During the Second World War, the troops serving at home and overseas were treated to entertainment in the form of films shown in some in the most unlikely places. Reading through my Grandfather’s personal diary of his time in East Africa with the RAF during 1943-44, a trip to the cinema was seen as the highlight of the week. It was not only a means of combatting monotony but also provided a valuable link with normality and a few hours of escape. Basil Dean claimed that ENSA had put on 2,656,565 cinema shows and theatrical performances during the war in total.[1] In terms of demand, cinema was the most popular form of organised entertainment at the time.[2] But the story of how movies were supplied to the troops is a complex one with competition between organisations, supply never quite satisfying demand, and inevitably, muddle.
To understand why it was complex, it is useful first to consider the supply chain of materials and people involved in delivering a film to its audience. Firstly, there’s obviously the studios and producers who fund and create the film. Then there are the commercial contracts that need to be in place for the acquisition and distribution rights with the production studios. There is the celluloid material itself, whether the film is on a 35mm or 16mm reel and of course a suitable projector equipment to play the film reel size. Last but far from least, you need a properly qualified projectionist, a reliable power supply, and somewhere to show the movie. This supply chain needed to be coordinated during the war not only at home, in military camps and factories, but also in far flung areas of the world, many of which were areas of active fighting. It is no wonder that to keep up with an ever growing demand for entertainment.
The size of cinemas during the war varied depending on location – from established Garrison Theatres in Army or RAF camps to 1200 seat theatres in Rome. Mobile cinemas (that included a generator) were used to set up ad-hoc theatres to entertain the troops closer to the front. The extraordinary lengths the British Army went to provide filmed entertainment to the soldiers can be seen in this photo of the Anzio Ritz located in the beachhead. It was only big enough for a handful of men with a tiny screen (see below):
The men stuck in the Anzio Ritz weren’t the only ones who were crowded – organisations were falling over themselves to provide filmed entertainment to the troops. Before the war, Lord Mountbatten had sponsored the establishment of the Royal Navy Film Corporation to be shown on ships. In October 1939, ENSA seized the initiative by setting up a Cinema Division and carefully used their commercial relationships with the major film distributors based in Wardour Street, London to negotiate favourable terms. The established cinema operators in Britain were reluctant to give up their monopoly on cinema going audiences and ENSA secured certain concessions regarding the location of mobile troop cinemas so that they did not compete with their established commercial theatres on the home front. With the war effort going into the production of arms, it was little wonder that there was quickly a shortage of cinematic equipment, especially 35mm projectors, even if the rights for the films could be secured. This was somewhat relieved as the use of 16mm projectors was deemed acceptable by the rights holders. Added to this, local 3rd party cinema companies owned contracts with the Services in certain locations, like Cairo. All competing for a finite amount of equipment, film rights, and eyeballs!
Meanwhile, Army Welfare encouraged formations to find their own entertainment in addition to ENSA and certain army divisions used personal influence with commercial donors to secure their own cinematic equipment. The Army Kinematograph Service (AKS) was established in 1941 to take charge of the education and entertainment aspects of cinema for the troops. Why AKS? Eric Ambler, the screenwriter and author explains in his memoir, ‘The army preferred Kinema with a K because the ‘c’ of cinema had been pre-empted by other acronyms to mean more important things, such as Command, Corps and Catering.’[4] The AKS took over the operation of mobile cinemas from ENSA at home and abroad (all be it reluctantly, although ENSA did remain in control of static cinemas overseas). To find out more about Eric Ambler and his time in the AKS, see my previous article.
This article barely scratches the surface of the story of cinema distribution and supply during the Second World War, but it’s a fascinating story full of rabbit holes to explore.
[1] Andrew Merriman, Greasepaint and Cordite: The Story of ENSA and Concert Party Entertainment during the Second World War (London: Aurum, 2012), p. 180.
[2] Daniel Todman, Britain’s War: A New World, 1942-1947 (S.l.: Penguin Books, 2021), p. 439.
[3] Basil Dean, The Theatre at War (London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1956).
[4] Eric Ambler, Here Lies: An Autobiography (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1985), p. 181.