How many local feature films are made in a year? Two? Three? While Singapore film has experienced a bit of a revival in the past decade, with local films hitting the big screens here and abroad, I don’t think we’ve hit the height of our previous record. During its time, one studio alone produced 160 films over a span of 20 years – that averages about 8 films a year! Which studio, and when was this?

8 Jalan Ampas in Balestier was the lot of the Shaw Brothers studio, which was founded in 1937, closed for operations during World War II, and then flourished in the years after. Jerome writes:

It was back in the late 1940s, the 1950s and the early 1960s, when the studios at No. 8 had its best days, rising to become the most successful Malay film production house of the time. It was also during that time when as a young and aspiring actor at the studios, that P. Ramlee not only made his mark as an actor and a singer and songwriter, but also very quickly as an award winning movie producer and director, being responsible for over 70 films and 200 songs, before his departure in 1963 for the Merdeka Studios in Kuala Lumpur. P. Ramlee was of course, well known to me in my childhood, having been given many doses of his exploits in black and white whilst seated next to my maternal grandmother in front of the Setron console television.

It’s sad to see that P. Ramlee is not celebrated as much as he should have been today; even though he was born and died in what is today Malaysia, he lived and spent his best years of his career in Singapore, putting Singapore on the map as the centre of the Malay film world. I believe many of our parents (my father, included) grew up entertained by his movies and singing. No. 8 Jalan Ampas is a memorial of Singapore’s movie industry and you can read about it in Jerome’s post here.