The day of the magic lantern

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32563, 24 March 1971, Page 4

The day of the magic lantern

“Gallantee Show”—at the beginning of the nineteenth century this cry could be heard in any street of any city in Europe, especially at Christmas time, It was the cry of the itinerant magic lantern showman. One hundred years later the lantern show had all but vanished, its end hastened by the new moving pictures of the cinema.

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the lantern's popularity was so great that even today it is still thought of as an invention of the Victorian era. In fact, its history is centuries old: “Phantasmagoria,” from the 8.8. C. is a light-hearted story of the lantern’s development from the earliest projected shadow plays to the grand and complex lantern shows of more recent times. It has been bought by the N.Z.B.C. and should be screened soon from CHTV3. The guide of the journey is a traditional magic lantern showman played by actor Michael Balfour, whose own background was in travelling shows. He comes from a family of circus performers. His face is well known from many television appearances, and recently he completed a major role in John Frankenheimer s The Fixer.” Balfour enjoyed playing a sympathetic character for a change, for he feels he spent most of his life miscast as a villain. His very English, very Victorian lines were wntten by a young Canadian, George Thonuon. who came to England some 10 years ago. Piano accompaniment was supplied by Miss Florence de Jong, one of the two genuine authorities in silent film accompaniment. She startea in this capacity in 1914, and claims that she was the first woman organist to play on the Queen Mary, All the lantern slides and the projection apparatus

were supplied by Mr David Francis who confesses to be a collector by addiction. Almost every day he decides to give it all up, but in the meantime his collection has grown to occupy two full rooms and he has become one of the leading authorities in Britain on the prehistory of the cinema. The slides, all genuine hand painted and abundant in colour, he collected from old lantemist showmen all over the country. The producers, Tom ScottRobson and Robert Vas, blend all this into a funny, moody, nostalgic programme for all the family.