Vintage Shanghai Profile picture
Apr 27, 2023 16 tweets 7 min read Read on X
On March 9, 1936, Charlie Chaplin passed through #Shanghai on his world tour after ‘Modern Times.’ He spent less than 20 hours in the city and one of his big secrets was scooped out. What’s that? A 🧵 to guide you through Chaplin’s ONLY visit to Shanghai.👇 Image
Approx. 1:30 PM, Chaplin arrived onboard SS President Coolidge with Paulette Goddard, leading actress of ‘Modern Times’ and his rumored fiancée. Image
Dozens of reporters boarded the ship the moment it docked. They found Chaplin on the deck. Chaplin promised them an interview around 6 p.m. and quickly ‘sought shelter and solitude aboard a private launch.’ Image
After settling in at the Cathay Hotel, Chaplin had, according to the local press, a 'fast and somewhat furious motor trip through the city.' He went to Nanking Road, paid a visit to a Temple, and viewed the site of the '1.28 incident' memorial site. Image
Around 4 PM, he arrived at the International Arts Theatre Studio on Yuen Ming Yuen Rd. for a tea party, viewed the exhibition of Chinese paintings, and met prominent artists, poets, and writers, including film star Butterfly Wu and an old friend, Dr. Mei Lan-Fang. Image
Chaplin had known Dr.Mei in Hollywood some years ago. “This isn’t fair’ he said laughingly. ‘I saw you only a few years ago, and we both had black hair at that time. Now my hair is white, and your hair is all black. You haven’t one white hair in your head!” ImageImage
At the I.A.T, Chaplin tried a cup of tea. Well, He held a cup of tea in one hand and a pencil in the other as eager I.A.T. members sought to have him sign his autograph. Image
Around 6 PM, Chaplin returned to the Cathay Hotel as promised and sat for an interview with local reporters. Do you think they would ask clichéd questions like ‘first impression’? The Shanghai press corps were pros; they asked real questions 'Are you married to Miss Goddard?' Image
“I can’t tell your that.” Chaplin replied, “You will have to ask the lady” Two of his henchmen darted angrily at the questioner. “Don’t get personal; ask him about his pictures.” One requested. Image
But Chaplin was asked that question again by another reporter when existing Ku Wu Tai Theatre in Avenue Edward VII later that night, where he watched ‘Red Lotus Temple On Fire ’. Again, Chaplin refused to confirm or deny the rumors. Image
Around 11 pm, Chaplin arrived at Strand theater, where he watched another performance of Peking Opera and took pictures with Master Ma Lianliang. Image
Here were some films screened in other parts of the city that night. This has nothing to do with the Chapin visit, just to give you a sense of what kind of city #Shanghai was. ImageImageImageImage
Around 1 am, Chaplin went to Paramount Ballroom, danced with Paulette Goddard, and left about 3 am. Image
Chaplin left #Shanghai 8 am the next day. Around the same time, News appeared in the Shanghai Times that ‘Miss Goddard’s Secret Out.’ It turned out that Goddard confessed to a reporter at the Tea Party, and the reporter kept it to herself until it was in print! Image
What were the other legacies of Chaplin’s visit? According to the Shanghai Evening and Mercury, it ‘helped Chinese theatre.’ Image
For Chaplin, that trip gave him something to talk about when he met Chinese premier Chou Enlai 18 years later in Geneva. ‘I visited Shanghai in 1936!’ he told Chou, who at the same time, had just finished an arduous foot journey across #China called ‘The Long March.’

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Vintage Shanghai

Vintage Shanghai Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @VintageShanghai

May 6, 2023
This item at the #Shanghai History Museum intrigued me. It was the 2nd prize in a police cycling race in 1904. When I saw it, many questions ran through my head: What was the 1st prize? Who were the winners? After some digging, I found the answer and more. A thread. 🧵 (1) Image
The #Shanghai Municipal Police held annual sports events soon after its establishment. Bicycle races have always been a key competition. Here is a picture from the 30s. (2) Image
The Police Sports 1904 was held on 15th October. It was a fun event with many exciting competitions, like ‘Throwing the Hammer’ and a ‘Costume Donkey Race.’ Thanks to a local newspaper, we know the final results. Here is the result of the ‘One Mile Bicycle race.’ 👇(3) Image
Read 11 tweets
Apr 22, 2023
In 1933, #Shanghai magazine ‘The Young Companion’ featured this lady in a swimsuit on its cover. I want to repeat '1933' for you to feel how extraordinary it was. Who is she? A 🧵 on my avatar 👇 (1) twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
She is Yeung Sau-King,#China’s first female Olympian swimmer. Born a natural swimmer, she dominated at an early age. (2) Image
I will give you one example: She won all five women's swimming titles at the 5th National Games held in 1933, including the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 200m breaststroke, and the 200m quadruple relay. (3) Image
Read 13 tweets
Apr 19, 2023
In many old #Shanghai photos, you can see this statue standing in the bund. It is not there anymore. Who is she, and what happened to her? A 🧵 👇 (1) Image
Long story short, it's a #WWI memorial erected in 1924. The puppet government took it down during the Japanese occupation in #WWII . Rumor says it was melted for Japanese war purposes. It was not. (2) Image
Prof. Robert Bickers wrote a great article on it if you want to know more in detail. robertbickers.net/2014/10/10/los… I want to add a little backstory, not in that article - about how the Angel was found. (3)
Read 12 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(