Unlit Close-Up

"Lin Wan is dead. Does he deserve our sympathy? No. Just look at the way he died: opium, nude photographs, lowbrow novels, and 606. This is the silver screen's once-familiar leading man!", October 16, 1928, Silver Screen Weekly, special issue on Lin Wan's death

"Lin Wan's death heralds the end of an era in Chinese cinema. Under the banner of healthy beauty, he was finally abandoned by his audience.", October 20, 1931, Camera, Vol. 2, No. 9

"Who still remembers Lin Wan, one of the early male stars? Not long ago, a reader wrote to this newspaper, offering a high price for his photographs. The writer believes this is pointless, because he was a degenerate. In the past, he made the absurd claim that 'every beauty under heaven is my wife.' At Room 66 of the Yipinxiang Hotel, he would spend every night dreaming his pink little dreams...", March 15, 1933, New Cinema, Vol. 6, No. 20

"Lin Wan was one of the early leading men in Chinese cinema. He first made advertising films for the British-American Tobacco Company, then went freelance. He had no fixed address in Shanghai, often renting a room at the Yipinxiang Hotel, with someone always paying the bill. Female stars, concubines, even dance girls: he turned none of them away. In Beiping, he went to prison for seducing women. He was even worse than the villainous young masters in the movies. His unspeakable death was the inevitable result of his habits.", April 29, 1933, Xinghai Daily

Lu Mei tossed aside the old newspaper and lit a cigarette. He didn't put it to his lips, just stared at the tiny red ember. To pretend to be a star like that... It sounded kind of... well.

*The story begins in 1933 and focuses mainly on the film industry. It is partially fictionalized. Out of respect, real-life historical superstars will not appear in the story.

Currently being revised