Chapter 8 Part I: The Dangerous "No. 1 Case in Guangzhou" and the Shining "Top 22" Stars of New China

What passes by the years is the old marks, and what is remembered in the mind is eternity.The influence and charisma of classic movies and famous movie stars will last forever, from generation to generation, and will never be forgotten. The faces that were once familiar, the plots that were once familiar, and the memories that were once stored in the depths of memory are clear and never forgotten. Movie stories, in the hearts of fans of different ages, deduce different splendor and sadness, sadness and beauty.Like complaining like admiration, like weeping like complaining... In June 1961, after the important speech at the New Overseas Chinese Conference, Premier Zhou Enlai invited Xia Yan, Chen Huangmei, Yu Ling, Situ Huimin, Cui Wei, Tian Fang and directors, screenwriters, directors and directors of various film studios on June 22. Actors and more than 30 people went to Zhongnanhai Xihua Hall for a discussion.Before the meal, everyone had a relaxed and pleasant discussion with the Prime Minister, focusing on some good works recently appeared in the literary and film circles, the Prime Minister suddenly seemed to remember something, and solemnly said to everyone: "Now in our cinemas, There are 22 big stars of the Soviet Union hanging on it. It has been 12 years since our country was founded. Why can’t we hang photos of our own stars? There should be our own stars! Comrade Xia Yan, please think about it.” This is what Premier Zhou said For the first time, new concepts and questions about movie stars are mentioned.A few days later, on July 1st, the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Premier Zhou personally traveled to Xiangshan with the representatives present at the meeting.On the last day in Xiangshan, Premier Zhou played with everyone for another day. The matter of establishing a star in the Chinese film industry was once again carefully mentioned by Premier Zhou.As a result, Xia Yan, who is the deputy minister of the Ministry of Culture, who is in charge of films, was greatly encouraged, and led his group of elite soldiers to act quickly with immediate results.Premier Zhou personally initiated the national activity of mass participation in the selection of excellent films and outstanding actors. In 1961, the selection and voting of the "Popular Film" and "Hundred Flowers Awards" also started the annual selection of top-notch film by the whole people. Curtains for films, actors and projects of all kinds.

Subsequently, the four major film studios sent the candidate list to the Prime Minister for review, and finally the Ministry of Culture made a unified decision.Premier Zhou selected the "22 big stars" one by one, mainly highlighting the old, middle-aged and young actors in the new Chinese film industry, and combined with the actors who played the characters in the blockbuster films of the year, he finally decided on the Shanghai Film Producer. Zhao Dan, Bai Yang, Zhang Ruifang, Shangguan Yunzhu, Sun Daolin, Qin Yi, Wang Danfeng from Beijing Film Studio; Xie Tian, ​​Cui Wei, Chen Qiang, Zhang Ping, Yu Lan, Yu Yang, Xie Fang from Beijing Film Studio; Li Yalin, Zhang Yuan, Pang Xueqin, Jin Di; Tian Hua, Wang Xingang, Wang Xiaotang from Bayi Film Studio; Zhu Xijuan from Shanghai Theater Academy Experimental Drama Troupe and other 22 people named "New Chinese Actors", commonly known as "22 Big Stars". .

It is quite a pity here that Pu Ke, who entered the film industry as early as the "Man Ying" period, is already an old actor who has starred in and participated in the most films and has the oldest qualifications. The "Man Ying" of the period was the biggest stain and obstacle that he could not pass through politically at that time; he once won the fifth place in the "National Ten Outstanding Actors Selection Activity" held by the "Shanghai Youth Daily" in the late 1950s. The famous actor Zhao Lian, because of the limited number of seats in Beijing Film Studio and too many young actors, coupled with the need to integrate the proportion of the staff of the four major film studios, he passed by the "Top 22 Stars".Therefore, Han Fei, Kangtai, and Wang Bei from Shanghai Film Studio reported among the four major film studios; Pu Ke, Guo Zhenqing, and Yin Zhiming from Changying Film Studio; Liu Jiyun, Gao Baocheng, Zhang Yongshou and others in the No. 1 Factory, because they were under the premise of friendly relations between China and the Soviet Union at that time, they had to carry on like this, and finally reluctantly parted ways.

All kinds of rumors about Shangguan Yunzhu's selection are nothing more than saying that she is already an old man, and she was almost labeled as a "rightist" in 1957; she did not meet the selection requirements at all; but in order to continue her acting career, relying on Chairman Mao's 7 meetings with her and her superb acting skills turned the tide into victory.And Xie Fang, who became popular with Lin Daojing in "Song of Youth", was still working in Wuhan Opera House at that time, and had not been transferred to Beijing Film Studio.It is the director Cui Wei who once served as the director of the Cultural Bureau of Central China (he won the Best Actor Award in the first "Popular Film" "Hundred Flowers Award" for his starring role in "Red Flag Spectrum"), who has a keen eye and knowledge, and uses "cultivating newcomers is a duty, Xie Fang, I'd rather not be in it." A resounding remark made Maxima Xie Fang squeezed into the extremely limited application list of Beijing Film Studio by Bole, and was finally lucky to be selected with his unique strength.Regarding the selection of Zhu Xijuan and Chen Qiang, it was really the honor of the first "Popular Film" "Hundred Flowers Award" that year.Because the selection results of the "Hundred Flowers Awards" were announced a few months before the "22nd National Congress", Zhu Xijuan and Chen Qiang, with absolute fairness, openness and fair public opinion votes, and Wu Qionghua and Nan Batian who starred in "Red Detachment of Women", They won the awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively; otherwise, like Zhu Xijuan, she is not a full-time actress in a major film studio, and she does not have any acting capital and qualifications; A new work appeared, but a villain like him, according to the political situation at the time, would never be considered elegant, let alone being selected as a villain for the "22nd National Congress".But the villain played by Chen Qiang is indeed lifelike, and his performance is superb. This point is well-known and praised by everyone, both inside and outside the circle.

The above large-scale photos of the 22 people finally selected were all developed and enlarged in the middle of 1962 as "standard photos" to replace the large-scale photos of the "22 big stars" of the Soviet Union. , until 1964, due to the tense political situation in the country and the continuous movements of various sizes, the more important thing was that the literary and art circles focused on criticizing "utilitarianism", "ideology of fame and fortune" and the arrival of the "Four Cleansing Movement", and were strongly opposed by Jiang Qing and others. To obstruct it, on September 27 of that year, the Cultural and Film Bureau issued an order to remove all the huge photos of the "22 Big Stars" that were hanging in movie theaters in major cities and towns across the country.At the same time, the third "Popular Film" "Hundred Flowers Award" awards event that was supposed to be held was also forced to cancel.

As for the origin of the "22 big stars", there have been different opinions inside and outside the circle for many years, and the sources are different.In addition to the above-mentioned theory about following the 22 stars selected by our country from Soviet films, there are many other different versions.Some people say that the star photos hanging at that time were 22 inches in size, hence the name; Wang Xiaotang still insists that he was born out of the "22 Great Stars" of the Soviet Union, because Premier Zhou's words to Xia Yan, as a national leader concerned about The example in the film industry was circulated as a good story at the time; according to Qin Yiyi, there was no fixed title of "22 stars" at that time, and a large photo of himself had been displayed in the lobby of the "Cathay Pacific" movie theater before. This time, it is not surprising to her, but the relationship with the Soviet Union broke down soon, and the Soviet Union held the "22nd National Congress". The number in front of the door happened to be the same, and the term "22 stars" with a certain irony gradually spread among the people; Xu Sangchu, who had been the director of Shanghai Film Studio for many years, is now in his nineties. Witness, based on his own materials and memories, he also confirmed that the four major film studios at that time, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Culture, although they all reported their top-notch and key actors, but in the end it was the old, middle-aged and young actors. The collocation ratio is based on the quota allocated by each factory, and the final comprehensive evaluation. At that time, there was no such thing as "22 big stars". But in folk conventions.As for the actors who were selected and reported and selected as the "22nd National Congress" at that time, most of them did not know the reason before that, but they were surprised to discover it later in the movie theater. For example, in 1962, Pang Xueqin To make preliminary preparations for the filming of "The Soldiers Are Coming to the City", when passing through Beijing, old classmates Zhao Lian and Li Mengyao from the film school invited him to eat dumplings in Xinjie, Beijing.On the way, they led Pang Xueqin to the lobby of the Xinjiekou Cinema, and saw the huge photo of "22 big stars" hanging right above it, which really shocked Pang Xueqin, because everyone knew nothing about it beforehand.As for this short-lived glory, Jin Di said that she didn't know how it was judged or decided at the time.Many years later, I found out that Premier Zhou selected and personally determined. It was natural for an actor to be allowed to take pictures at the end of 1961. It was only in the second half of the second year when she went to Tianjin to perform the drama "Fog in Chongqing" that she was very surprised to see that she still had Such a large photo is hung in the lobby of the entrance.However, this kind of honor did not bring her any benefits, and her salary did not increase by a penny. On the contrary, after the outbreak of the "Cultural Revolution" movement, it became a major crime for her. Strikes and merciless persecution.

After the huge photos of the "22 big stars" were hung in movie theaters across the country, an even bigger whirlwind of "star chasing" was immediately set off. The vast audience who sincerely love these stars, before going to the movie theater to watch movies, can't help but follow the conventions. Wandering in front of the huge photos of him (her), closely linking his (her) shining demeanor with the screen image created before that. "22 Big Stars" are the epitome of an era and the witness of a society. As representatives of many colleagues, they are a group of sculptures of collective honor, and they are also piled up by the evocative screen galleries of the new Chinese film industry. Towering monument!