Group 5 - The GrandView Research

Our newest research takes us into the depths of Main Stacks Library and the East Asian Library as we gather new resources in regards to Chinese cinema as a whole. From general texts of Chinese cinema in the mid 20th century to dossier files containing scripts and memos of film production, we gathered any texts that may be helpful for contextualizing the atmosphere of the theater and cinema in the era as a whole. Through this research, we also found Chinatown Film Culture: The Appearance of Cinema in San Francisco’s Chinese Neighborhood. Published in 2020 by Kim K. Fahlstedt, this journal records not only the history of Chinese cinema in San Francisco, but also describes the aesthetics and spectatorship in the 20th century. The book also mentions the effects of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1911 revolution on these theaters. An interesting event to note is how during the revolution that would eventually establish the Republic of China, movie theaters even in San Francisco would act as community centers that would help the Young China Association. Fahlstedt describes how the success of this revolution and its popularity in the time led to “Benjamin Michaels, the proprietor of several Chinatown movie theaters, formed a one-off distribution company and imported a film from across the Pacific Ocean that depicted authentic-looking war scenes from the battlefronts, titled The Chinese Revolution” (Fahlstedt 187). While we’re still going through these resources, they have already become helpful in understanding our theater.

In our search for information related specifically to The Grandview Theater, we discovered the owners interesting family ties with the film industry. The Grandview Theater played a central role promoting Chinese - language cinema to the San Francisco community. Its roots, no doubt, influenced by the instrumental work of the founder’s father, Jun You Jew. Immigrating to San Francisco from the Nanmen region of China in 1908, Jun You Jew invested in a variety of different business enterprises, ranging from hospitality to expansive anticultural operations.  One of the most influencing ventures, however, was his multi-faceted role as part of the Zhonghua Yizhi Yinghua Gongsi (Chinese Educational Film Company) (Mark Lai, 2004). In 1926, he acted as the company’s vice president, deputy manager, and member of the board of directors. The company focused on importing Shanghai influenced film to the US market. Maintaining the Chinese language within these pictures was central to their work. Jun You Jew was a pioneer in the Chinese film industry in America. Under his leadership and direction, the company released their first film Xue Pinggui quan zhuan (Complete Story of Xue Pinggui) in San Francisco in February 1926, where despite holding the title for the largest Chinatown in North America, a fully Chinese language screening was a rarity (Yoshino, 2018).

Consequently, it should be no surprise then that Jun You Jew’s son, Joseph Sunn Jue, when on to become just as influential to the Chinese language film market in the San Francisco area. Jue, having already gained experience producing and directing Cantonese-language opera and the like in Hong Kong, opened The Grandview Theater in 1940 San Francisco. He remodeled the space, accounts range from 300-400 luxurious velvet green seats, carpeted floors, and its now infamous marquee.  Jue produced and directed films with one a singular audience in mind: Chinese language films for a Chinese audience. While he did play some imported content from Hong Kong, due to import restrictions during WWII, the majority of The Grandview’s screens were Jue’s Grandview Motion Picture Company (founded in 1933) originals. The Cantonese films varied in genre, “…including detective stories, zany comedies and historic dramas”, but repeatedly Cantonese operas featuring Chinese actors living and working in San Francisco (SF Chronicle, 2017; CAMM, 2014).  Jue’s focus and dedication to Chinese language cinema allowed his work succeed in global markets as well. Chinese communities in Cuba, Mexico, Panama, South America, Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia, and Madagascar were attributed for his international success (SF Chronicle, 2017).  As the cultural barriers within the city weakened, the popularity of an all-Cantonese cinema house weakened over time, eventually leading the theater’s closings in late 1980s (SFWeekly).  The new owners, unaware of their impact on Chinese language cinema, discarded over 100 original 16mm films in the property’s dumpster. Luckily, the Hong Kong Film Archive was able to secure a few, which they occasionally screen as part of exhibits, such as "Early Cinematic Treasures Rediscovered 4" (Hong Kong Film Archive).

Throughout this process, we’ve been surprised at how extensively existing blogs dedicated to Chinese cinema or Chinatown history have played a role in providing primary and secondary information on The Grandview Theater itself.  In addition to said blogs, SF Chronicle and SF Weekly articles have been helpful in providing additional background information. In our search we did discover a soon to be released book specifically on the Grandview and Joseph Sunn Jue. We are interested in reaching out to the author for excerpts or a possible interview.