15. on October 1906, Emil Andersen opened the “Kosmorama” cinema in bødker Nissen’s property on Tårnborgvej – a side street to Østertorv that led down to the meadows, also called Kosmoramagade. After a few years, Kosmorama moved to Frederiksgade 10 and became the setting for many Skibonites’ “evenings in Paradise”. Kosmo closed in 1988.
Premiere in “Kosmoramagade”
Emil Andersen (1870 – 1955) was the son of a blacksmith from Hammel – or rather his father was a blacksmith at Frijsendal, where Emil Andersen himself was also trained as a blacksmith. He became a soldier – a field constable and was a gendarme for a while during the provisional period in 1889. He also worked for 10 years at DSB’s workshops in Aarhus
He was a frequent visitor to Kosmorama in Aarhus and got “movies on his mind”. He got the idea that he could show films himself and bought a device that he traveled around with. He contacted Ole Olsen, who had set up Nordisk Film in 1905, to get hold of films. Ole Olsen asked if he was allowed to show films. That’s how he found out that he needed a license from the chief of police. He sent many license applications around to the country’s market towns. Skive responded positively, and Emil Andersen was granted a license to show moving pictures in Skive with the promise that he would be the town’s only cinema. In return, he had to pay a small fee to the Poor Fund.
However, the exclusive rights did not last, and in 1907 Skive Bio opened in Torvegade.
The program at the opening was 5 short films of 5-6 min. duration with titles such as: “After rain and thunder comes sunshine”, “Præstens højsind” and the like. These were silent films with musical accompaniment on piano. In the early years, Andersen kept his regular job as a gas and electricity meter reader. The movie business was really just a hobby, but things turned out differently.
Andersen also went out into the surrounding area and showed movies. Among other things, he provided electricity in the Durup community center so that films could be shown there on Saturdays, and he was in Roslev with films on Sundays.
Kosmorama in Frederiksgade
Emil Andersen was the driving force in getting films recorded in the area, and he also showed them in his cinema. For example. in 1907, for example, he had “Den midtjyske Arbejderfest i Skive” and Dyrskuet i Skive filmed. In 1908 it was the royal couple’s visit and later, at the town anniversary in 1926, he initiated a film about the area. When Emil Andersen celebrated his 30th anniversary in 1936, he presented the films at a series of special screenings.
In 1914, Emil Andersen moved his cinema to Frederiksgade 10 next door to Th. Brandt’s hardware store.
Sound movies
In 1931, sound film came to Skive. The event received extensive coverage in the local newspapers. Skive Venstreblad quoted director Andersen: “For Kosmorama, what is happening here today marks a turning point in the history of film. What pleases me most about the change is that the sound system installed here is Danish work with the exception of the small photocell, which cannot be made in Denmark. It’s not enough just to have good material. You also need good staff. My daughter, Mrs. Pedersen, has so far operated the concert set, and Bang & Olufsen representatives say that the set I have is one of the sets that has been best serviced. The sound recording equipment also needs understanding and knowledgeable service, and this will also be placed in my daughter’s hands.”
Fire fire
4 years after new equipment was installed, a fire broke out in the control room. The film strip burst, got stuck and in seconds the whole room was engulfed in flames. The operator had to jump into the courtyard to save himself. There were about 75 spectators in the theater. On the screen they could see a reflection of the flames. Knud Pedersen was present and got the spectators out of the theater through the side doors. Fortunately, the operator room was insulated so the fire could not spread. The fire brigade arrived within seven or eight minutes and it only took about ten minutes to extinguish the fire. The hall suffered no damage.
New Kosmorama in Frederiksgade
In 1939, the old Kosmorama building was demolished. Architect H. Toft Hansen, Skive, designed a completely new building. The client was the new Civic and Craftsmen’s Association. The result was what the director himself called Jutland’s most modern cinema.
First and foremost, there was a fully modern sound system from Bang & Olufsen in Struer, praised to the skies and mentioned as the best in Scandinavia. The auditorium was expanded to 382 seats. From the foyer, a tunnel-like corridor led into the hall itself, which you stood in the middle of to find your seat, whether it was in front or behind. The chairs were wide and comfortable and there was plenty of room for even the most long-legged person. There was a sharp rise in the floor and the chairs were staggered, so the view was not obstructed, even though the person in the front had “a mane like a kale stem” as Skive Venstreblad put it.
Emil Andersen was a member of the board of Den ny Borger-og Håndværkerforening for several years and was made an honorary member on April 21, 1945.
Kosmorama was now housed in Frederiksgade 10 along with 9 smaller and 3 other larger leases. In 1977, the property was sold to hardware store owner Jens Saustrup, who had his own business in the building.
New director
Emil Andersen died on October 25, 1955. His daughter Lilli Pedersen had helped her father with piano accompaniment for the movies from 1910, when she was still a big girl. She also took care of ticket sales. When her father died in 1955, she took over the management in collaboration with his son Knud E. Pedersen.
Knud Pedersen was trained as an electrician by Harald Espersen, and in 1941 he passed the Ministry of Justice’s test for film operators with an average grade of U minus. It was hard to be an operator in the evenings when, like him, you had been working as a full-time electrician. This could mean a working day from 7am until around midnight.
When Kosmorama-Andersen died in 1955 (aged 85), the license became vacant, and it was not a given that his grandson Knud Pedersen would take over, even though he had actually run Kosmo for the last years of his grandfather’s life. The position was advertised and there were 14 applicants. In the end, Knud Pedersen was granted the license in June 1956 with the support of Mayor Wolhardt Madsen and the city council.
In the ministry’s justification, it was stated that it had confidence that Pedersen “would continue to run the theater with the understanding that a cinema is not just a business, but that there are also artistic considerations to take.”
Difficult times for cinemas from the 60s
In the 1960s, competition from TV became more and more noticeable, and as a countermeasure, cinemas introduced widescreen and cinemascope, large screens, the latter a curved screen 2 1/2 times larger than the usual one.
But despite the new systems, it was difficult to keep up with the competition from TV. This became noticeable when TV collected money for Hungary aid, but otherwise it came gradually and meant that fewer adults went to the movies.
In 1971, Knud Pedersen opened Elektroniklageret in the basement of Kosmorama. When Kosmorama closed, the activities were moved to premises on Væselvej, and from 1985 Elektroniklageret was located in Østergade. His son Erik Pedersen joined the company in 1979. He bought it in 1989 and ran it until 2013 as part of the nationwide chain Telekæden.
Closure of Kosmo in 1988
Kosmorama came to an end in the late 70s. The hardware store was sold to Hans Kolding after the death of Jens Saustrup. After the purchase, Hans Kolding terminated the lease for both the cinema theater and Knud Pedersen’s private residence above Kosmo. This was to apply from December 1, 1984. At the same time, the new owner demanded a rent increase from DKK 59,000 annually to DKK 150,000.
Knud Pedersen protested, and it came to a court case, which K.P. won. At the time of the sale to Saugstrup, his business was split into two parts, one on either side of Kosmorama’s main entrance. It was this entrance that Hans Kolding wanted to remove so that the two hardware stores could be built together. After several negotiations, the two parties reached an agreement. Knud Pedersen agreed to leave the building and all equipment was put up for sale.
Kosmo had another three years as a partnership before the cinema premises were swallowed up by Kolding’s business.
Four young people who had been attached to Kosmo’s staff raised capital to take over the cinema equipment and signed a three-year lease with Kolding.
You didn’t need a degree and a movie license anymore. Now anyone could set up as a movie provider. The four were manufacturing apprentice Allan Kamp Nielsen, bookbinder and operator Heinrich Nielsen, bookbinder apprentice Jan Kristensen and office trainee Tom Friis Hansen. They worked their day jobs alongside running Kosmo, so it was demanding and it turned out not to be a lucrative business. In 1988, it was finally over.
The hardware store became Imerco, which closed in 2008 due to financial problems.
Cinema future in Skive
For almost 20 years, the old competitor in Torvegade was the only one on the market in Skive, but around the neighboring towns, large cinema centers with state-of-the-art screens and technical equipment were opened. In 2006, it was Skive’s turn with the opening of Cinema3 in KulturCenterLimfjord.
Sources :
- Aarbogen 1950 Skive By and Borgere i fortid og fremtid “You have to take the good with you and leave the bad behind” says Kosmorama-Andersen
- Skive bogen 2003 : 97 years of film in Skive by H. Frank Jensen
- Skive Folkeblad October 25, 1955