Odeon Halifax
Broad Street,
Halifax,
HX1 1YA
Broad Street,
Halifax,
HX1 1YA
5 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 59 comments
An unlisted building on a large island site - the former Odeon must surely be at severe risk now.
This former cinema, latterly used as a Mecca Bingo Club was auctioned this week and accord to the auctioneers had a reserve of £150.000 and the “Under the hammer price” sold for £256.000.
Further to my comment above I forgot to mention my father was of Indian ethnicity.
I am doing some research and wondered if anyone worked at the Odeon, Gaumont or ABC/Regal in Halifax anytime between 1959 and 1964. My biological father visited the cinemas to collect Union subscriptions for the NATKE union. Two former projectionists remember him and said they thought his first name was Robin. He was very smart in a suit and tie and may well have visited other cinemas in other towns. Any information would be great. My email is .uk.
Grand opening ad posted.
The projectors when I started were BTH Supa’s. To me the bees knees but after about two years were changed to Kalee 21 s. The parkeet floor of the projection room was so highly polished like a mirror. Last year I revisited the now bingo club and the manager kindly showed me around the many changes that have taken place over 50 years. The old projection suite now looking very rejected and unloved and the highly polished floor WELL! Nice to revisit but also upsetting too. But old memories will prevail.
This is the cinema where my cinema career really started as an apprentice projectionist in August 1960. I really loved my time here under Chief Jimmy Thompson and 2nd Tommy Allen who became my adopted father.Loved every minute of it. George Shepheard was the Manager who persuaded me to go into cinema management and I was sent to the Odeon Merrion centre for training.
The career story of Tony Cutts can be found on the following site. bradfordodeonrescuegroup.co.uk
Everything comes together – Tony must have been the one and the same and presumably his mother remarried at some point and thus changed her name. On reflection, when Lily introduced me to Tony at Odeon York, I think he’d probably just called in to see her rather than actually being based there. Knowing the three of us were all very interested in the cinemas themselves led to Tony inviting me to the Majestic and this was during 1966 which all makes sense. I know Mr Close loved his Odeon M.C. and I’m assuming he would have “opened” the new Bradford twin Odeons. I “helped out” with the charity premiere of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” when Odeon M.C. was one of several key Rank theatres which shared the event with Odeon, Leicester Square. There was C.C.T.V. footage on the screen of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh meeting the special guests at the West End Premiere and our guests were local dignitaries. Mr Close had a large photograph of his Odeon’s auditorium, as it looked originally before the “Cinerama” changes, on his desk and he proudly showed it to me saying “This is the best little cinema in the country”. Donald Denham was a strange guy, uncooperative and awkward (guess he didn’t care for youngsters who would become senior to him in rank). I had known and loved Odeon, York since being taken there as a child and in a rare conversation with Mr Denham, I happened to describe in minute detail the original screen tabs which were removed in ‘53 when the CinemaScope screen frame was installed. He appeared incredulous that an 18 year old could remember them let alone describe them and his eyes filled with tears as he told me the contractors putting in the new screen frame had put the magnificent curtains in a skip in the car park as they would have fouled the deeper frame. After that, he was like my best friend and would bring in old photo’s for me to see and ask me to pop into the box if there was anything interesting or unusual to see. He would, I think, have retired just a few years after I transferred to Odeon, Harrogate in '67.
I believe John Ramsden followed Donald Denham as Chief at Odeon York, on promotion from 2nd at Odeon Merrion Centre. Tony Cutts after the Odeon M/C opened became Chief at the Majestic during its epic run with The Sound of Music. He lived at that time in Holmwood Bradford and travelled daily to Leeds. He also had the most comprehensive collection of LP’s a real collector. Later and towards the end of his life he was the Chief at the Picture House in Bradford which is attached to the Museum of film and television and the Imax cinema in Bradford.
If my memory serves me right, the assistant manageress at Odeon Merrion Centre was Margaret Smith and her daughter Carol was the secretary, that was in 1964 the year of it’s opening. Cyril Charles Close was later moved to the Odeon (ex Gaumont ) Bradford where I am told he sadly died.
Chief Projectionist at York for many years was Donald Denham, one of life’s more difficult “characters”. He had been an apprentice when the Odeon opened and retired some time after 1966. We had an usherette, Lily Snowden, formerly Chief at the long-closed Regent in Acomb (a York suburb)and her son, Tony, was a projectionist at York before transferring to Leeds Majestic where he showed me around the ‘box and explained how they turned the sound up a couple of notches as the cathedral organ appeared in the long-running “The Sound of Music”! I’m wondering if Tony would have had a different name to his Mum in which case the timing would make Tony Cutt the one and the same guy. Yes, a reunion of us “survivors” would indeed be great. If you are ever within striking distance of York, you’d be most welcome at my home cinema – it is, officially, an Odeon – the only one in York – and has all the trappings of a traditional one as well as digital projection including 3D. I think there would be much to talk about and perhaps the chance to think about organising a reunion. My email address is: .uk James
The Manager to follow Geoffrey May would be Peter Talbot who was my opposite number in Newcastle. Relations between Rank and ABC in that city were, I am pleased to say, as cordial as was the case in Halifax. I originally met Peter at Odeon Halifax when, in his capacity as a former Manager and (at that time)Operations Manager, based at Odeon Headrow Leeds, he attended the farewell party at the Odeon upon its closure in 1975.
George lived to be in his mid nineties and Beryl her late eighties. George’s arrival at York was fortuitous, 1964 saw Rank spend £20,000 on modernising and refurbishing the Odeon and he soon became one of the best known characters in the City. His welcoming personality and skill in coordinating publicity campaigns meant the already very successful cinema went from strength to strength and his Profit Plan almost always had a healthy figure on the bottom line! A late colleague and great friend of mine, Steve Gaunt, trained at Merrion Centre with Charles Close and a very friendly secretary/local assistant manageress – the name May rings a bell. I was part of the same “intake” as Steve in early 1966, but at York, of course, and the two of us liked nothing better than to spend our nights off watching 70mm. films at M. Centre and the Majestic and, very occasionally, the opposition in Vicar Lane! A very happy period on the eve of sub-divisions when “our” cinemas were still very impressive.
George’s Chief Projectionist at York was John Ramsden ex Merrion Centre. John, Tony Cutts (Majestic Leeds ) and myself were really good mates in the 60’s. (John was my best man)Sadly we lost touch as the years went by and we all moan the passing of Tony (Mr. Cinema ) Cutts. Would be nice to meet up with colleages from that era before its too late.
Very sad to read that both Beryl and George Shepheard have passed away, but glad to see their son Tim is still going strong. When I worked for George at Halifax, Tim was a very young schoolboy. In 1964 ( I think ) George moved to York Odeon, being replaced at Halifax by Geoffrey May from Rochdale. I moved to the Odeon Merrion Centre Leeds as a trainee manager then to Odeon Bradford as A/M under Jack Fenner then onto Gaumont Sheffield as House Manager under Harry Murray that was 1966 I think.
Quite a number of my comments here were in response to questions and/or observations made by former Chief, Danny Wilkinson. I have just noticed that he has removed most of the comments and therefore many of my own will leave readers bewildered, to say the least, as they appear out of context.
Perhaps you will manifest yourself again in another 40 years time, Danny……..
I was recently contacted by Tim Shepheard, George’s son, who was at school when I was at the York Odeon. Tim had spotted a reference to his father I’d made on Flickr and it was good to catch up a bit on George’s family life and retirement as well as learning about Tim’s own family.
Very nice to read. I was one of George Shepheard’s trainees at York a couple of years after he arrived in the City. He loved York and its Odeon and vowed never to leave – “…even if they offer me Leicester Square”! I reminded him that the Odeon, Leicester Square still had its original, five manual Compton organ and he replied that that wouldn’t be an easy decision but York was for him! He was a brilliant cinema organist prior to moving over to cinema management.
George only died a few years ago – about a month after losing his lovely wife, Beryl. He was true to his vow and never left the City he and Beryl loved so much.
Some very interesting comments about the Odeon Halifax. In the early 1960’s I was a young projectionist at the Odeon Halifax under the management of the lovely George Shepheard and his secretary Diana Majdalany. Harry Shatwell was the assistant manager. Those were the days for a teenager with several ‘live’ concerts of all the pop artists of the time. I loved every minute of it all. After a few years George Shepheard talked me into going into theatre management and I moved on to Odeon Merrion Centre Leeds under Cyril Charles Close for training. After several months George Shepheard had moved to Odeon York where I did relief work for him on a few occasions before being moved to the Gaumont Sheffield as House Manager.
The Cinema Theatre Association (CTA) visited the Mecca Bingo Club (former Odeon Halifax) a couple of years ago. I don’t think we were allowed access into the former projection box. I certainly didn’t get in there to take photos. Maybe former projectionist have photographs of the projection box, or another source is possibly the CTA archive (although photos of projection boxes back in the day are quite rare).
Hi Danny
Mecca are one of the few remaining arms of the Leisure Division of the mighty Rank Organisation who, upon acquiring Mecca Bingo, dropped ‘Top Rank’ in favour of ‘Mecca’ ; a very odd decision in my opinion but the powers that be considered the ‘Mecca’ brand to be more readily identifiable with the ‘Nation’s Pastime’ (not one of mine, I hasten to add).
I am sure that if the box is still accessible and safe to enter that they would allow someone to take photos although Ken Roe will be in a better position to say for certain.
The same goes for you in the health, happiness and wisdom departments!
It was ‘Confessions Of A Pop Performer’ as I was Relief Manager at the ABC Halifax that week and , mindful that it was the Odeon’s last ever programme, I recall typing it on ‘ABC Opposition Report Form No. 6 ’ (they were a bureaucratic lot). When I returned to base theatre, ABC Wigan, it was also playing there as, having no Odeon in the town, we played both releases.
The ‘Confessions’ films were ‘much of a muchness’, Danny, so it is not too surprising that you have mixed them up.The first one, ‘Window Cleaner’ I remember playing at ABC Wigan the previous year (the Court which played Rank releases having recently closed) and it was the only time I saw the 2280 seats all occupied!
‘Pop Performer’ did fairly well and the line that got the most sustained laughter, I recall, was Rita Webb asking Robin Askwith (referring to her daughter) if he had seen “her Fanny” and his reply about seeing ‘The Ghost Of Frankenstein’ being bad enough…………
When two further sequels appeared, namely ‘Driving Instructor’ and ‘Holiday Camp’ I was by then in locations where there was an Odeon but I think that the returns were only fair. However, being cheaply made, I am sure that the producers (and Columbia as distributor) made a decent net profit on the four ventures.
danny18badel: Are you certain it was “Confessions of a Window Cleaner” as that was released in August 1974 and would have been an over one year ‘old’ film by the date of the Odeon closing? “Confessions of a Pop Performer” was released in July 1975.
Did Rank bring back ‘Window Cleaner’ or do we have the incorrect year of closing?
Hi Terry,
Yes – ear to the ground! It must be THE Ken I’ve not seen for 49 years!!
You will, I think, have heard that Everyman are attempting to get the funds together (and Landlords' permissions) to acquire Odeons Barnet, Esher, Gerrards Cross and the iconic original Muswell Hill cinema from Odeon Cinemas Ltd.
I will hope to come to you within the next couple of weeks – hospital appointments permitting.
Best regards,
James