Jean Desmet as Cinema Owner

On 6 March, 1909 Jean Desmet opened his first permanent cinema: the Cinema Parisien on the Korte Hoogstraat number 28 in Rotterdam. Screenings had already been taking place in this location as far back as November 1908, and were organized by the Rotterdam-based café and restaurant operator S. Metskes. Desmet took over the operation of this location, and opened with a program consisting of several short film and the feature film De laatste dagen van Pompeï (Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeï; Luigi Maggi, 1908).

Desmet’s cinema was one of the first in Rotterdam, and his Cinema Parisien was an early part of the cinema boom that occurred in the Netherlands around 1910. Cinemas quickly opened in almost all the major cities and provincial centres.

The façade of Cinema Parisien, Rotterdam. Still from Onafhankelijkheidsfeesten te Rotterdam, op Maandag 17 November 1913 (NL, Unknown, 1913).

First steps towards an empire

This Rotterdam cinema was just the beginning. Just over a year after the opening of Cinema Parisien, Desmet opened his second cinema, also called Cinema Parisien, located in a former shop on the Nieuwendijk in Amsterdam.

In December 1912, a new cinema was added to Desmet’s group: the Cinema Palace at Kalverstraat 224 in Amsterdam. This cinema differed from the others in terms of its luxuriousness. It was in a fancy part of the city, and had its own orchestra led by the violinist Boris Lensky. Desmet then continued this new trend of the 'Elite Cinema’ in the Netherlands by opening the Amsterdam Union Theater.

The financing of the Cinema Palace took place via a limited liability company called NV Middenstand, in which Desmet was joined by Elias de Hoop and David Hamburger.

About six months later, on 1 August, 1913, Desmet opened at his second 'Elite Cinema’ on the Coolsingel in Rotterdam, called the Cinéma Royal. The cinema could seat 400 visitors, but Desmet had wild plans to increase this number to 2000 by purchasing adjacent properties. Ultimately these plans fell through.

Business leaders

As of 10 April, 1914, the Royal Cinema had a new director, Abraham Tuschinski. Desmet remained the owner of the cinema, but hired his biggest competitor in Rotterdam to run the daily business of this cinema. Desmet had already done this in the past, with both branches of his Cinema Parisien: Heinrich Voltmann became the director in Rotterdam, and Desmet's brother-in-law Piet Klabou ran the cinema in Amsterdam. By putting the daily operations in the hands of others, Desmet had more time for his other activities in Amsterdam.

The cinema kept the same name when the management changed, but it no longer only screened films that were distributed by Desmet; Tuschinski probably had longer-term arrangements with other film rental companies. In 1916, Desmet sold Cinema Royal to Tuschinski for 325,000 guilders.

Family expansion

Desmet’s relatives were also involved in the business in various capacities, some working directly for Jean Desmet. His sister Rosine, for example, ran the Gezelligheid cinema in Rotterdam, and his brothers Theo and Matthijs ran the Bellamy cinema in Vlissingen, and the Cinema Parisien in Eindhoven, respectively. Desmet himself opened the Cinema Palace in Bussum on 3 May, 1913.

In the meantime, the Amersfoortsch Bioscope-Theater was also added to the growing empire of Jean Desmet and his family. In 1915, the Delft cinema Delfia joined the list, bringing the number of cinemas to ten.

Postcard of Rotterdam's Coolsingel, showing the triangular facade of the Tivoli Winter Garden on the left, where cinema screenings were held from 1903 onwards.

The first permanent cinemas

For the first time, one could speak of autonomous film exhibition in a permanent venue on a regular basis.

Postcard showing the Rembrandt cinema in Utrecht, circa 1924.

The Cinema Boom

‘Cinema theatres are popping up all over the place’ was a commonly heard phrase in the early 1910s.

Promotional text for a film distributed by Jean Desmet.

Jean Desmet and the Development of Film Distribution in Netherlands

Initially, Jean Desmet made his money as a fairground and travelling cinema operator, but this changed in 1909. He became one of the Netherlands' first film distributors.