The film:
About the Film
The Little Angel is the second directorial effort of Wu Yonggang, and echoes many of the themes found in Wu’s silent classic Goddess 神女 (1934). A poor but loving family devotes all of its resources to the education of an intelligent and sensitive young boy, supporting him through the ethical challenges he encounters in the neighborhood and at school. While father is fighting at the front and doing disaster relief work, three generations—mom, big sister, and grandpa—pitch in to help the boy succeed. The angelic Huang Min, inspired by “A Lesson in Love” he learned at school, reciprocates by secretly helping the family back…but takes doing good deeds too far. When, after saving another child’s life, Min’s own life is threatened, who will make the sacrifice to save him?
Like Goddess, The Little Angel focuses on the moral and physical well-being of a young boy, this time in the embrace of a supportive family. Actor Li Junpan reprises a patriarchal role, but Ruan Lingyu 阮玲玉, who played the doting single mother in Goddess and committed suicide in March 1935, is conspicuously absent. Top billing instead went to Juanita Wang (Wang Renmei), then hot off the success of her smash hit musical film Song of the Fishermen 漁光曲 (1934), in the role of Huang Min’s (Ge Zuozhi) elder sister. Chinese-Canadian actress Lim Cho Cho plays the mother.
The Little Angel involved an extensive promotional campaign to coincide with the Year of the Child. The screenplay was the winner of a nationwide competition sponsored by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, underscoring UPS’s close ties with government. The Chinese title of the film is identical to that used for the Shirley Temple vehicle Our Little Girl (1935), which had been released in May. Splashy ads in the newspaper Shenbao offered free admission for children under twelve with a paying parent, assuring mom and dad: “Taking your children to see The Little Angel is better than having them study three extra years!” Watch and judge for yourself!
“帶子女看《小天使》，勝給子女們多讀三年書!”
Xiao tianshi 小天使
Alternative English title: Our Little Boy
Directed by Wu Yonggang 吳永剛
Screenplay by Jiang Xingde 蔣興德
Produced by Lo Ming Yau (Luo Mingyou 羅明佑)
Production Manager: Lay Min Wai (Li Minwei 黎民偉)
A United Photoplay Services (Lianhua) film
Cast: Juanita Wang (Wang Renmei 王人美), George Kot Tso-Chi (Ge Zuozhi 葛佐治), Tang Tianxiu 湯天綉, Lim Cho Cho (Lin Chuchu 林楚楚), Li Junpan 李君磐
Silent film with dubbed musical soundtrack
Date of release: August 9, 1935
101 minutes
Subtitles translated by Kristen Tam
Subtitles created by Tamar Hanstke
Learn more:
Watch other Wang Renmei films, such as Wild Rose (1932) and Song of the Fishermen (1934).
Watch other films featuring children, including The Mighty Hero Gan Fengchi (1928), Poor Daddy (1929), A Dream in Pink (1932), Playthings (1933), Goddess (1934), Song of China (1935), and Wanderings of Three-Hairs the Orphan (1949).
Related Posts
Wang Renmei (2013), by Richard J. Meyer
Wang Renmei was on a fast track to become one of China’s leading film stars in the 1930s. Her early films were received with magnificent praise by audiences and critics alike, though she later lamented that she became famous too early and never had a chance to properly study acting.
Goddess 神女 (1934)
Ruan Lingyu stars as a single mother in Shanghai struggling to give her young son an education, in the face of exploitation and social prejudice.
Song of the Fishermen 漁光曲 (1934)
Sister and brother struggle to survive as fishermen in northern China, in this musical melodrama. A box office smash.
Wild Rose 野玫瑰 (1932)
A vivacious country lass and a rich Shanghai boy fall in love. What will happen to young love when an uninhibited girl meets urban high society?
