|
The first film shown in Harwich is thought to have been at the Salvation Army Citadel, George Street, Harwich in 1906. A year or two later there was a show on Harwich Green in a large tent, probably by Charles Thurston's travelling show. The first animated pictures in marquees on village greens were shown using a hand operated projector and lasted for two to three minutes. Charles Thurston was amongst the pioneers who introduced the Bioscope in place of the Diorama in fairground shows long before permanent picture houses were established. The fairground cinema was particularly successful in rural areas such as East Anglia; and the Thurston company toured their travelling bioscope around Norfolk, Suffolk until the First World War. In 1908 he produced The Great Show which was a combination of Bioscope and Vaudeville. Those who saw it described it as a masterpiece of fairground showmanship.
The Cinematograph Act
The Cinematograph Act came into force in 1910 in the UK. It required that all places used for showing films had specific safety features to reduce the risk of fire caused by the highly inflammable film used at that time. The Act meant the end of showing nitrate-based films with projectors set up among audiences in hired halls and the marquees of travelling showmen and resulted in a great burst of activity in which hundreds of new cinemas were built. Charles Thurston built his first cinema the Electric Palace in Harwich in 1911. In 1913, he built two more cinemas the Empire Cinema in Biggleswade and the Palace Cinema in Norwich. The new cinema at Harwich was an immediate success with its slightly gaudy, richly coloured and illuminated facade reminiscent of its travelling predecessors.
Read More
Last Updated Tuesday, March 09 2004 at 05:49 PM GMT
|
