On Saturday 22nd April at 3pm there will be a rare screening some of the earliest silent movies to be made by one of the pioneers of British cinema, William Haggar, as part of the celebrations for the 111th birthday of the Curzon Cinema.
William Haggar was a larger-than-life fairground showman who made most of his short movies in the first decade of cinema history. Born in Essex, he lived and worked in Wales for much of his career.
He ran both a traveling cinema (then called a bioscope) and traveling theatre, performed as a stage actor and singer, staged most of his early cinema shows in the fairground and set up permanent cinemas across Wales.
The films being shown are A Desperate Poaching Affray (1903), The Bathers’ Revenge (1904), and The Sheep Stealer (1908).
The films will also feature live brass band accompaniment from City of Bristol Brass Band. The afternoon will continue with the band playing music from more contemporary films such as Beauty and the Beast, The Lone Ranger, Pirates of the Caribbean, Super Girl and many more. An afternoon for movie buffs and families alike.
Come down between 1.30pm and 2.30pm for a walk around our cinema, our tour guides will be positioned around the building to tell you all about our history and heritage before City of Bristol Brass Band begin at 3pm.