The cinema and cinema-going in Scotland, 1896-1950 / Trevor Griffiths.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Griffiths, Trevor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures--Scotland--History--20th century.

Motion pictures.

Motion picture audiences--Scotland--History--20th century.

Motion picture audiences.

History.

Scotland.

Physical Description:

v, 354 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2012]

Summary:

What thrilled our grandparents and great grandparents in cinemas across Scotland?

This is the first scholarly work to document the cinema habits of early 20th-century Scots, exploring the growth of early cinema-going and integrating the study of cinema into wider debates in social and economic history. The author draws extensively on archival resources concerning the cinema as a business, on documentation kept by cinema managers, and on the diaries and recollections of cinema-goers. He considers patterns of cinema-going and attendance levels, as well as changes in audience preferences for different genres, stars or national origins of films.

The thematic chapters broaden out the discussion of cinema-going to consider the wider social and cultural impact of this early form of mass leisure. Trevor Griffiths' book is a major contribution to the growing body of work on the history and significance of British film. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 From Variety Hall to Picture House: The Emergence of Scottish Cinema to 1914 16

2 Regulating Scottish Cinema: Censorship and the Child Audience 55

3 Through War and Peace: The Changing Fortunes of Scottish Silent Cinema, 1914-29 97

4 A Seven-day Wonder? Cinema and the Scottish Sabbath 138

5 An Essential Social Habit: Cinema-going in the Early Sound Era, c.1927-39 177

6 Beyond the Dream Palace: The Role of Non-commercial Cinema in Scotland 218

7 To the Summit and Beyond: Cinema-going in the 1940s 252

8 A Flickering Image: Scottish Film Production 279.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [325]-344) and index.

ISBN:

9780748638284

0748638288

OCLC:

693812385