Runde Shaw, born Shao Ren-di in Zhenhai, Ningbo, Zhejiang, in 1899, was the second of eight Shaw siblings. When Tianyi Film Company was founded he oversaw its accounts and screenwriting, and later remained in Shanghai to manage the firm's distribution there while the studio moved to Hong Kong. He came to Hong Kong in 1936 to take charge of the Tianyi studio from his elder brother Shao Zuiweng, where he established a formal accounting office, reorganised the company's books and set up practical rules, hiring director Hung Chung-ho to speed up production. In 1937 he renamed the studio Nanyang Film Company and pursued a popular-entertainment line, feeding a steady supply of films to the Shaw circuits in Malaya and Singapore run by his brothers Runme and Run Run. During the Pacific War he fled to Shanghai, then returned in 1945 and rebuilt the Nanyang studio in Kowloon City. In 1950 he renamed Nanyang as Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong), producing Mandarin romances and dramas with directors such as Doe Ching and Wang Yin and stars including Li Lihua, Yan Jun and Chao Lei. He also acquired cinemas and property, including the Aldar Theatre and the Yaumatei and Hoover theatres. Losing interest in production, he sold his Clearwater Bay plot to his younger brother Run Run Shaw in 1957 and retired from the industry. He died in Hong Kong on 18 September 1973.
Runde Shaw reorganised the Tianyi studio's finances and systems before the war, stretching the family's production business from Shanghai to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and building an integrated network of cinemas and distribution. Under his Nanyang and Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) periods he accumulated the capital, studio facilities and distribution channels on which his brother Run Run Shaw later built the large-scale Clearwater Bay studio.
Achievements
- 1936 · Came to Hong Kong to take charge of the Tianyi studio and reorganised its accounts and production system.
- 1937 · Renamed the studio Nanyang Film Company, pursuing popular films and an integrated production-and-distribution network.
- 1950 · Reorganised Nanyang into Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited and resumed film production.