Film

Film in South Africa =

The film industry has a long history in South Africa and has been closely integrated with the history of the stage and media in the country.

The history

May 11, 1896: Demonstrated for the first time in Southern Africa in Johannesburg by Carl Hertz at the Empire Palace of Varieties. The films included scenes of Highland Dances, Street Scenes in London, a Trilby Dance, a Military Parade and the Soldier's Courtship.

July 9, 1896: The latest invention in photography, the Cinematographe, was demonstrated for the first time in Port Elizabeth at the Opera House by Carl Hertz. Advertising slogans promised "Every scene in motion reproduced as in real life" and "The most startling and scientific marvel of the age". The first series of pictures included "The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat". Legend had it that when the film was projected for the first time overseas, the audience fled from the room in terror because they were convinced the train would leave the screen. It was later determined that it was a promotional story spread by the Lumiere brothers to advertise the effectiveness and realism of their new invention. "A Game of Ecarte" was also shown and “the London street scenes thrown onto the sheet were realistic and gave a splendid idea of the life and bustle of the metropolis.” Once the novelty had passed the film could be viewed again. Mr Hertz generously invited the children of the Nazareth House to witness this new form of entertainment for free. Admission prices varied from 1 / 6 in the Gallery to 5/- in the Dress Circle.

Cinema buildings in South Africa

The first bioscope or cinema for “non-white” audiences opened in 1909 in Durban, South Africa (Thelma Gutsche 1972).

The first "bioscope" structure in Port Elizabeth was located in a converted building at 32 Main Street and was known as the "Electric Theatre". It opened on February 28, 1910.

Apart from the Electric Theatre, some of the other Port Elizabeth theatres at which films were shown include the Astra Theatre, Metro Theatre, the Grand Theatre, the Embassy, the Opera House, the Savoy (not to be confused with the later Gilbert and Sullivan Society's Savoy Theatre, the 20th Century

Theatres in East London include the 20th Century,

Cape Town theatres at which films were shown include the Opera House, the Alhambra, the Odeon,

Johannesburg theatres at which films were shown include

Bio-Cafes

A Bio-Cafe was a combination film theatre/cafe and was set up "theatre-style" with a small counter in front of the seat from where meals were eaten. They were popular for a brief period in the 1960s and 1970s. The films were run continually so patrons could enter the theatre at any time. This enabled one to come in halfway through the film and when it was finished, you could wait for it to start again. This way you could watch the entire film and leave at any time. It was an entertaining way to while away the time, for example, while waiting to catch a train. A waitress watched patrons enter and as soon as they sat down she would bring them something to drink and take an order. The Roxy Bio-Cafe was a popular venue in downtown Port Elizabeth.

Talking about film in South Africa

There are a number of South African terms referring to Film

Bioscope

The “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector. In many parts of the world, certainly in throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories, it became synonymous with the terms “cinema” or "movie house". See James Burns "The African Bioscope – Movie House Culture in British Colonial Africa", Afrique & histoire 1/2006 (vol. 5), p. 65-80. Uniquely, in South Africa, this usage was kept alive till well into the 1970s.

See also the entry on the archival website The Bioscope.

A Bioscope show

A Bioscope show in turn was a fairground attraction consisting of a travelling cinema, using the apparatus called a Bioscope. The heyday of the Bioscope was from the late 1890s until World War I. Bioscope shows were fronted by the largest fairground organs, and these formed the entire public face of the show. A stage was usually in front of the organ, and dancing girls would entertain the crowds between film shows.

Films shown in the Bioscope were primitive, and the earliest of these were made by the showmen themselves. Later, films were commercially produced. Bioscope shows were integrated, in Britain at least, into the variety shows in the huge music halls which were built at the end of the 19th century. After the Music Hall Strike of 1907 in London, bioscope operators set up a trade union to represent them. There were about 70 operators in London at this point.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioscope_show

The term Bioscope in South Africa

Pronounced “bi-scope”, it was for long the most common South African term for “cinema”, both in the sense of the art form and more specifically as a name for the building. “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector, and became synonymous with “cinema” throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories. The Oxford English Dictionary narrowly defines it as “An earlier form of cinematograph retained in South Africa as the usual term for a cinema or a moving film”, though the term was widely used in Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

Its use in South Africa derives from the Bioscope show described above, and appears to be related to the Dutch usage (Bioskoop), which was taken over in Afrikaans, although a formal and distinctive Afrikaans term “Rolprent” (=“rolling picture”) was introduced by the Academy for Language and Science in 195**???. The term was widely and uniquely used up till about the mid to late 1970’s.

Other terms used for a film show in South Africa

Flic and Fliek

Since the 1970s bioscope was gradually replaced in popular parlance by "flics" (a name which derives from the "flickering" image on the screen) and later by the American "movies". To "go to flic" ["fliek" in Afrikaans], or to “go flic” or even simply "to flic" is still common though, also in Afrikaans.

Movies

By the 1990’s the term "movies" had also taken hold – in English and Afrikaans.

Cinema and Film

Since the 1930s the 1970s "cinema" or "film" (and "rolprent" or "film" in Afrikaans) were the preferred terms, as they still are today.

Sources

Port Elizabeth - A social chronicle to the end of 1945 by Margaret Harradine. 1994.

For more information

See also Bio-vaudeville

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The bioscope, cinema and film in South Africa

This encyclopaedia is primarily focused on the stage and live performances, hence film is only of peripheral interest. However, because of the integrated nature of the entertainment industry, a short summary of the key point follows.

Cinema buildings in South Africa

The first bioscope for “non-white” audiences opened in 1909 in Durban, South Africa (Thelma Gutsche 1972).

Talking about film in South Africa

The Bioscope

The “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector. In many parts of the world, certainly in throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories, it became synonymous with the terms “cinema” or "movie house". See James Burns "The African Bioscope – Movie House Culture in British Colonial Africa", Afrique & histoire 1/2006 (vol. 5), p. 65-80.

A Bioscope show in turn was a fairground attraction consisting of a travelling cinema, using the apparatus called a Bioscope. The heyday of the Bioscope was from the late 1890s until World War I. Bioscope shows were fronted by the largest fairground organs, and these formed the entire public face of the show . A stage was usually in front of the organ, and dancing girls would entertain the crowds between film shows.

Films shown in the Bioscope were primitive, and the earliest of these were made by the showmen themselves. Later, films were commercially produced. Bioscope shows were integrated, in Britain at least, into the Variety shows in the huge Music Halls which were built at the end of the nineteenth century. After the Music Hall Strike of 1907 in London, bioscope operators set up a trade union to represent them. There were about seventy operators in London at this point.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioscope_show

The term Bioscope in South Africa

Pronounced “bi-scope”, it was for long the most common South African term for “cinema”, both in the sense of the art form and more specifically as a name for the building. “Bioscope” was the name of an early motion picture projector, and became synonymous with “cinema” throughout Great Britain’s Central and Southern African territories. The Oxford English Dictionary narrowly defines it as “An earlier form of cinematograph retained in South Africa as the usual term for a cinema or a moving film”, though the term was widely used in Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

Its use in South Africa derives from the Bioscope show described above, and appears to be related to the Dutch usage (Bioskoop), which was taken over in Afrikaans, although a formal and distinctive Afrikaans term “Rolprent” (= “rolling picture”) was introduced by the Academy for Language and Science in 195**??? and is still used. The term bioscope was widely and uniquely used up till about the mid to late 1970’s.

Other terms used for a film show in South Africa

Since the 1970s bioscope was gradually replaced in popular parlance by a range of less other terms, e.g “the flic’s” and later by the American “movies”. To “go to flic” [“fliek” in Afrikaans], or to “go flic” or even simply "to flic" is still common though, also in Afrikaans. By the 1990’s the term "movies" had also taken hold – in English and Afrikaans, though in more formal writing “cinema” or “film” ("rolprent" in Afrikaans) are still preferred.

Return to

Return to The South African Context/General Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Theatre/Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Film /Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Media/Terminology and Thematic Entries

Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page