Long before streaming services and multiplexes, opera houses and movie palaces thrilled audiences with a revolutionary new form of entertainment: moving pictures.
Opening on Saturday, October 3, at the Henry B. Plant Museum, located at 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa, Cigar City Cinema: Tampa Goes to the Movies, 1897-1936 explores the evolution of the city’s moviegoing experience from the first short film exhibitions at the Tampa Bay Hotel Casino to the innovations in sound, camera techniques and social commentary that defined the inaugural decade of film screenings at Tampa Theatre.
The dawn of movie magic began in December 1897 when 2,000 people packed the opera house of the Tampa Bay Hotel Casino to see Biograph Company short films that appeared so lifelike audience members gasped. Cigar City Cinema gives modern audiences the opportunity to share this experience by viewing some of these early films.
“Opera houses and vaudeville theaters deserve primary credit for the spread of theatrical film presentations in Tampa and across the nation,” said Dr. Charles McGraw Groh, museum director. “Short films took the place of individual songs or skits in variety shows at the turn of the century. It’s not surprising, then, that filmmakers borrowed heavily from the best and worst traditions of vaudeville and minstrel shows, ranging from slapstick to blackface.”
Soon, the Tampa Bay Hotel Casino introduced city residents to the first feature films, culminating in the sprawling epics of D.W. Griffith. Rare artifacts from the Museum of the Moving Image showcase the power of Griffith’s film as propaganda.
The opening of Tampa Theatre in 1926 ushered in the golden age of Hollywood. The magnificent Wurlitzer organ and a full orchestra thrilled audiences in the final years of the silent film era. Cigar City Cinema guides visitors through the sound revolution and the reactions of local audiences.
Tampa Theatre will present a series of films that are featured in the exhibit. The series kicks off with a matinee screening of Dracula on Sunday, October 25. Future showings include Oscar-winning films Sunrise and Grand Hotel. The exhibit features a rotating film presentation, opening with King Kong.
The Cigar City Cinema exhibition is included with museum admission. For hours and visitor information, visit www.plantmuseum.com.
Cigar City Cinema is graciously underwritten by The Bank of Tampa, the Betsy and Steve Chambers Family Foundation, Cogent Bank, the Henry B. Plant Museum Society and Raymond James.
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