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- Entertainment
- IOL News
How an American movie mogul built his own Hollywood in South Africa
The cover of Ted Botha's new book. Image: Mark Levin Over the past two decades, the project to convert the old Natal Command military base into a film studio has been dogged by controversy, litigation, delays and yet more litigation. In a new book, Hollywood on the Veld, Ted Botha resurrects the movie career of Isidore William Schlesinger, a man who took few prisoners and went to achieve remarkable success in less than half the time that the Natal Command saga has dragged on. One of the few photos of Schlesinger, immaculately dressed as always. Image: Hollywood on the Veld Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Born in 1871 in a tough Eastside district of New York, Isidore William Schlesinger - known as IW to his close associates - decided to seek his fortune in South Africa. Sailing steerage class, he arrived in Cape Town in 1894 before making his way to Johannesburg. Entering the insurance industry, he travelled the length and breadth of the country. The landscape had a profound escape on him as did the people he met, particularly the Afrikaners, who told him their stories over farm dinner tables. He even tried to sell an insurance policy to President Paul Kruger: he declined. IW was so successful that he founded his own insurance company before going into real estate, establishing new suburbs in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg (Parkhurst and Orange Grove). In 1906, he paid £60 000 for some acres of veld well aside the town. Naming it Killarney, it was where he would build a film studio in much the same way as the first American moguls built their studios in the citrus groves outside Los Angeles in what became Hollywood. IW's entry into the movie business began in May 1913 when he saw another opportunity: theatres. With no experience in entertainment, he bought the Empire Palace in Johannesburg at an auction, following it up with further purchases of distressed theatres. The Empire Palace in Johannesburg, the purchase of which in 1913 was the beginning of Schlesinger's career as a movie mogul. Image: Hollywood on the Veld By February 1915, he owned 40 across the country with plans to build more. He formed a company, African Theatres, but needing movies to screen in them, he launched a second company, African Films, with a springbok as its logo. In the very month that IW bought the Empire, the 1913 Mineworkers Strike began. Short newsreels of daily events were popular with audiences, but without cameramen, IW immediately bought out a small outfit and began a third company, African Mirror. As the strike grew bloodier, so IW's team was there to record the footage. By July a series of short films were ready to be screened. These morphed into 'The Great Strike', which unintentionally became his first film. Initially banned out of fears that it would incite further violence, it drew capacity crowds as soon as the ban was lifted. It was declared 'a triumph of the bioscope art'. Filming Blood River on location at Elsburg, 1916. On the ridge are hundreds of spectators who arrived to watch. Image: Hollywood on the Veld The first foray into the world of film by IW was indicative of the man himself. A workaholic whose day began at 5 am, he was a visionary who relentlessly pursued opportunities, seeking, even buying talent to make his vision a reality. The Rand Daily Mail wrote that he was never content to stand still, always trying to perfect every business. He might have been short in stature, but he dominated everyone and stood no nonsense. Although the tough New York upbringing never left him, he was always impeccably dressed. Wearing a Savile Row suite, a bowler hat and the smartest shoes, there was never a hair out of place. IW's deep love of South Africa was behind some of his most ground-breaking films. The seductive landscape seemed to have beckoned him as 'with a wand of witchery'. The wide horizons and great open spaces convinced him of the possibilities for cinema art. 'Winning a Continent' told the story of the Great Trek and the Battle of Blood River. (It's Afrikaans title was 'De Voortrekkers'). The scale to make this film in 1916 was staggering. Unusually for the time, it was filmed on location with a cast of 6000, all of whom required costumes. In addition, 12 000 assegais and 5500 knobkieries were made for the Zulu actors while old time muzzle loaders were tracked down for the Boers. A still showing Cetshwayo readying for battle in "Symbol of Sacrifice", 1918. Image: Hollywood on the Veld The most difficult part was filming the Battle of Blood River. On a local mining property, a dam was constructed which could feed into a waterway to create a river. IW persuaded the Rand Water Board to sell him two million gallons, about 20 percent of Johannesburg's daily water consumption. During filming, the director and his crew lost control and the battle between the Voortrekkers and Zulus turned real. One man died and 135 were injured. Meanwhile, conservative Afrikaners had protested that filming was taking place on the sabbath. The director Harold Shaw with the towering Tom Zulu who played Dingaan in "Winning a Continent". The actor was spotted working in a police station in Stanger and brought to Killarney. Image: Hollywood on the Veld The final scene was filmed at Killarney on December 11. The following day the only copy of the film was taken to Pretoria where it was screened for Prime Minister, Louis Botha and senior ministers. Botha confessed that at times he was moved to tears. Its first public screening was four days later on December 16, then known as Dingaan's Day. The movie, the biggest yet made in the British Empire, was declared, 'the greatest ever produced in the history of cinema'. Various authors have noted the similarities between 'Winning a Continent' and the later Hollywood 'trek movies', particularly 'The Covered Wagon', which was a huge box office success. It did not, however, win the Academy Award for Best Picture as stated by Ted Botha. The first Oscar ceremony was in 1929, some years after 'The Covered Wagon' (1923). The young actress Mabel May whom Schlesinger married in 1921. Their son John, born in 1923, would sell off his father's empire and enjoy a life of leisure. Image: Hollywood on the Veld IW poured similar energy into other films, even directing 'Symbol of Sacrifice' (on the Anglo -Zulu Wars, Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi), which had a cast of 20 000 and broke box office records in 1918. On a personal level, its heroine was played by a young actress, Mabel May, with whom IW was smitten. Despite a 20 year age gap, they wed in 1921. IW was 48. One of the battle scenes from "Symbol of Sacrifice". Thousands of extras were used. Other film makers would later mercilessly hack these remarkable sequences and use the footage in their own films. Image: Hollywood on the Veld No less demanding was the filming of Rider Haggard's 'King Solomon's Mines' and 'Allan Quatermain', which were shot back to back 'with no expense to be spared', in 1918. Cast and crew covered 5000 miles travelling from locations in Johannesburg to the Victoria Falls, the Skeleton Coast, the Cango Caves and Portuguese East Africa. It is entirely fitting that the first silent screen versions of these classic novels were filmed in Southern Africa where the young Rider Haggard had found his own inspiration in the 1870s and 1880s. In an echo of the grand, exotic cinemas being built in the US and Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, IW did likewise in four major cities. Cape Town had the Moorish - Spanish Alhambra (1929), Pretoria the Roman - Renaissance Capitol (1931) and Johannesburg the Colosseum (1933) in the modern Art Deco style. Only the Capitol survives - barely, its once glorious auditorium is today a car park. Two of Schlesinger's surviving theaters in Durban. On the left is The Playhouse with the Prince's next door. The photo was taken soon after the £200 000 Playhouse was opened in 1935. Nearly 2000 people went to the opening. Image: Mark Levin It is a pity that the author omitted Durban as both its theatres not only survived but were fully restored in the 1980s and are still in use. The Prince's opened in 1926 followed, after some delay, by the Playhouse in 1935. Its theme was Elizabethan Tudor with a restaurant which soon gave the Royal Hotel (three doors down the road) a run for its money. IW's legacy is far more significant than is realised, yet in the decades since his death in 1949, his name has largely been forgotten. For a man who spent so much of his career in the entertainment world, he obsessively avoided the spotlight, refused to give interviews or be photographed. One apparent contradiction not referred to, is that he commissioned one of the most prominent and influential painters, Edward Roworth, to paint his portrait which manages to capture the essence of IW. Perhaps the Playhouse should commission a bust of IW to remind patrons of his legacy. At his peak, IW owned or controlled 90 companies. Ted Botha has concentrated on his film career and after years of persistent research has restored IW to his rightful place of honour in South Africa's film history. His book is an accessible read, written, not inappropriately, in a style sometimes resembling the Perils of Pauline: will our protagonist escape the next hair - raising ordeal? The footnotes, grouped together at the end of the book, contain some fascinating details which could easily have been incorporated into the main text. The gift to Mrs Smuts on her 74th birthday in 1944 was extraordinary. Jan Smuts (left) and Schlesinger (right) at the opening of the orphanage at Villa Arcadia in 1923. Smuts was godfather to Schlesinger's son John. Mabel and Mrs Smuts became good friends, especially during World War 2. Image: Hollywood on the Veld Two points are worth highlighting. Most of IW's 40 films are lost. South Africa's National Film, Video and Sound Archives has five of IW's films, but no equipment to watch them on. Poorly funded, this almost forgotten archive 'is a sad epitaph to his incredible achievement'. Of equal concern is the state of our libraries where valuable newspapers are fast decaying. No matter how many researchers raise the alarm, still nothing is done. The other point is the public perception of locally made films. As far back as 1923, a journalist wrote of the prejudice against local productions, where a film could be condemned, often without even being seen. It is a perception which, a century later, continues to bedevil this country's fragmented film industry. Hollywood on the Veld: When Movie Mayhem Gripped the City of Gold by Ted Botha (Jonathan Ball, 2025) is available at all good bookstores. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
TimesLIVE
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Anant Singh complains to ANC about eThekwini's 'sabotage' of film studios
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has vowed to act against eThekwini municipality officials who might be implicated in an apparent sabotage of world-renowned film producer Anant Singh's R7.5bn film studios. Singh acquired the old Natal Command defence force building along the North Beach in 2022 to make an investment of R7.5bn for the development of film and television studios and related sectors in Durban. However, the project has been stalled because the city has not yet installed water and electricity in the building, which Singh had renovated. Instead the city revalued the same property to R1bn, which Singh said was way higher than when he bought the property for R71m in 2022. Singh said this meant he would need to pay higher rates yet the building was unusable because there was no water or electricity. Speaking at the ANC engagement meeting with businesses in Durban on Tuesday, Singh told the ANC leaders that after fighting for more than 20 years to acquire the property, which he eventually received three years ago, he did not understand why eThekwini officials were sabotaging such a huge investment that would create jobs in the city. Singh said he was forced to buy a generator because the city has refused to install electricity, adding that the city has recently demanded more than R400,000 just to install an electricity meter. 'I have already lost two TV shows worth R200m which had to be recorded in Johannesburg because my studios are not yet complete because of eThekwini's inept attitude,' he said. ANC provincial task team convener Jeff Radebe expressed shock that Singh's project had not taken off, promising that the ANC would launch an investigation to find out what was happening. 'We will definitely act against the people in the city that would be found responsible for Singh's project delay,' said Radebe. eThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said: 'Since the allegations are related to a contractual matter regarding the installation of bulk infrastructure services (water and electricity), legal advice will have to be sought before responding.' Sisilana said a dispute regarding the municipal valuation of the property has been lodged by the property owner. 'However, as this matter is subject to a formal dispute resolution process in terms of the Municipal Property Rates Act, the municipality is not able to comment further at this stage. 'The matter will be adjudicated in accordance with the applicable legal framework,' said Sisilana. She said the municipal leadership has an open-door policy and continues to engage various stakeholders including business leaders on pertinent matters for the benefit of the city and its residents.
IOL News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Anant Singh's long walk to the studio
South African filmmaker, Anant Singh. Image: File. THERE are probably very few in our country today who know more about Hollywood than Durban businessman and movie mogul Anant Singh. He's been there, done it all and he's got the T-shirt. As producer of more than 80 films since 1984 - including classics like Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom and Cry The Beloved Country - Singh has won a host of international awards and today rubs shoulders with such stars as Idris Elba, Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones and Hillary Swank. Last week, we got a chance to meet the new Anant Singh - the consummate actor. My guess is that he picked up these new skills through his close association with such Hollywood a-listers. Delivering an Oscar-worthy performance before a group of ANC big wigs in Durban, he fought desperately to save his R7.5b film studio project on the beachfront. It was not his fault, he pleaded, that this long delayed city attraction had not got off the ground despite being first mooted some 23 years ago. Showing dramatic emotional intensity, he pointed an accusatory finger at the eThekwini Municipality, claiming they had failed to provide water and electricity to the old Natal Command property. There were gasps of exasperation from his audience as he complained the municipality had unfairly raised the property valuation from its original R71 m to a whopping R1b, meaning he would now have to pay much more in rates. And then, as tears appeared to roll down his cheeks, he uttered this dramatic appeal: "I think I am being sabotaged by politicians and administrators of the city. However, I do not know for what reasons they do this to me." Finally, his parting plea to his ANC comrades: "I know we have been talking and talking but can we walk the talk now?" The audience clapped in enthusiastic response, with ANC provincial task team convenor Jeff Radebe expressing shock at the long delays and promising an investigation. I have no idea whether Singh is contemplating a change to his career, but his commanding performance last week has certainly helped re-ignite hopes that Durban will get its first movie studio soon. To be fair to the municipality, this is a rather complicated contractual issue and its officials have undertaken to respond to Singh's claims once they've received legal advice. So, it looks like Durbanites will just have to wait and see. I'm hopeful, just as long as it doesn't take another 23 years to materialise. Donald Trump's karma? Hands up all those who believe South Africa is a happy country. I certainly believe that, generally speaking, we are a happy people - despite our many challenges of economic instability, load shedding, water cuts and high crime and corruption levels. And we tend to express this happiness as well as our spirit of resilience in our instinctive behaviour. Where else in the world do you find people who break out into song and dance whatever the occasion - whether we are protesting, in mourning, celebrating, and even in the midst of political campaigning? Mzanzis love talking with their hips, young and old, including our president, Cyril Ramaphosa who's often seen swaying to the strains of popular freedom songs as if to dance his troubles away. It therefore comes as disappointing news that South Africa appears to have slipped from 83rd to 95th place in the recently published World Happiness Report, which evaluates the quality of life of people across the globe. Donald Trump Image: Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP As expected, European countries - Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and the Netherlands - took up the top 5 spots. I often wonder what they've got that we haven't? It was also surprising to see Israel finish in the top 10. What are they so happy about? Another interesting ranking was that of the United States which finished at No. 24, its lowest since the inauguration of the Happiness Report some 13 years ago. I wouldn't blame some South Africans for seeing this as president Donald Trump's karma especially after his vindictive and ill-informed campaign to cut aid funding to our country and spreading untruths about SA persecuting white farmers. What's in a person's name? Many people believe your name is part of who you are. It's crucial to your personal identity and embodies one's individuality and persona. Others however think names are over-rated. They are nothing more than a way of telling one person from another. To find out more, I've been delving into the history and origin of my own name in recent weeks and made some interesting discoveries - not all complimentary. For instance, I discovered - to my eternal shame - that when read backwards, my name spells SINNED. I later learnt that the name originates from Dionysis, the Greek god of wine and revelry - which, I must confess, sounds a lot closer to the truth. But the most astonishing revelation came when I began studying the history of legendary figures with the same or names similar to mine and learned about St Denis, the third century Christian martyr and patron saint of France. According to legend, on the day he was beheaded for his religious beliefs, his body was seen to rise and to gather up his head in his own hands as if he was still alive, carrying it for several miles to his burial site. That probably accounts for why so many of my friends complain I lose my head too often. And when I do, I get carried away with myself. Dennis Pather Image: Supplied Dennis Pather is a retired newspaper editor, author and columnist. Email him at kaydenpather@ From newsroom gofer to award-winning editor, join South African media legend Dennis Pather on a fascinating trip down memory lane in his captivating memoir, Copy Boy. This heart-warming journey takes you inside the newsroom, filled with laughter, hard-earned wisdom, and the power of family. As a special offer, readers of POST can now get a copy of Copy Boy, for just R100. WhatsApp 078 593 0585 for delivery details or 083 452 2831 for direct collection. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. THE POST
