Odeon Camden Town

14 Parkway,
London, NW1 7AA

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rivest266
rivest266 on May 26, 2021 at 6:51 am

Reopened as Odeon Camden town on July 11th, 1997. Grand opening ad posted.

   Boltmaker                          John from Keighley
Boltmaker John from Keighley on July 18, 2015 at 10:03 am

In the early 60’s the Odeon Camden Town also housed the Rank Organisation projectionist training school. If I remember rightly the course lasted 3 weeks before an examination and programme run (no public) before being returned to your own cinema. The students were housed in a B&B in Chalk Farm and travelled daily.

NigelSmith
NigelSmith on August 29, 2013 at 12:50 pm

I know that some of the film Backbeat was filmed at the Odeon Camden Town (playing a cinema in Hamburg). The film came out in ‘94 but does anyone know if it was filmed before or after the cinema closed in '93.

FanaticalAboutOdeon
FanaticalAboutOdeon on May 4, 2013 at 4:00 pm

Cinefan, Yes, the rebranding first appeared when the Odeon, Camden Town reopened on 11th July 1997. The new signage, blue and silver livery, reappearance of neon outlining and mission statement: “FANATICAL ABOUT FILM”, created by design consultancy Wolff Olins, were all applied here and it gave the then owners, the Rank Group, the chance to inspect the treatment away from the glare of the West End. There were niggles about the vertical name sign where the two dimensional characters only read correctly when approached from one direction (later solved by being replaced with double-sided letter-bearing signs internally lit) but, on the whole, the designs were considered successful and, over the next few years, were applied – with variations – to every Odeon cinema except York. Ignorance and intransigence on the part of the City of York Council’s Planning Committee meant that, despite two modified submissions to “meet the Council half way”, the Company were not allowed to re-brand that cinema in anything like the new circuit scheme with the result that York Odeon was neither re-branded nor refurbished and closed in 2006. Three years later it reopened as a Reel cinema with standards of comfort and presentation inferior to that of the Odeon chain. The Planning Committee were adamant that the 1937 name sign was part of the building and therefore had to remain. The neon had ceased to work safely many years ago so the ODEON sign remains, rusting and broken – not to mention somewhat potentially confusing.

davepring
davepring on November 21, 2012 at 9:14 am

You were sitting in the largest screen, an extension of the original balcony from the 1960s conversion.3 smaller screens have been carved out of the rear circle with the fifth screen in the former projectionists training area.

Techwreckie
Techwreckie on November 21, 2012 at 8:57 am

But isn’t one screen in a former projectionist’s training auditorium? Perhaps the circle was split into 3, plus the 2 others? I ask only because the few times I’ve been in there, the auditorium I was in looked – at least from side to side – like an original full circle, rather than a split.

Ian
Ian on October 18, 2012 at 12:47 am

It has been split into (I think) four auditoria, with the 5th in the former Regency space.

Techwreckie
Techwreckie on October 17, 2012 at 3:23 pm

Anybody know how the building is split into different auditoria here? Specifically, if the circle is still one whole auditorium or if it has been split?

shadow15
shadow15 on April 30, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Side entrance (1937):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcinemaphotos/2149060912/

Cinefan
Cinefan on June 29, 2009 at 1:38 pm

Just need a bit of clarification.

Was this the first cinema, when owned by ODEON, to get the new Fanatical About Film brand, or is that another cinema?

Ian
Ian on August 10, 2007 at 8:47 am

A series of photos taken in 1986 when it was the Parkway – Kings and Regency cinemas here:–

Exterior
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Foyer
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Kings
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Regency
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Ken Roe
Ken Roe on October 25, 2005 at 4:23 am

A current (October 2005) view of the exterior of the Odeon Camden Town in North London. It must have been taken very early on a Sunday morning with no traffic or pedestrians to be seen on what is usually a very busy street.
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Ken Roe
Ken Roe on October 12, 2005 at 9:29 am

Two mid-1960’s era photographs of the former stalls area of the Gaumont, Camden Town in use as a Bingo Hall.

Entrance to Top Rank Bingo Club which originally was a side emergency exit from the stalls foyer. This is still in use today as the Mecca Bingo Club entrance
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An interior view of the former stalls area. Note the original decorative treatment of the Gaumont Cinema has been removed and columns support the extended circle area above, which is still in use today as the Odeon Cinema. The orginal rear stalls cinema seating is still in place.
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Ken Roe
Ken Roe on September 11, 2005 at 3:39 am

A 1971 exterior photograph of the Odeon, Camden Town here:
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woody
woody on March 2, 2004 at 7:19 am

the lobby still retains much of its streamlined art deco plasterwork but the screens are all nice but dull multiplex style auditoriums with fabric wall covering
at the rear of the building up on the back wall there is an advertising panel that still has the old (and peeling) Gaumont name on view