Focusing on the social experience of cinema and cinema-going, this collection of essays provides a detailed context for the history of early cinema in Scotland, from its inception in 1896 until the arrival of sound in the early 1930s.

'Early Cinema in Scotland represents an important benchmark in what has come to be called the "new cinema history". The fruit of three years of dogged research by a talented team of cinema historians, it situates the emergence of cinema within the complex political, social and cultural contexts of "place". In doing so, it productively complicates notions of the local, the national; urban and rural; modernity and tradition. It is revealing in its account of the particularities of "Scotland" and "Scottishness" while, at the same time, establishing a framework for comparative analysis. John Caughie and his colleagues have set a new standard for cinema historiography.'
Robert C. Allen, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


The popularity of cinema and cinema-going in Scotland was exceptional. By 1929 Glasgow had 127 cinemas, and by 1939 it claimed more cinema seats per capita than any other city in the world. Focusing on the social experience of cinema and cinema-going, this edited collection provides a detailed context for the history of early cinema in Scotland, from its inception in 1896 until the arrival of sound in the early 1930s. Tracing the movement from travelling exhibitions and shows in varied venues to the establishment of purpose-built cinemas in major cities and small towns across the country, the book examines attempts to establish a sustainable feature film production sector, and the significance of an imaginary version of Scotland in international cinema.

With case studies of key productions like Rob Roy (1911), early cinema in small towns like Bo'ness, Lerwick, Campbeltown and Oban, and experiments in the municipal provision of cinema as well as of the employment patterns in Scottish cinemas, this volume also includes the most complete account of Scottish-themed films produced in Scotland, England, Europe and the USA from 1896 to 1927.


John Caughie is Emeritus Professor at the University of Glasgow and Honorary Research Professor in Film & Television Studies. Trevor Griffiths is Reader in Economic and Social History at the University of Edinburgh. Maria A. Velez-Serna is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Stirling.


Cover image: High Street, Methil, courtesy of National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive

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ISBN 978-1-4744-2034-1
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