Nickelodeon (cinema)
A Nickelodeon ( AE : nickel = five-cent coin , Greek odeion = roofed theater) was a seating projection room in the United States around 1905, in which the first cinema films were shown against entry of usually one nickel .
The first "nickel odeon" was the Penny Arcade in Los Angeles , which was opened in 1896 by Thomas Tally. Later Nickelodeons were often found in shopping areas, often in former shops. This is why the German alternative name “Ladenenkino” is derived from it.
The Nickelodeons' film program usually changed twice a week. Several (then very short) films of different genres were shown in succession: tragedies , comedies , adventure films and early documentaries . A demonstration lasted about an hour. The films were silent films accompanied by a musician on the piano or accordion .
After each film, the film role had to be changed. During the resulting break, there were musical interludes in some of the Nickelodeons in which the audience was invited to sing along with the help of texts, so-called song slides (cf. Vaudeville ). A member of the owner's family usually took on the musical direction. Jack L. Warner , who later became chairman of Warner Brothers , held this position at his family's Nickelodeon in Pittsburg , California .
The Nickelodeons only existed for about a decade. As the films got longer, so did the rental fees and the entrance fees. The cinemas had to become more complex and attractive, which is why many Nickelodeons stopped operating or were converted into real movie theaters.
The television station Nickelodeon took its name from this early form of cinema.
literature
- Dieter Prokop : Media Power and Mass Effect. A historical overview (= Rombach Sciences. Series: Litterae. Vol. 34). Rombach, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1995, ISBN 3-7930-9115-5 , p. 38.
- Tom Gunning: The cinema of attractions. The early film, its audience and the avant-garde. In: Meteor. No. 4, 1996, ZDB -ID 1333101-2 , pp. 25-34.
Web links
- The Nickelodeon's History (English)