Film Songwriting Practices in Pre–War Hong Kong Cinema: A case study of director Chan Pei

Hong Kong cinema was established at the coming of sound. The Cantonese sing-song film was the most important and influential genre of this burgeoning cinema. Chan Pei was an important director who incorporated the creative and theatrical practices of Cantonese opera in early Cantonese film production. These practices had the advantages of increasing the speed of production with limited resources to cope with the surging market demand, as well as attracting audiences who were fond of Cantonese opera. This chapter demonstrates zhuanqu film songwriting practices by analyzing the film songs of Chan Pei’s pre-war film, A Mysterious Night.