"In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the true measure of a man."
-Marquis de Sade,
The first movies were made on easy to burn, flammable film.
The light source was an open flame from electric arc lights right behind the film. The films often caught on fire.
Many projection booths were lined with tin so that the fires would not burn down the wooden movie theaters. Actually there were quite a few fires.