It is good to see someone extolling the virtues of ABC Theatres for a change…….
They were really underrated, having ‘missed the boat’ in certain larger cities where the Paramounts were acquired by Odeon although ABC did have ‘first refusal’ on those properties back in the early 1940’s.
I started in the industry as a Trainee Manager in the early 1970’s and became an Assistant Manager of various grades (ABC had four grades below that of ‘House Manager’ which was the ‘launching post’ to becoming a Manager – or General Manager – in key locations). During this period I carried out relief duties all over the north of England and Scotland and there were too many places to list here…..
ABC’s where I was Manager & Licensee were South Shields, Darlington, Chester and the two large venues in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The two in Newcastle (Westgate Road and Haymarket) had at one time seated 2200 and 2002 respectively whilst the smallest (Darlington) was a ‘mere’ 1620.
I saw the very end of the ‘proper cinema’ era when presentation with the use of house and screen tabs was the norm whilst you actually could experience a ‘sense of occasion’ that is now sadly lacking, notwithstanding the comfort and state of the art digital projection and sound of today. As far as I am concerned nothing can match the 70mm and 6 track magnetic stereo we had in many of our ‘key’ theatres back then.
The venues I have mentioned are included together with photos on this site.
It was a very nice cinema and I remember it well. I worked for ABC for many years and they had some very nice theatres indeed. Blackpool had to be one of the jewels in the crown with the wonderful ABC Theatre, Church Street and the atmospheric Princess, North Shore.
Hi again, Moira. I am Terry Charnock and I remember you at King James School. My dad at one time was Chief Projectionist at Shildon Hippodrome and I went into the business myself in the early 1970’s and managed, among others, the former Newcastle Essoldo when it became an ABC.
I remember you all and the Essoldo with great affection, Moira.
I saw some of the greatest films there including ‘Sink the Bismarck’, ‘The Ten Commandments’, ‘Cleopatra’, ‘South Pacific’ and scores of others. It is sad to see the empty spot now and hard to imagine the escapism we enjoyed.
A Local Assistant of mine with ABC had worked at the Odeon Swiss Cottage during WW2 and had done ‘fire watch’ duty on the flat roof. She said it was a lovely theatre at that time.
I suspect that the profile photo may actually be that of the narrowed circle at Swiss Cottage which comprises the Screen1/IMAX auditorium.
If Odeon are determined to persist with their ‘no tabs’ policy (as I suspect will be the case) they could at least choose a more restful and warm colour scheme than ‘Royal Blue’.
Fine new watercolour by local artist, Eric Thompson uploaded to the photos section. The theatre is depicted as it would have appeared in 1965, one year before closure in 1966 when the town, once with three Essoldo operated venues, was left with only the Odeon which itself would disappear in 1983……..
I spent a few years in the 1970’s as A/M at the ABC Huddersfield and the Princess seemed to do very well with the second runs from both the ABC and the Classic.
I only visited the Princess once and it was on a rare Saturday night off. I went to the pay box ready to ‘cough up’ for the price of two circle tickets but the Manager/Lessee, Donald Whitehead (late of the Empire), happened to be duty cashier. Recognising me, he only charged for one, issuing a complimentary ticket for myself. He duly signed the back of it otherwise the ticket checker upstairs would have challenged its presentation on a Saturday.
The second feature, ‘Rio Lobo’ was about half way through as we sat down and when it ended the houselights came up and the festoon curtain was lowered. It was a pretty cinema and, I have to admit, retained nearly all concealed lighting and decorative fittings as opposed to the ABC where, by this time, our notorious cost-cutting Zone Manager had seen to it that very little remained illuminated apart from the main ceiling fittings and the house tabs….
Fully expecting to see the adverts and trailers when the lights dimmed and the festoons opened, I was amazed that they proceeded straight to the main feature,‘Carry On Behind', a first run (unusual for the Princess).
Some time later we acquired one of the Princess’s projectists at the ABC and I mentioned the unusual programme format. He told me that the ads, trailers etc always formed the beginning of the programme there and furthermore,that on the occasions when an epic film with an intermission was presented, the ads and trailers played after the intermission – prior to part two of the feature.
That must have been the most unusual procedure of any cinema anywhere – unless anyone knows of anything even odder still, that is……
I remember York was converted in 1972 around the time of the many ‘drop wall’ Rank venues.
Ironically, in my native North East, the first such conversion was in my home town of Bishop Auckland which must have been the very smallest province where Rank were represented .
I knew the Manager, Walter Aylen, very well and he expressed his amazement that York was converted in this manner. He did say that it was good to have an 880 seat Screen 1 (that was the capacity he stated) but that they could simply have retained the front stalls seating as an ‘overflow’ area.
I dare say that Rank had a good reason for converting York (and Chester) as they did. Perhaps extra staff would have had to be deployed in the front stalls whereas the stadium plan could be served by the normal strength?
Certainly, it would have been better for the front stalls to have been retained given what Everyman now propose to do in the main auditorium. I am sure that under these circumstances they would have done a Muswell Hill type restoration with NO FLOATING SCREEN…..
I have to admit that I have not read the plans, davepring,but ,given the sightline issue, the floating screen will, accordingly, not have to be any lower than the existing screen.
At least the new organisation want to make a feature of the proscenium via the floating screen being backlit but, yet again, we are back to the absence of screen tabs…..
As you say, RichieA70, Odeon Barnet’s screen was brought forward and raised when Rank increased the number of screens from three to five. Prior to then, of course, it had been a standard ‘drop wall’ with the original proscenium housing the main screen.
In the case of Odeon York the original proscenium remains intact for, whilst not a ‘drop wall’ conversion, the circle stepping was continued to almost the orchestra rail thereby creating a very nice stadium auditorium.
The reversal of the original scheme, which (I understand) included the retention of the proscenium and the fitting of quality house tabs, in favour of a ‘floating screen’ is indeed lamentable………
I assume that the intention is to provide a larger sheet size but, as the existing proscenium is very wide, it is a great shame to compromise the integrity of the cinema in this manner.
I hope that Everyman have a change of heart and use Muswell Hill (which looks splendid) as the ‘York Model’ as opposed to the ‘Barnet Formula’……
So why the change of heart regarding the opulent stage drapes and appropriate lighting? I thought that Everyman were enthusiastic about such features in their traditional venues as in the case of Muswell Hill and Esher.
Perhaps some ‘whiz kid’ has joined Everyman and the two aforementioned theatres will receive the ‘floating screen’ look also.
I detest the damned things; they are just about acceptable in mini auditoria – but in the Odeon York main auditorium?……..
Hello ‘Love Cinema’.
It is good to see someone extolling the virtues of ABC Theatres for a change…….
They were really underrated, having ‘missed the boat’ in certain larger cities where the Paramounts were acquired by Odeon although ABC did have ‘first refusal’ on those properties back in the early 1940’s.
I started in the industry as a Trainee Manager in the early 1970’s and became an Assistant Manager of various grades (ABC had four grades below that of ‘House Manager’ which was the ‘launching post’ to becoming a Manager – or General Manager – in key locations). During this period I carried out relief duties all over the north of England and Scotland and there were too many places to list here…..
ABC’s where I was Manager & Licensee were South Shields, Darlington, Chester and the two large venues in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The two in Newcastle (Westgate Road and Haymarket) had at one time seated 2200 and 2002 respectively whilst the smallest (Darlington) was a ‘mere’ 1620.
I saw the very end of the ‘proper cinema’ era when presentation with the use of house and screen tabs was the norm whilst you actually could experience a ‘sense of occasion’ that is now sadly lacking, notwithstanding the comfort and state of the art digital projection and sound of today. As far as I am concerned nothing can match the 70mm and 6 track magnetic stereo we had in many of our ‘key’ theatres back then.
The venues I have mentioned are included together with photos on this site.
Best regards
Terry
It was a very nice cinema and I remember it well. I worked for ABC for many years and they had some very nice theatres indeed. Blackpool had to be one of the jewels in the crown with the wonderful ABC Theatre, Church Street and the atmospheric Princess, North Shore.
‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ would have played at the Odeon, Dickson Road.
You may recognise me on here, Moira; there are various photos – some going back to the ‘year dot’ :–
https://www.facebook.com/terry.charnock
Anyway, I take this opportunity to wish you a good 2018!
Hi again, Moira. I am Terry Charnock and I remember you at King James School. My dad at one time was Chief Projectionist at Shildon Hippodrome and I went into the business myself in the early 1970’s and managed, among others, the former Newcastle Essoldo when it became an ABC.
I remember you all and the Essoldo with great affection, Moira.
I saw some of the greatest films there including ‘Sink the Bismarck’, ‘The Ten Commandments’, ‘Cleopatra’, ‘South Pacific’ and scores of others. It is sad to see the empty spot now and hard to imagine the escapism we enjoyed.
I hope that you are keeping well.
Live BBC concert of Reginald Porter Brown at the Compton Organ of the ABC Regal: Torbay’s finest theatre :–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6_Tg1AyZoQ
A Local Assistant of mine with ABC had worked at the Odeon Swiss Cottage during WW2 and had done ‘fire watch’ duty on the flat roof. She said it was a lovely theatre at that time.
I suspect that the profile photo may actually be that of the narrowed circle at Swiss Cottage which comprises the Screen1/IMAX auditorium.
If Odeon are determined to persist with their ‘no tabs’ policy (as I suspect will be the case) they could at least choose a more restful and warm colour scheme than ‘Royal Blue’.
The home page photo depicts a cold looking, devoid of atmosphere auditorium with – as usual – the bare screen staring one in the face……
ABC Huddersfield was where The Beatles first performed ‘I Wanna Hold your Hand’ :–
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/15479683.How_Paul_Berriff_spent_his_teenage_days_with_JohnPaulGeorge_and_Ringo/
When it was a PROPER cinema :–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-qg1xFBXsM
Fine new watercolour by local artist, Eric Thompson.
Fine new watercolour by local artist, Eric Thompson uploaded to the photos section. The theatre is depicted as it would have appeared in 1965, one year before closure in 1966 when the town, once with three Essoldo operated venues, was left with only the Odeon which itself would disappear in 1983……..
Auditorium photo uploaded.
Curtains/tabs provide the ‘finishing touch’ to a cinema and, sadly, about 90% of today’s venues lack that ‘finishing touch’.
Lets’s hope that OLS does not follow suit….
Bravely spoken, Lionel – but I agree with every word you have said!
If ever a cinema had nine lives it is that one……….
I spent a few years in the 1970’s as A/M at the ABC Huddersfield and the Princess seemed to do very well with the second runs from both the ABC and the Classic.
I only visited the Princess once and it was on a rare Saturday night off. I went to the pay box ready to ‘cough up’ for the price of two circle tickets but the Manager/Lessee, Donald Whitehead (late of the Empire), happened to be duty cashier. Recognising me, he only charged for one, issuing a complimentary ticket for myself. He duly signed the back of it otherwise the ticket checker upstairs would have challenged its presentation on a Saturday.
The second feature, ‘Rio Lobo’ was about half way through as we sat down and when it ended the houselights came up and the festoon curtain was lowered. It was a pretty cinema and, I have to admit, retained nearly all concealed lighting and decorative fittings as opposed to the ABC where, by this time, our notorious cost-cutting Zone Manager had seen to it that very little remained illuminated apart from the main ceiling fittings and the house tabs….
Fully expecting to see the adverts and trailers when the lights dimmed and the festoons opened, I was amazed that they proceeded straight to the main feature,‘Carry On Behind', a first run (unusual for the Princess).
Some time later we acquired one of the Princess’s projectists at the ABC and I mentioned the unusual programme format. He told me that the ads, trailers etc always formed the beginning of the programme there and furthermore,that on the occasions when an epic film with an intermission was presented, the ads and trailers played after the intermission – prior to part two of the feature.
That must have been the most unusual procedure of any cinema anywhere – unless anyone knows of anything even odder still, that is……
I remember York was converted in 1972 around the time of the many ‘drop wall’ Rank venues.
Ironically, in my native North East, the first such conversion was in my home town of Bishop Auckland which must have been the very smallest province where Rank were represented .
I knew the Manager, Walter Aylen, very well and he expressed his amazement that York was converted in this manner. He did say that it was good to have an 880 seat Screen 1 (that was the capacity he stated) but that they could simply have retained the front stalls seating as an ‘overflow’ area.
I dare say that Rank had a good reason for converting York (and Chester) as they did. Perhaps extra staff would have had to be deployed in the front stalls whereas the stadium plan could be served by the normal strength?
Certainly, it would have been better for the front stalls to have been retained given what Everyman now propose to do in the main auditorium. I am sure that under these circumstances they would have done a Muswell Hill type restoration with NO FLOATING SCREEN…..
I have to admit that I have not read the plans, davepring,but ,given the sightline issue, the floating screen will, accordingly, not have to be any lower than the existing screen.
At least the new organisation want to make a feature of the proscenium via the floating screen being backlit but, yet again, we are back to the absence of screen tabs…..
Very sad that a cinema of this calibre has been sacrificed for yet another soulless multiplex…….
As you say, RichieA70, Odeon Barnet’s screen was brought forward and raised when Rank increased the number of screens from three to five. Prior to then, of course, it had been a standard ‘drop wall’ with the original proscenium housing the main screen.
In the case of Odeon York the original proscenium remains intact for, whilst not a ‘drop wall’ conversion, the circle stepping was continued to almost the orchestra rail thereby creating a very nice stadium auditorium.
The reversal of the original scheme, which (I understand) included the retention of the proscenium and the fitting of quality house tabs, in favour of a ‘floating screen’ is indeed lamentable………
I assume that the intention is to provide a larger sheet size but, as the existing proscenium is very wide, it is a great shame to compromise the integrity of the cinema in this manner.
I hope that Everyman have a change of heart and use Muswell Hill (which looks splendid) as the ‘York Model’ as opposed to the ‘Barnet Formula’……
Three links to footage re the restoration:–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-DmF6Cmlck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA39cdEaaPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0kjzLCtFU
The first includes a clip of the famous ‘bullion carrying’ velvet house tabs opening. It does not look like these are going to be replicated,sadly…….
So why the change of heart regarding the opulent stage drapes and appropriate lighting? I thought that Everyman were enthusiastic about such features in their traditional venues as in the case of Muswell Hill and Esher.
Perhaps some ‘whiz kid’ has joined Everyman and the two aforementioned theatres will receive the ‘floating screen’ look also.
I detest the damned things; they are just about acceptable in mini auditoria – but in the Odeon York main auditorium?……..
What a delightful little cinema!