For his own amusement Horace filmed excerpts of several of the Collins pantomimes between 1931 and 1938. These were filmed on Kodak 16mm cinefilm which was very expensive to buy in those days. Even more expensive would have been the colour film, which Horace used to capture some of the magic of his pantomimes ‘The Queen of Hearts’ and ‘The 40 Thieves’. These rare films did not have sound so sadly the music, the banter and the laughter have been lost but what he did capture is a very rare archive of Scottish panto and some of it’s stars, amongst them: Dave Willis, GH Elliot, Jack Anthony, Florrie Forde and Harry Gordon. These films have been donated to the Scottish Film Archive of Glasgow University and are presented here for your pleasure.
‘Forty Thieves’ starring Dave Willis, filmed at the Edinburgh Theatre Royal during it’s 1931-1932 run.
‘Sinbad the Sailor’ starring Dave Willis, filmed at the Glasgow Pavilion Theatre during it’s 1936-1937 run.
‘Babes in the Wood’ starring Harry Gordon, filmed at the Edinburgh Theatre Royal during it’s 1936-1937 run.
‘Forty Thieves’ starring GH Elliot & Jack Anthony, filmed at the Glasgow Pavilion Theatre during it’s 1937-1938 run.
‘The Queen of Hearts’ starring Florrie Forde, filmed at the Edinburgh Theatre Royal during it’s 1937-1938 run.
