Ma-Xu Weibang (; 1905–1961) was a Chinese film director active in mainland China from the 1920s to 1940s, and later in Hong Kong, perhaps best known for his work in the horror genre, the most important unarguably being ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

''-inspired, '' Song at Midnight''. Ma-Xu was also known for a few acting roles early in his career, as well as for being a screenwriter. The director of 33 known films, much of Ma-Xu's early work has been lost. Ma-Xu was born Xu Weibang in 1905 in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. Little is known of this early period except that his parents died while Ma-Xu was still a child, which was said to influence his decision to incorporate his wife's surname, "Ma".

Career in film

Ma-Xu studied at the Shanghai Institute of Fine Arts in the early 1920s. Following his graduation, he began working as an actor for the

Mingxing Film Company The Mingxing Film Company ( zh, c=明星影片公司, p=Míngxīng Yǐngpiàn Gōngsī), also credited as the Star Motion Picture Production Company, was a production company active in the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China bet ...

, his first film being

Zhang Shichuan Zhang Shichuan (; 1889–1953 or 1890–1954), also credited as S. C. Chang, was a Chinese entrepreneur, film director, and film producer, who is considered a founding father of Chinese cinema. He and Zheng Zhengqiu made the first Chinese featu ...

's ''The Marriage Trap'' in 1924. Following a brief stint in the short-lived Langhua Film Company where he directed his first film in 1926, Ma-Xu returned to Mingxing where he began serving as assistant directors for some of the more established talent. His thriller, ''The Cry of Apes in a Deserted Valley'' is the only one of these directorial efforts to have survived. Ma-Xu's first real success, however, did not come until 1937 with '' Song at Midnight'', often referred to as China's first horror film. Based on

Gaston Leroux Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (; 6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (, 1909), which has been made int ...

's classic novel ''

'', the film is now seen as part of the canon of early Chinese cinema, and was also remade as '' The Phantom Lover'' by

Ronny Yu Ronny Yu Yan-Tai () is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writer. He has worked on both Hong Kong and United States, American films. He is mostly known for his work in the American horror film, horror genre, such as ''Bride of Chucky ...

in 1996. Ma-Xu followed up ''Song'' with two additional horror films, ''Walking Corpse in an Old House'' (1938) and ''The Lonely Soul'' (1938). In 1941, he made a lackluster sequel to ''Song at Midnight'' (during the height of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

), and also co-directed with Bu Wancang the controversial Japanese propaganda film ''

Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...

'' (also known as ''The Opium War''). Like Bu, Ma-Xu suffered for his work on ''The Opium War'' after the Japanese were defeated and was eventually forced to move to Hong Kong where he continued to work in the film business until 1961, when he was killed in a road accident.Well-known chinese film director dies. (1961, Feb 15). South China Morning Post (1946-Current) Retrieved from ProQuest Historical Newspapers: South China Morning Post

Filmography

Note: in most early Chinese films, there often were no official English translations, leading to a sometimes confusing lack of consistency in titles.

References

External links

*
Ma-Xu Weibang
at the Chinese Movie Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma-Xu, Weibang Film directors from Zhejiang Male actors from Hangzhou Screenwriters from Zhejiang 1905 births 1961 deaths Artists from Hangzhou Writers from Hangzhou Male actors from Zhejiang 20th-century Chinese male actors Chinese male film actors Chinese film directors Chinese horror film directors Chinese silent film directors Chinese male silent film actors 20th-century Chinese screenwriters Road incident deaths in Hong Kong