Early cinema in Scotland, 1896-1927

The central aim of the project is to produce a comprehensive account of the early development of cinema in Scotland. Where were the early films shown; who by and to whom? Where were cinemas built; by whom and with what success? What films did they show and who went to them? How did films circulate, and who distributed them. What kinds of film were (and were not) produced in Scotland? Who produced them? What succeeded and what did not? How did cinema grow as a business? In what ways did cinema, within thirty years, become a major cultural form? What were the differences between rural cinema and cinema as an urban phenomenon? How were the expectations of cinema defined; what social, cultural and aesthetic values were ascribed to it; and how was the experience of cinema described in the press and other sources?

The popularity of cinema in Scotland - and in Glasgow particularly - is legendary. Purpose-built cinemas began to appear in 1910, and by 1920 there were 557 cinemas in Scotland. By 1929, according to the historian, Christopher Harvie, Glasgow alone had 127 cinemas. Green's Playhouse, opening in 1927 had a seating capacity of 4,368, and was, by repute, the largest cinema in the world outside the USA. In 1939, according to Bruce Peter, there were 'a staggering 114 picture houses in Glasgow with a seating capacity in excess of 175,000, more cinema seats per head than any other city in the world.'

Against this background, the absence of indigenously produced feature film is striking. In a period from 1915 to 1930, when the Irish Filmography lists around 30 Irish-produced fiction films, the Scottish record contains 6. In the same period, internationally, over 150 films have clearly identified Scottish themes; e.g. Bonnie Prince Charlie, Rob Roy, and Mary, Queen of Scots.

This disparity - between the popularity of cinema and the production of feature films; between the international market for Scottish stories and the apparent absence of a domestic industry which might sustain their production - points to a key element in the historical context for the research.

More broadly, the project addresses a fundamental gap in the historical record of Scottish culture, which is itself a disparity in current research: the disparity between the importance of cinema in 20th-century Scottish culture, the wealth of documentary evidence available in archives, and the lack of sustained academic research in uncovering, collating and making sense of this evidence. While early Irish cinema has been well surveyed in monographs and edited collections, while there are two monographs which address early cinema in Wales, and while the inventiveness of regional producers in Brighton, Sheffield or Blackburn is part of the international history of early cinema, research into history of the early cinema in Scotland is covered by a handful of articles and catalogue introductions.

This, then, will be the first major attempt to bring together systematically a range of resources and archive records in order to produce a comprehensive account of the beginnings of cinema in Scotland. It will cover production, distribution, exhibition and reception in order to understand the cultural, social and economic place of cinema in the early years of the twentieth century: the phenomenon which Francesco Casetti describes as 'the popularization of modernity and the modernization of popularity.' In this sense, the research will contribute to a more complex understanding of the cultural significance of the so-called 'silent period'. An understanding of the particular popularity of the 'cinema of attractions' in Scotland -- of 'shows', 'local topicals' and 'actualities' -- will add significantly to international research into film history and to the historical understanding of a period when it was not yet certain that cinema would become either a dominant form of culture, or, indeed, a narrative form of entertainment.

Recognising the evident public interest in early cinema, the project is committed to public engagement of the highest standard. This will be achieved in a number of ways.

(1) Through the Collaborative Framework Agreement between Glasgow University and Culture and Sport Glasgow (see Pathways to Impact), we have begun discussions on the best way to provide a long-term display on early cinema, informed by the research of the project, in one of Glasgow Museums' venues. It is one of the advantages of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) that it can be adapted and exported to more user-friendly formats to engage the museum public in accessible and interactive ways.
Through the project partnership with CSG, the project will significantly enhance the understanding of the early cinema collections in Glasgow Museums. This knowledge will be embedded in the museum's collection management system ensuring that future displays and other projects can be informed by this research. Additional content can also be developed for its publicly accessible online Collections Navigator (see http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/). This will increase public access to the collection both digitally and physically at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.

(2) We have been approached by Falkirk City Council to participate in a Silent Film Festival, to be held in the Hippodrome Cinema, built originally in 1911 and recently restored by the Council to its original state as a functioning cinema. This participation will provide both the focus and the profile to develop other outreach activities in Scotland: travelling exhibitions, presentations and workshops.

(3) We have had very positive discussions with Hopscotch Films, an independent production company, on a television series on the history of early cinema in Scotland. This would follow their current six-part series, currently in post-production, on Scottish cinema from the 1930s to the postwar period, and would be consistent with the profile of cultural programming to which they are committed.

(4) The project partner, Scottish Screen Archive, has extensive experience of working with schools, both through public cinemas and festivals and through classroom practice, in the promotion of film archive holdings for use in cultural and social history, and in deepening pupil's awareness of film and media history. One of the major contributions in kind of the partnership will be the time of the SSA's Education and Outreach Officer, who will work in collaboration with school teachers to adapt research materials for use as teaching packs and workshops for use in schools throughout Scotland.

(5) Through the development of digital discovery and dissemination as a distinctive element of the project's research methodology, and with the support of Glasgow University's Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII), we will contribute to the professional development of museum and archive staff. This will be facilitated by the partnership with the Scottish Screen Archive/National Library of Scotland, and by the Framework Agreement with CSG, one of the aims of which is to provide training in academic research methods to museum and gallery researchers, and to promote exchange between academic researchers and museum curators.

(6) The project will have indirect, but measurable, economic impact by contributing in the short term to Glasgow's cultural programme for the Commonwealth Games (2014), in which museums and galleries will play a significant part. On a longer term basis, a research-informed display of early cinema in Glasgow Museums, and in local museums throughout the country, will contribute to Scotland's tourist profile.

(7) More directly, an independently produced documentary series on early cinema in Scotland has the potential to make a direct contribution to the Scotti