Cinemas in Zanzibar

We grew up during a period when the TV was an invention of the distant future.  Much of our entertainment had to be self generated, by playing “Nagay”(seven tiles) or “Gomay” (rounders by fisting a tennis ball to make the rounds) or we had to get involved in organised team sports such as field hockey, cricket or football.  The other major source of entertainment was to go to the movies.  

Listening to the BBC news at nine p.m. was a culture and so was listening to the dance music of Victor Sylvester, the band of renown. During the war “Forces Favourites” provided some sad but popular music for the solders in the trenches in Europe.  Many young people in Zanzibar romanced their crushes by sending requests to “Friday Favourites” on Daressalaam Radio. You could be sure that once a week young people had their ears glued to the radio to determine who liked whom in Zanzibar so that they could go to School the following day to take the “Mickey” out of guys or girls who were “in love.” Gradually faked names were sent to the radio station and so the listener had to be content merely enjoying the music.

There were three movie theatres in Zanzibar.  The Empire Cinema was a hop-step-and-a-jump from the meat market. We believed that it was managed by a Parsee gentleman named Mr. Talati.  He lived on the Main Road in the Shangani area at the corner of Portuguese Street and the Main Road.  He had an office on the ground floor facing the sometimes busy main road.  He stands out in my memory because he was a very kind man who loved children.  Our interest in him came from the fact that he distributed glossy coloured hand bills of movies that were to be featured during the week.  My brother and I collected these handbills as one would collect postage stamps.  During our ten o’clock break from School, we would race to the window of Mr. Talati’s office, busily eating our five cent packets of salted “jugus” (peanuts) and we would virtually beg him for those lavishly coloured and graphically illustrated hand bills, and Mr. Talati always had two of them on his desk for us.

In the 40’s and early 50’s entry to the movies was twenty-five cents for the first three rows up front usually occupied by dirty old men who swore that they could look up the skirts of dancers featured in the movies in their strategic seats; fifty cents for seats positioned up to the middle of the hall, and finally one shilling for seats that were slightly elevated right up to the back.  Rumour had it that if you came to the movie in a tie you were allowed in free.  Most children were encouraged by their parents to attend the matinee shows which started at four in the afternoon.  The movie was generally out by 6 p.m. and that gave the kids sufficient time to get home while there was still some sunlight left and if they were lucky, just before the six-thirty siren that told them that they should be home.

Some movies were advertised as being for Adults only, but these were few and far between.  Somehow, when these movies came along, there seemed to be a lot more teens and pre-teens lining up for tickets who “swore” that they were twenty-one when challenged by the ticket vendor.  I cannot remember anybody being turned away from entering the theatre.

The other theatre was the Majestic Cinema.  The arrangement in this theatre was very much like the empire cinema except for the fact that it had balcony seats.   These comfortable seats were generally occupied by working adults who could afford them.  In later years the Pigale Restaurant was built next to the Cinema itself and it was well known for its European cuisine.

The Sultana Cinema was built close to the entry to the Harbour area.  Since it was far out of town, it was not a popular haunt for most young people unless there was an interesting movie showing.

The movies that were most popular during our time were the ones that were serialized such as “Under Sea Kingdom” and “Flash Gordon”. We never stopped admiring Buster Crabbe or Clyde Beatty using their whips to tame the lions.  Serialized movies were also good marketing techniques to get a fully packed hall without doing much advertising.  Most movies started with a “Side Show”.  The side shows that were most popular were “The Three Stooges” which was always full of slap-stick humour that made the kids and adults laugh their heads off. Sometimes the side shows were more entertaining than were the feature length movies.

But time marches on, and I can still remember the introduction of “Cinemascope” which was a wide screen and which became a novel experience to the cinema going public.  I sometimes wondered how the viewers in the first three rows were able to take in those movies, but somehow the seats were always fully occupied.  Perhaps the skirts of the dancing girls were a little wider consistent with the screen.

Then came the newest in cinema technology and that was the 3-D movies.  Each person was given a pair of glasses that were to be worn in order to get that 3-D effect.  As young people the 3-D movie was a constant topic for discussion.  However, these movies died a natural death and never did become popular.

I can say without reservation that the Cinemas in Zanzibar not only were a source of entertainment but also gave many of us in the developing world some idea of the opulence which parts of the world such as the United States were enjoying.  It also gave us some reason to be hopeful that it might spill over into Zanzibar some day so that we could get a piece of the pie.

It seemed to be long a-coming so many young people from the island moved to these “rich” countries only to discover that there was a special charm in having little, and that the fat pockets and glitter of the occidental world does eventually wear thin in time.

= = = = = = = = = = =
COMMENTS

George, enjoyed reading your account of Cinemas in Zanzibar. Only one minor correction. The Talati family owned and operated the Sultana Cinema. I do not know who owned the Empire Cinema. The Gozi family owned the Majestic Cinema.

You are so right. Going to the movies was one of the principal forms of entertainment on the Island. I recall one family who religiously went to the Cinema every Sunday. The reason it is stuck in my memory is because the Gentleman was rather short (or height challenged to be politically correct) and so he took a pillow with him to the theatre. This was funny for every one except the person sitting right behind him.

You are so right about us learning Western ways from the movies. I recall when Rock 'n Roll had become a rage in the West, and the movie "Rock Around the Clock" was released in Zanzibar, several couples would get up and dance in the aisle just to learn the steps. 

What a time it was!

Aspi.