Early television in South Africa

[richardwoods]

So that's (probably) Monty Python and Faulty Towers on film. Really interesting Implications that some BBC material was doing the rounds with the ITV stuff.

[John Wall]

I know someone in SA who remembers pre-TV days - they were the first on their street to get a TV in 1975. I've asked about what was shown and their recollection is of mainly feature films. It appears that these were advertised in the local paper so a trawl of the SA newspaper archives up to 1975 might pay dividends.

[paulzents]

Looking at this forum a little more I think I have an idea of the kind of things you are trying to locate. From what I can hazily remember, the majority of stuff to rent television wise was mainly American. That being said, there were British tv programmes that I remember my parents hiring or loaned from someone else. Unfortunately, there are very few of the titles that I remember or whether or not they were programmes that were eventually junked. It wasn’t like they were programmes we watched every week so got to know the characters and actors. It was whatever my father put on the projector. Whatever it was that we watched would have been on 16mm. We had our own projector and lenses and I don’t remember there being any other projector in the house. I’m guessing that the British stuff would have came via Rhodesia, but I have no idea where it would have originated from there.

 

I know that the stuff we’d go and watch on a Saturday at the bughouse was usually varied. There would be cartoons, a serial, some short films, trailers for things coming soon and a feature. I do remember that they showed the Adam West Batman for a few weeks and there was an I Love Lucy shown too that sticks in my memory. The serials were the old black and white American ones that would occasionally skip an installment and the features were old B movies, usually war movies or cowboy films that had probably travelled around the whole of Africa before getting to us. Some of the films were in a shocking state. I certainly don’t remember anything that could be a British television programme being shown.

 

I do remember with the introduction of video recorders that there was more British tv doing the rounds if you knew the right people. I think it was around 1980 that my parents got their first video recorder – a Phillips 2000 – and remember my father announcing with glee that he had something I would really enjoy and sitting down to watch The Goodies with him. I know if he got something particularly good that he would keep the tape until I came back home if he was able.

 

I would say that the biggest thing about any missing tv in South Africa is going to be the fact that if there is any there, it is highly unlikely that those who have it know that it’s missing tv. I certainly wasn’t aware that there were people in the UK searching for things that had been wiped from the archives. For me, tv didn’t even exist until I was 14, and any British programming would have came into the country through unofficial routes, so there would be no records.

[richardwoods]

Paul, thanks for the post, that's really interesting stuff and generally supports Hendry, my South African friends memories. The only difference is that he is absolutely adamant that his local bughouse(s), (yes he calls them that too!), did show some British TV series among the films, etc. In fairness this doesn't seen to be widespread across the independent cinemas as other sources have said that they weren't aware of UK TV programming being shown in the cinemas, and as such perhaps the ex film rental stock, should any of it still exist would be the most promising source. Will me really interested to hear what your friends back in SA have to say as and when.

[RWels]

Jan 15, 2014 19:45:45 GMT paulzents said:

I do remember with the introduction of video recorders that there was more British tv doing the rounds if you knew the right people. I think it was around 1980 that my parents got their first video recorder – a Phillips 2000 – and remember my father announcing with glee that he had something I would really enjoy and sitting down to watch The Goodies with him. I know if he got something particularly good that he would keep the tape until I came back home if he was able.

Even home video MIGHT have missing episodes. Or colour versions that have been lost.

[Richard Marple]

I have wondered here a couple of times about some lost colour Pertwee stories existing as off-air recordings from PBS in the 1970s.

[RWels]

Jan 16, 2014 13:21:06 GMT Richard Marple said:

I have wondered here a couple of times about some lost colour Pertwee stories existing as off-air recordings from PBS in the 1970s.

They do, don't they? And there's a way to transplant the colour signal on a b/w copy. It doesn't seem to be difficult either.

[paulzents]

Having spoken to a few friends, it’s possible that UK tv shows were shown in cinemas. Trying to remember specifics of things from 40+ years ago is a little difficult, but one has said that he remembers his local bughouse showing Ivanhoe with Roger Moore which was made for television. Another thinks that his showed Robin Hood as the serial for a while which seems to be another UK tv programme.

 As for the bughouses, it looks like they’re probably mostly gone or that if any are still going, the people who run them now wouldn’t know what was shown back theen. I am trying to get in touch with an old childhood friend as I remember her Aunt was an usherette, so she could be a source of information.

Jan 15, 2014 20:06:28 GMT richardwoods said:

Paul, thanks for the post, that's really interesting stuff and generally supports Hendry, my South African friends memories. The only difference is that he is absolutely adamant that his local bughouse(s), (yes he calls them that too!), did show some British TV series among the films, etc. In fairness this doesn't seen to be widespread across the independent cinemas as other sources have said that they weren't aware of UK TV programming being shown in the cinemas, and as such perhaps the ex film rental stock, should any of it still exist would be the most promising source. Will me really interested to hear what your friends back in SA have to say as and when.

[Richard Marple]

Jan 16, 2014 13:42:16 GMT RWels said:

Jan 16, 2014 13:21:06 GMT Richard Marple said:

I have wondered here a couple of times about some lost colour Pertwee stories existing as off-air recordings from PBS in the 1970s.

They do, don't they? And there's a way to transplant the colour signal on a b/w copy. It doesn't seem to be difficult either.

Yes I know about the colour recovery method, as used on the Daemons & a few other Pertwees.

[Brian Denton]

Just out of interest, this post is shown as being created by Rob Moss, but mine is the first post. Tbh I can't remember if I did start it or not, but if I did, I want my name in lights!

[richardwoods]

Pistols at 50 yards and hands off my thread! This started in as an off topic issue in a thread I raised about the existence or not of any footage of the 1972 England Rugby Tour of South Africa which was 3 years before television started there. I asked Rob Moss to start this thread moving the off topic info into a separate thread, a version of events that I am sure he will bear out. As to who started giving out useful info, well that's another matter entirely. I have also exchanged PM's with PV so he is in the loop with what has been discussed here.

[Deleted]

Jan 17, 2014 11:26:08 GMT Brian Denton said:

Just out of interest, this post is shown as being created by Rob Moss, but mine is the first post. Tbh I can't remember if I did start it or not, but if I did, I want my name in lights!

It's probably because a post was deleted early on. I can't recall why offhand but that's likely the reason.

[Rob Moss]

Richard's recollection is spot on - this thread came from posts that I split out from another thread, one that he started. But I'm sure he would agree that it's the contents that count, not who started it!

[richardwoods]

Got to agree with you there Rob, it's all about new leads for investigation and as such the content is the important bit. Worryingly Page 1 now seems to have lost all it's content

[richardwoods]

As the original email from my South African friend Hendry who now lives in the UK seems to have vanished, I have copied the relevant bit again below for info for those who haven't seen it.

"Yes, I do remember watching British TV at the local bughouses, things like " Candid Camera ", " The Sweeney ", " The Persauders ", " The Saint " etc. We never had cinema chains then, but independent cinemas , like " His Majesty's ", " The Empire ", " The Cinerama ", " The Coloseum ", " The 20th Century ", " The Rialto ", " The Roxy " & many, many more including all the drive-in cinemas . We only got movie chains in the '80's like " SterCity " etc".

I have asked Hendry if he knows anyone in SA who would be prepared to do some leg work but sadly it appears not. I also contacted John Ferrera at South Africa's Historic Cinemas Website again to try a develop some leads but he said that there were no film societies in SA and felt that films associated with the former colonial power would be viewed as not worthy of nostalgia and binned long ago. I got the feeling that he felt that I was perhaps being insensitive and ended the conversation. I would suggest however that recent experience is that things can survive in the most unexpected locations so here's hoping.