Inside the cinema train: Britain, empire and modernity in the Twentieth Century

Harrison, R. (2014) Inside the cinema train: Britain, empire and modernity in the Twentieth Century. Film History, 26(4), pp. 32-57. (doi: 10.2979/filmhistory.26.4.32)

Abstract

The article offers the first comprehensive examination of the cinema train in Britain. From film’s inception to the present day, journeys, movement and travel have been inscribed in the language, aesthetics and distribution of film. The paper argues that the history of the movie coach expands our understanding of exhibition and distribution networks in twentieth-century Britain, particularly with regard to news consumption. Using contemporary press reports, archived documents and the newsreels shown in the carriages, the article also articulates how narratives about the nation’s empire and self-projected modernity influenced the cinema train’s construction.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Harrison, Rebecca
• Authors: Harrison, R.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain; N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR; T Technology > TF Railroad engineering and operation
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
• Journal Name: Film History
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• ISSN: 0892-2160
• ISSN (Online): 1553-3905