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The “Triple
Alliance” logo.
The
re followed a prolific output of
short one to two minute flints
covering every aspect of
Salvation Army work and
shot on a brand new
Lumiere Cinematographe. It
was an ideal machine, a
camera, printer and projector
Captain Perry with a array of Limelight Department
all in one, except for its film equipment, August 1897. L to R: 10”x 8” plate
capacity of only 60 feet (one
Camera, a Wrench movie projector (“The
minute filming time) per loading Mangle”); the Wrench Cinematograph set up as a
and 120 feet (2 minutes) maximum loading as movie camera and the Tri-Unial slide projector. On
a projector. the table below are cans of film, slides, an
“Original” Kodak box camera (1888 Model) and a
The films were integrated into the slide pro- small plate camera.
grammes, providing dramatic or documentary fifteen 1½ minute film inserts graphically
highlights to the presentations, and two extra depicting the violent deaths of Christian
officers were appointed to the Limelight martyrs in the Roman Colosseum and at other
Department to assist Perry with the touring places in Rome.
presentations and the making of “life-model”
slides and films. Perry filmed these vivid re-enactments at the
Bourke Street Studio and at the Salvation
To relieve the touring projectionists from Army’s Girls Home at Murrumbeena where
constant lecturing, Perry purchased the first of the large crowd shots could be accommodated.
nine wax cylinder phonographs to record Herbert Booth directed the action of over 150
Army speeches and music. In the first year people, mostly Staff and family members, who
they made 250 recordings. appeared in the film sequences and the “life-
model” slides. Some of the film sequences and
This “triple alliance” of slides, film and slides came from commercial libraries (e.g.
cylinder recordings culminated in Lumiere, Paris) but most of the production
Commissioner Booth’s first spectacular was by the Limelight Department.
presentation titled Social Salvation. As the
story was updated it grew in length to 2½ On September 13th, 1900, the premiere
hours (in 1901) with 275 slides and 25 film performance at the Melbourne Town Hall held
inserts. The second over 4,000 people spellbound.
“spectacular” produced Some even fainted at the
and presented by the realism of the film sequences.
Limelight Department Commandant Booth’s brilliant
was Soldiers of the Cross. oration, supported by a 20 piece
For years it was claimed orchestra and a small choir,
to be the world’s first capped off this enthralling
Feature Film. It was not a multi-media presentation.
full length film at all but, The audience reaction was the
as Chris Long’s research same wherever Soldiers of the
proved, it was a brilliantly Cross was presented. To quote
presented series of 200 the War Cry “It was a knock-
narrative slides with out!”

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