The Churches Picture Galleries. 



A PLEA FOR SPECIAL SUNDAY CINEMAS. 



By W. T. STEAD. 



At a time when there is so much discussion with reference to Sunday entertainments, whether 

 in Theatre, Music-hall, or Cinematograph Hall, we think it of very great interest to print the 

 following article by the late Mr. W. T. Stead, in which he advocates Sunday Cinema shows under 

 the auspices of the Churches. In this he saw a possibility of enormously enlarging the sphere of 

 religious activity, and an educational and moral development of the very highest importance. 



fesaw^oasBs^ HERE are said to be 4,000 

 ^ ' Picture Palaces doing business in the 

 United Kingdom. Of these at least 

 3,500 are closed on Sunday. The 

 local authorities quite properly refuse 

 seven-day licences to exhibitions 

 which are as much speculations run for pur- 

 poses of private gain as theatres or music-halls. 

 The operators and employees of the Picture 

 Palaces, who now number about forty thousand 

 men and women, have as much right to a six- 

 day week as any other class of the community. 

 The Picture Palace is, however, allowed to open 

 on Sundays in certain places under certain 

 restrictions ; as, for instance, in London, where 

 proprietors are free to open their shows after 

 six o'clock on condition that they hand over 

 their net profits, after deducting their working 

 expenses, to some local hospital, charity, or 

 some other public fund. It is complained that 

 the proprietors sometimes over-estimate their 

 working expenses, relying upon the impossi- 

 bility of any strict audit, and that in conse- 

 quence they do succeed in making some com- 

 mercial profit for themselves by trading on the 

 Lord's Day. Even where the profits, or some 

 proportion of them, are handed over to charity, 

 there is still considerable opposition to the 

 Sunday picture show on the part of the spiritual 

 pastor and the vendor of spirits, as at present 

 parson and publican have a monopoly of the 

 right to cater to the public need on Sunday. 

 Whatever may be the reason, the fact remains 

 that of 4,000 Cinema halls 3,500 remain empty 

 and useless on tUe one day in the week when 

 the masses have leisure to attend them. 



AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE 4,000,000. 



If we take the average attendance at each 

 picture hall at i,ooo a day for a performance 

 that begins at two and goes on till ten — no 

 excessive estimate, seeing that the average sit- 

 ting capacity of a hall is about 600 — we may 



estimate the average attendance at Cinema 

 shows at 4,000,000 every week-day, and only 

 500,000 on every Sunday. If all the halls were 

 open on Sundays as on week-days the attend- 

 ance would probably be over rather than under 

 the week-day average. That is to say, there 

 are about 4,000,000 persons who, if the Cinemas 

 were open on Sunday, would go to see the pic- 

 tures ; but, as the Cinemas are shut, they walk 

 about the streets, go to the public-house, stay at 

 home, or, in a few cases, go to church or chapel. 

 These 4,000,000 are at present not reached by 

 any ethical, educational, or evangelical agency. 

 This seems to indicate that there is a screw 

 loose somewhere in our machinery for making 

 the most of man. 



The Cinema show as it at present exists is 

 one of the most popular institutions in the 

 modern world. Although it is but of yesterday, 

 it has sprung up all over the two hemispheres. 

 While churches and chapels are bewailing their 

 empty pews, the Cinema show is crowded to 

 the doors. Attendants at places of worship 

 would mutiny if the minister protracted the ser- 

 vice ten minutes beyond the usual time. A 

 Cinema crowd would consider that it was 

 exceptionally favoured if it were treated to an 

 extra quarter of an hour of the show. The 

 utmost efforts of a host of zealous workers fail 

 to induce the average citizen to attend church, 

 where the ministration is without money and 

 without price. But these average citizens who 

 flock in crowds to the Cinemas gladly pay three- 

 pence or sixpence for the privilege of admission. 

 There is surely a lesson in this notable con- 

 trast which it may be well worth while to 

 endeavour to discover. 



THE ATTRACTION OF THE CINEMA. 



The answer to that is easy. The attraction 

 of the Cinema is Life. It is the living picture 

 that appeals to the eye of living people. The 

 magic-lantern slide often produces far more 



