Shaw Brothers in 1967

In 1966 Shaw Brothers released 18 films.^fn1 In 1968 they released 28. But in 1967 they released 42. They would not come close to releasing this many films in a single year again until 1974, when they released 45. And in all of the years of Shaw Brother’s existence 1967 would be their third most prolific year.

This number begs a few questions. Why so many films in 1967? And why did this volume of output not continue? I have no concrete answers, but I do have some theories. And I think discussing those theories help illuminate the state Shaw Brothers found themselves in 1967.

Theory One: Crushing Nascent Competition

In the early 60s Shaw Brothers biggest competitor in the Mandarin cinema world was MP&GI. The studio underwent massive upheaval after the death of its head in 1964 and would eventually re-appear under the name Cathay in 1966.^fn2 Perhaps seeing an opportunity Shaw Brothers flooded the market wit their films in 1967 to try to cut this new competitor off.

Theory Two: Flexing Their Muscle

In 1966 Shaw Brothers wrapped up construction of their Movie Town expansion. They trumpeted that this would allow them to shoot 12 films simultaneously and release up to 41 movies a year. It’s possible that in 1967 they decided to back up their claims and show what Movie Town could do.

The article “Hong Kong and Japan: Not One Less” by Kinnia Yau Shuk-ting in Border Crossings in Hong Kong Cinema backs this up, quoting Shaw Brothers promotional material about how the influx of new Japanese directors would allow the studio to make more films more quickly.

This ramp up in production may not have turned out the way Shaws intended, with many of the Japanese films being of wildly varying quality. Only two of these directors returned to make movies in 1968. It’s possible that Shaws decided to shift the focus away from quantity towards quality.

Theory Three: The 1967 Hong Kong Riots

If you look at my movie diary before and after November 2024 you’ll see a sharp increase in movie watching after that month. In times of stress people look for escape and distraction. And 1967 was a very stressful year in Hong Kong, especially between May and December. I suggest looking at the wikipedia page for a summary.

In the first half of 1967 Shaw Brothers were on pace to release 36 movies that year. In the second half of the year that pace jumps to 48 films. Their Movie Town lot allowed them to work very rapidly and respond quickly to changing conditions. Most of their films took about 2 weeks to shoot. Development, editing, music, etc all happened on site. If the local situation called for distraction I estimate that the Shaw studio could meet that need in 4-6 weeks. And about two months after the 1967 riots started the Shaw studio started releasing 1-2 movies a week for all of July. The pace remained elevated until early 1968, after which the studio returned to a slower 2-movie-a-month pace.

Theory Four: Genre Shotgun

The films that had helped launch Shaw Brothers to success in the early 60s were no longer popular or profitable. Li Han-Hsiang’s huge costume dramas took too long to make, and he’d left for Taiwan anyway. Haungmei Diao had gone from a massive craze to a minor market. There was clearly a need for something new so Shaw brothers decided to try a little bit of everything.

Modern melodramas, historical costume epics, wuxia, youth musicals, literary adaptations, James Bond pastiches, westerns, mythical fantasy. All of these genres got at least one release from Shaw Brothers in 1967.

In 1968 the studio was able to ditch the genres that didn’t work and focus on the ones that did. 1968’s release schedule is almost entirely comprised of wuxia and modern films (both melodramas and comedies), a format that would continue until the early 70s.

The real answer is probably a mix of things, or maybe none of the theories I’ve provided above are anywhere close to the mark. But taken together they show where Shaw Brothers was at in 1967. A studio capable of filling a variety of genres quickly. A studio without serious competition. A studio in search of the next clear winner.

fn1: This number, along with any similar statistic, is suspect. Hong Kong Film Archive lists 18, but that doesn’t include the ‘international’ versions of Shaw films that the studio shot with different casts. And their lists also include films that I’m not 100% sure exist, like 1967’s The Mirror.

fn2: This is a simplification. The Cathay name had been used before 1966, but its usage really picks up in that year.

Ian Whitney
Published: 2025-03-22