The 1930s marked the first Golden Age of Chinese cinema in Shanghai. Exposure to world cinema combined with urgent social and national issues to create an environment in which left-wing filmmakers created lively and engaging works. Street Angel, loosely elaborated from the Borzage film of the same name, and appropriating German expressionist lighting and Eisensteinian editing techniques, is one of the most accomplished examples. The plot follows a group of friends in the "lower depths" of Shanghai as they try to rescue one of the girls from being sold into marriage. Rather than heavy didacticism, songs, skits, jokes, and tricks communicate the message of the film at the same time as they fill it with light charm. Where postwar Chinese cinema achieved a smooth classical realism, the films of the thirties patch popular cultural forms into film narrative in inventive and engaging patterns.-Chris Berry