Vlamingstraat 64, the hotel “The Imperial Eagle.” A building with film tradition. Dutch foor traveler Willem Krüger gave the first film screening of Bruges there. In 1921, the Bruges brothers D’Hoedt received permission to install a cinema “nuisance establishment.”
In 1924, Cinema Edison opened with 500 seats and a rear entrance in the Crane Rei. It screened, with great success, mostly slapstick films and series and feuilletons from America. However, the operator struggled after World War II. After some remodeling, the operator then began to specialize in so-called “nude films.”
Weekly
Every week there were new films on the bill, with such telling titles as “And Woman Created Love,” “Girl of the Devil,” “Sultry Nights and Hot Pleasures,” “The Cry of the Naturists,” “When Night Becomes Night on the Reeperbahn” (with overwhelming success as it was renewed at least five times). A rumor even arose that the owner scheduled the same films with a different, self-conceived title every few weeks. Surely no one would notice. Extra lots of brown stickers on the posters (even when they didn’t have to), gave the illusion that there would be super much nudity. Similarly, once he only showed half a film or played the reels in the wrong order and no one had a problem with this!
Check
Every Friday night, the commissioner came by with four agents to see in advance which passages needed to be cut from the latest film. Of course, the auditorium was always completely full for this uncensored premiere.
All this at a time when men and women had to come to swim at Jan Guilini pool at different hours, with bathing suits covering everything.
Meer van deze ondeugende kant van Brugge? Schrijf je in voor de S-wanwandeling Brugge pikant. Je maakt er kennis met pikanterieën die je nooit meer vergeet. Bekijk ook het filmpje van de eerste wandeling.
(Source: Bob Warnier, Bruges and its cinema past, issues West Flemish Guides Circle, Bruges 2013; Photo: Bruges image database EGC001000032 and EGC001000033)
