Killarney Film Studios
Encyclopedia
Killarney Film Studios was established in Johannesburg
in 1915 as "the first motion picture studio in Africa".
Two years earlier Schlesinger had bought up Australian Rupert Theodore (Rufus) Naylor's Africa's Amalgamated Theatres (est. 1911) and Edgar Hyman's Empire Theatres Company (est. 1912) to form the African Theatres and Films Trusts on 10 April 1913. In this way Schlesinger obtained a monopoly over film importation and distribution throughout Southern Africa.
Schlesinger set up African Film Productions (AFP), which on 5 May 1913 screened the first of its weekly newsreels, African Mirror. AFP continued to produce African Mirror, which included features on African countries such as Tanzania
, and interviews with notables such as Chris Barnard
for South African consumption until 1984 . Schlesinger imported Joseph Albrecht from Britain to run the African Mirror .
In 1915 the Killarney Film Studios produced South Africa's first animated film, Artist's Dream. The artist was portrayed by Dennis Santry and the director was Harold Shaw. Schlesinger's wife, Mabel May, starred as the artist's dream girl. Whether this production was inspired by Thomas Edison
's 1900 film of the same title is unclear, as no copies remain of the South African version. Five more animated short films followed, and film titles were also often animated.
African Film Productions made 43 films between 1916 and 1922 . The scarcity of international films during the First World War boosted the development of Schlesinger's company. As befits the political context of a newly unified state (the Union of South Africa
, 1910) the earlier films aimed at the white market featured co-operation between Boer and Briton as a common theme. Once apartheid started in earnest after 1948, some films took up the theme of whites standing together against black Africans. Apart from feature films, AFP produced "documentaries" for the state, as well as industrial safety films. During the 1920s to 1940s the distribution of AFP films to the black African market was aided by missionaries such as Reverend Ray Phillips, who from about 1920 wanted to use the medium to impart (Western) morals to black Africans. Phillips showed films to mine workers (most notably, during the 1922 white miners' strike), as well as to the middle class black elite who attended his Bantu Men's Social Centre (established by Phillips in Johannesburg). Most of these films came from Schlesinger's company.
AFP produced "the first sound advertisement films in South Africa for Joko Tea and Pegasus
products" in 1930 . The first films to stimulate internal tourism were produced by AFP in serial magazine form, entitled Our Land .
In the 1940s a special effects department was set up at Killarney. Reflecting the rise of Afrikaner nationalism, African Film Productions produced a plethora of popular light-hearted Afrikaans fare, such as Kom Saam Vanaand [Afrikaans, Come Along Tonight] The first South African and Afrikaans musical, this film was produced by Pierre de Wet in 1949.
The studio also printed copies of international films, such as J. Arthur Rank
's The Sea Shall Not Have Them
(1954).
20th Century Fox
bought AFP in 1959 but as a result of the world decline of the movie Cleopatra
which cost the film industry around the world very dearly, the Schlesinger family took back AFP due to non-payment. In 1967 Fox produced two films in South Africa directed by Robert D. Webb
with cinematogrpahy by David Millin that were remakes of Fox films. Yellow Sky
was remade as The Jackals
with Vincent Price
and the then up and coming Robert Gunner and Pickup on South Street
was remade as The Cape Town Affair
with Claire Trevor
and the up and coming James Brolin
and Jacqueline Bisset
. In 1968 the company made Majuba about the First Boer War
.
In the 1970s the Sanlam Corporation bought AFP from the Schlesingers and later it was resold, the name was changed to South African Screen Productions and the studio was moved to Balfour Park.
Killarney Film Studios' original buildings were demolished in 1972 by John Schlesinger (Isidore W.'s son), who built Johannesburg's first mall, Killarney Mall.
.
A painting done by artist Rob Evans, portraying a zulu playing on an African drum, whilst holding a shield in one hand. It is understood that the drum portrayed in the painting is the original African drum which was originally used at the beginning of the African Mirror film reels. This painting was commissioned to be used for publicity purposes within the media during the last years of the African Mirror.
This painting, if still in existence, is considered an item of historical value.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in 1915 as "the first motion picture studio in Africa".
History
The studio was founded and funded in the Johannesburg suburb of Killarney by US citizen Isidore W. Schlesinger (d. 1949).Two years earlier Schlesinger had bought up Australian Rupert Theodore (Rufus) Naylor's Africa's Amalgamated Theatres (est. 1911) and Edgar Hyman's Empire Theatres Company (est. 1912) to form the African Theatres and Films Trusts on 10 April 1913. In this way Schlesinger obtained a monopoly over film importation and distribution throughout Southern Africa.
Schlesinger set up African Film Productions (AFP), which on 5 May 1913 screened the first of its weekly newsreels, African Mirror. AFP continued to produce African Mirror, which included features on African countries such as Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, and interviews with notables such as Chris Barnard
Chris Barnard
Christopher Leslie Barnard was a Welsh professional footballer in the 1960s and 1970’s. He was born in Cardiff.Chris Barnard, a midfielder, began his career as an apprentice at Southend United, turning professional in August 1965 and playing 8 times in the league the following season...
for South African consumption until 1984 . Schlesinger imported Joseph Albrecht from Britain to run the African Mirror .
In 1915 the Killarney Film Studios produced South Africa's first animated film, Artist's Dream. The artist was portrayed by Dennis Santry and the director was Harold Shaw. Schlesinger's wife, Mabel May, starred as the artist's dream girl. Whether this production was inspired by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
's 1900 film of the same title is unclear, as no copies remain of the South African version. Five more animated short films followed, and film titles were also often animated.
African Film Productions made 43 films between 1916 and 1922 . The scarcity of international films during the First World War boosted the development of Schlesinger's company. As befits the political context of a newly unified state (the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
, 1910) the earlier films aimed at the white market featured co-operation between Boer and Briton as a common theme. Once apartheid started in earnest after 1948, some films took up the theme of whites standing together against black Africans. Apart from feature films, AFP produced "documentaries" for the state, as well as industrial safety films. During the 1920s to 1940s the distribution of AFP films to the black African market was aided by missionaries such as Reverend Ray Phillips, who from about 1920 wanted to use the medium to impart (Western) morals to black Africans. Phillips showed films to mine workers (most notably, during the 1922 white miners' strike), as well as to the middle class black elite who attended his Bantu Men's Social Centre (established by Phillips in Johannesburg). Most of these films came from Schlesinger's company.
AFP produced "the first sound advertisement films in South Africa for Joko Tea and Pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
products" in 1930 . The first films to stimulate internal tourism were produced by AFP in serial magazine form, entitled Our Land .
In the 1940s a special effects department was set up at Killarney. Reflecting the rise of Afrikaner nationalism, African Film Productions produced a plethora of popular light-hearted Afrikaans fare, such as Kom Saam Vanaand [Afrikaans, Come Along Tonight] The first South African and Afrikaans musical, this film was produced by Pierre de Wet in 1949.
The studio also printed copies of international films, such as J. Arthur Rank
J. Arthur Rank
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.- Family business :...
's The Sea Shall Not Have Them
The Sea Shall Not Have Them
The Sea Shall Not Have Them is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, set during the Second World War. Musical soundtrack by composer Malcolm Arnold.A British aircraft is...
(1954).
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
bought AFP in 1959 but as a result of the world decline of the movie Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
which cost the film industry around the world very dearly, the Schlesinger family took back AFP due to non-payment. In 1967 Fox produced two films in South Africa directed by Robert D. Webb
Robert D. Webb
Robert D. Webb was an American film director. He directed 16 films between 1945 and 1968.-Selected filmography:* Beneath the 12-Mile Reef * Seven Cities of Gold * White Feather...
with cinematogrpahy by David Millin that were remakes of Fox films. Yellow Sky
Yellow Sky
Yellow Sky is an American western film directed by William A. Wellman. The story is believed to be loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. A band of outlaws flee after a bank robbery and encounter an old man and his granddaughter in a ghost town.-Plot:In 1867, a gang led by James...
was remade as The Jackals
The Jackals
The Jackals is a 1967 Western film from 20th Century Fox filmed at Killarney Film Studios South Africa. A remake of 1948's Yellow Sky, it stars Vincent Price as a South African prospector named Ouma. and contract Fox star Robert Gunner....
with Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
and the then up and coming Robert Gunner and Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street is writer-director Samuel Fuller's film noir released by the 20th Century Fox studio. The film stars Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter....
was remade as The Cape Town Affair
The Cape Town Affair
The Cape Town Affair is director Robert D. Webb's 1967 glamorized spy film produced by 20th Century Fox at Killarney Film Studios in South Africa. The film is a remake of the 1953 picture Pickup on South Street...
with Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor was an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl” roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers...
and the up and coming James Brolin
James Brolin
James Brolin is an American actor, producer and director, best known for his roles in soap operas, movies, sitcoms, and television. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin and husband of singer/actress Barbra Streisand.-Early life:...
and Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
. In 1968 the company made Majuba about the First Boer War
First Boer War
The First Boer War also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881-1877 annexation:...
.
In the 1970s the Sanlam Corporation bought AFP from the Schlesingers and later it was resold, the name was changed to South African Screen Productions and the studio was moved to Balfour Park.
Killarney Film Studios' original buildings were demolished in 1972 by John Schlesinger (Isidore W.'s son), who built Johannesburg's first mall, Killarney Mall.
.
Notable staff
- General Manager: Benny Mechanik
- Directors: Pierre de Wet (1940s-70s)
- Cameras: Joseph Albrecht, African Mirror ; Italo Bernicchi, African Mirror, during the 1950s ; Vincent Cox (ASC) ; David Millin, African Mirror (ASC)
- Film Editors: Barney Bernard Joffe (chief editor), Tommy Doig (assistant editor)
- Art director: Gordon Vorster (1950–63)
Notable Films
- 1915: The Artist's Dream: first South African animated film
- 1916: De Voortrekkers .
- 1930: In the Land of the Zulus, "the first sound film of Black traditional life" .
- 1949: Kom Saam Vanaand [Afrikaans, Come Along Tonight), the first South African and Afrikaans musical.
- 1968: Majuba directed by David Millin about the Battle of Majuba HillBattle of Majuba HillThe Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 was the main battle of the First Boer War. It was a resounding victory for the Boers. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the summit of the hill on the night of February 26–27, 1881. His motive for occupying the hill remains unclear...
- 1974: Gold, starring Roger MooreRoger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
and Susannah YorkSusannah YorkSusannah York was a British film, stage and television actress. She was awarded a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for the same film. She won best actress for Images at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival...
, nominated in 1975 for an Oscar (Best Music, Original Song) and for a BAFTA (Best Sound Track).
See also
Items of historical value during the existence of the Killarney Film Studio's and the African Mirror:A painting done by artist Rob Evans, portraying a zulu playing on an African drum, whilst holding a shield in one hand. It is understood that the drum portrayed in the painting is the original African drum which was originally used at the beginning of the African Mirror film reels. This painting was commissioned to be used for publicity purposes within the media during the last years of the African Mirror.
This painting, if still in existence, is considered an item of historical value.