Once the towering poster was damaged - a split at a lower corner made the old woman seem to come to life. It was creepy.
People flooded to the cinema to satisfy their curiosity. They screamed and covered their eyes with their hands from time to time.
The plot is similar to that of "Phantom of the Opera." Revolutionary hero Song Danping is pursued by a warlord and disguises himself as a theater performer. He falls in love with a landlord's daughter. A scoundrel, also in love with the girl, disfigures heroic Song with acid. Song hides in the theater ... you know the story.
Many moviegoers had seen Lon Chaney in "Phantom of the Opera" (1925). Actor Maxu was a fan of Chaney and studied his art of makeup and creating horrible-looking characters.
"We can also see similarities between 'The Phantom Lover' and horror films made by Universal Studios in the 1930s, especially in the shadow effects and composition of the frame," says Wan.
Other major genres of early Chinese movies included "ancient costume" films, scripted mainly from Chinese classic fiction and folklore; family films concerning ethics, and of course, love stories from the 1920s-40s.
While horror films didn't enjoy popularity in old Shanghai, "The Phantom Lover" (1937) directed by Maxu Weibang was the most sensational and successful at that time. It's said to be largely based on "Phantom of the Opera."
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