Queen's Theatre
31 Queen's Road Central,
Hong Kong
31 Queen's Road Central,
Hong Kong
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Supplement:—
On 21st September,1945,the ticket prices of the orginal Queen’s Theatre are 20 centsã€50 centsã€$1.00ã€$1.50 Hong Kong Dollar.Servicemen in uniform:70 cents[back stalls].
Sources:according to an advertisement published by the China Mail on 21st September,1945.
Queen’s Theatre,either the orginal one or the second one, is a single screen theatre ,not a twin one.
The orginal Queen’s Theatre had a famous coffee shop “Savoy” on the mezzanine floor of the theatre building.
If the webmaster can contact Sing Pao[æˆå ±] of Hong Kong SAR,Cinema Treasures may have the possibility to obtain the photograph of the orginal Queen’s Theatre taken by the photographer of Sing Pao just after its closure.The web site of Sing Pao is www.singpao.com
The address of Queen’s Theatre is Queen’s Road Central,not Queens Road Central.
The name of the theatre is Queen’s Theatre,not Queens Theatre.
The second Queen’s Theatre was on the same site of the original Queen’s Theatre.
The second Queen’s Theatre[original one] had a seating capacity of 902.Some famous US movies of the 1960s,such as “My Fair Lady”[70mm version],“The Sound of Music”……were shown in this theatre.From 1970s onwards,the theatre shown mainly Chinese movies ,such as those acted and/or directed by Bruce Lee.
Recently,the stall area of the second Queen’s Theatre had been converted into a Japanese style restaurant with only the dress circle served as a mini cinema[with a seating capacity of 303 [?]].Recently ,I heard a sad news that the second Queen’s Theatre may be demolished in the near future.What a sad news!
Thank you .
Following is the news of the opening of the original Queen’s Theatre.
“Hoi Mun Tai Kut”[Open the door and have a good future],said the Hon.Mr R.H.Kotewall as he performed the opening ceremony at the Queen’s Theatre this afternoon,this being thr time honouring Chinese expression used on such occasions.
as the main doors were thrown open,Mr.Kotewall was ushered into the body of the theatre to the strains of an orchesttra after which a long string of firecrackers were let off in the road to acclaim the auspicious event.
With Mr.Kotewall were Mr.Li Po JKwai,Chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce,directors of the Po Leung Kuk[a public welfare organization] and the Tung Wah Hospital ,a leading Chinese institutions.
After performing the open ceremony,Mr.Kotewall congratuated Mr.Ma Tsui Chin upon the fine architectural style of the imposing building and its very comfortable internal arrangements.He said that he would like to the opportunity to say something which had been near his heart.as cinematograph pictures have a great educational value,and can either do enomorous good or harm to society according to their character,he hoped that the management would exercise care in the selection of pictures,especially those for exhibition at matinees and early evening performances,so that the young generation will derive benefit from them.in concluding,he wished Queen’s Theatre unqualified success.
Mr Kotewall jocularly referred to the popularity of the cinema with Chinese.a friend had told him,MrKotewall remarked,that there were five times as many Chinese who visited the cinemas as there were that patronised the Chinese stage.
His Excellency the Governor had not arrived when our editors went to press.
30th April ,1924/China Mail[?]/Sources:the web site of the Central Public Library of Hong Kong SAR.
Suwanti;
Many thanks for your detailed history of the original Queens Theatre. I wonder if it had a British architect?
Is the 2nd Queens theatre located adjacent (next door)? Is it still open as a twin cinema?
I have notified the webmasters on the site to amend the headers on this theatre to include your corrections. Maybe you could add the 2nd Queens Theatre and any others you know of, as this part of the world is uncharted territory for most of us cinema researchers.
Thanks
“Rose of Washington of Rose” should be “Rose of Washington Square”.Sorry for the mistake being made.
completely wrong.
The theatre shown is Queen’s Theatre[1st generation].
Queen’s Theatre[1st generation]opened on 1st of May,1924.The opening advertisement published on 30th April 1924 in the English newspaper"Hong Kong Telegraph" stated that:“The largest and finest theatre in the Colony”.The first film being shown in the brand new Queen’s Theatre[1st generation]is “The Hero”.The film being shown from 6th May through 8th May is “Daughters of the Rich”[in 6 parts].
Before and after World War 2 ,Queen’s Theatre[1st generation] was one of the most famous theatre in the Colony.“Gone with the Wind”
was premiered in this theatre on 29th October,1940.
During World war 2 ,Hong Kong was under the occupation of the Japanese Army,the theatre was renamed as “ Meiji Theatre”.
After the surrender of the Japanese Army, the theatre was re-opened on 21 st September,1945.The first film being shown after the War is “Rose of Washington of Rose”.Before it was closed on 1 st July,1958,it was mainly paired with the Alhambra Theatre[another famous theatre of the Colony.Alhambra theatre is on the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong,just a short distance from the Golden Mile of Nathan Road.]to show first run western movies.The famous films being shown,to name a few,include :Singing in the rain,The Spirit of St.Louis,Woman of the River,The Best Years of Our Lives,Young at Heart,Suspicion,The Giant……
The Queen’s Theatre[1 st generation] has a seating capacity of 1200,with stall,dress circle and upper circle.
Marian Anderson performed in this theatre on 18th September,1957.
The address of this theatre was Queen’s Road Central,Central District,Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong.
The Queen’s Theatre[ 2 nd generation] was opened on July,1961,with a seating capacity of 902,with stall and dress circle only.