First film shows

The first public performances of films before a paying audience in Great Britain began at the Polytechnic in Upper Regent Street, central London, on 21 February 1896.

Consisting of short films made in France by the Lumière brothers and shown via their Cinématographe equipment, the programme was so successful that it transferred to the Empire music hall in Leicester Square as one of the top items on the bill.

A British inventor, R. W. Paul, showed films at Olympia the following month via his rival system, which was booked into the Alhambra music hall in Leicester Square and elsewhere. The third major variety theatre in London, the Palace, adopted the American Biograph system in March 1897.

The new marvel of 'animated pictures' spread rapidly through travelling fairs, through showmen hiring local halls for special shows, and through the music halls everywhere.

Once film had demonstrated its lasting appeal, businessmen began taking over shops, halls and railway arches, painting over the windows and otherwise rather crudely converting them into full-time cinemas.

A slightly more elaborate variation involved an auditorium resembling a railway carriage presenting moving views ('Tours of the World') that had been photographed along railway lines.