on Hard Times
  • Han Yun as the policeman
  • Li Dizhi as the rent collector
  • Yao Ping as the playboy
  • Yuan Afa as the driver