Max Bruce

Max Bruce was a cinema organist and composer.

Biography

Before he came to South Africa, in 1929 Max Bruce was the first organist at Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom, but left because he was not at his best playing dance music on the Wurlitzer. Thereafter he became the organist at the Regent Cinema in Portsmouth, followed by the Regal Cinema in Colchester. In 1931 the Bijou Theatre in Johannesburg underwent a renovation and when it reopened on 31 July, Max Bruce was the organist. He was to stay in Johannesburg for eight years, with occasional breaks in Cape Town where he would play the organ at the Alhambra Theatre. The novelty of having a Mighty Wurlitzer never wore off and concerts at the Bijou were always well attended. Initially, when silent films still appeared on the circuit, Bruce would accompany some of the major releases, amongst them The White Hell of Pitz Palu (Arnold Fanck & G.W. Pabst/1929), which starred a young Leni Riefenstahl.

During the 1930s there were also lunchtime concerts and later on there followed radio broadcasts by the African Broadcasting Company, the precursor of the SABC. In 1932 Bruce also provided the music for a short film called The Cape of Good Hope, produced by Joseph Albrecht. It was presented as the first “talkie travel film” and was narrated by stage actor George R. Montford. In 1939, after his father died, Bruce returned to England. He played at the New Imperial Cinema in Canning Town and when World War II broke out he joined the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman. He was stationed near Gosport and when opportunities arose he took part in R.A.F. concerts. After the war he seems to have returned to South Africa, for in 1946 he was responsible for the score of Pierre de Wet’s Geboortegrond (1946). He may have died in 1954.

Sources

Rand Daily Mail (various issues)

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