ABSTRACT
The actual discovery of motion pictures as the people know them has been attributed to pioneers in America, France, Britain, and Germany, and is still disputed. On February 20, 1896, firms were first publicly projected to an audience in Britain, having already been seen in France. To feed the Cinematograph, the Theatrograph, and the many rival machines which soon appeared, large numbers of new films were required. Film shows were first given in music halls, circus and fair booths, converted shops and public halls. At Loughborough many famous stars of the music halls appeared on the open air stage to perform for the Gaumont Company. The colouring of such announcements, as was the case with silent films for years to come, was usually achieved by hand-tinting. The music hall was still the home of films, both in Britain and America, but the Gaumont ‘talkies’ were so popular that they were invariably at the top of the bill.
