CGG, I was the Harrogate Odeon,s assistant/relief manager in the late sixties and your comments about the, then, single screen cinema make welcome reading. Although we prided ourselves on the standard of presentation, we never had a festoon curtain which, I believe, is the type to which you refer. Our house curtains were plain grey velour while the screen curtains were gold satin (previously used as house curtains and which, in 1968, the projectionists and I reinstated when we realized the CinemaScope screen frame was set far enough back not to foul the tabs on the original screen tabs track. Both sets of curtains parted centrally and opened to the side. The ABC Regal was far more ornate, being one of W. R. Glen’s best interiors, and they did indeed have a gold, festoon curtain which gathered upwards on many wires. The festooning satin looked very attractive when lit by the three-colour circuit footlights.
I attended Archbishop Holgate’s Grammar School in York and in 1960 our annual speech day was held in the Clifton one afternoon. Only the cleaners' lights relieved the darkness in the auditorium. Our headmaster, Mr Frith, had recently taken over the post and the cinema’s bill at the time of our speech day was “Carry on Teacher” supported by “Not as a Stranger”, this gave our leader a wonderful starting point for his speech.
Unfortunately, the Clifton, like its larger sister cinema the Rialto, had taken “continuous performance” rather too literally and the screen curtains at both venues would open at the beginning of the afternoon show and not be seen again until they closed before the National anthem at around 10.30 pm. Between the films, the house lights would come up briefly while ice cream, popcorn and hot dog adverts were screened but then it was on with the programme without the least theatrical touch to the presentation.
Together with a group of friends, I attended a late night show at the Gaumont one Saturday evening in the early ‘70s. The programme was an Astaire/Rodgers double bill of “Top Hat” and “Swing Time” and the atmosphere in those theatrical surroundings was fantastic. My group were not able to get seats together and, shortly after we took our seats, people were being turned away. After every musical number, enthusiastic applause rang out and a very happy crowd emerged to wend their ways home in the early hours.
Following the double bill’s success here, Rank’s Booking Dept. was instructed to only arrange such screenings of one film or the other as it was felt that, in the right locations, each of the films would do well on its own.
Thus two profitable shows could be had. Tills, or rather Automaticket machines, would ring merrily and I can’t imagine the films would have cost much to hire.
When managing the Odeon, Stockton-On-Tees, I showed “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!” as a late night double bill in 1970 – United Artists charged Rank £14.7s.6d for the films (£14.37) and we sold over 700 tickets. I digress!
An unusual and lovely cinema. I saw several films there in the late ‘70s/early '80s and was always impressed by the standard of presentation. As well as the large screen, sharp picture and excellent sound, it was nice to see both footlights and batten still being used with the three, primary colours to produce some beautiful effects on the screen curtains and matching border.
This and the State, Grays, were my favourite non-West End venues in which to enjoy films in the Greater London area.
The “Hall” part of the title had been dropped by the ‘fifties and the cinema was known to one and all as the St. George’s. The heading block used for newspaper advertising showed the cinema’s name in the Gaumont house-style of lettering and a sign above the cinema entrance proclaimed “A Gaumont Theatre” in the Circuit mid-blue colour.
Centrally situated and being larger and technically superior to the City’s other two cinemas with Gaumont links, (Scala/Electric and Picture House) the St. George’s enjoyed the pick of the Circuit’s films. Both the sister cinemas closed during the 'fifties and once part of Circuits Management Association, the St. George’s not only took the less appealing Rank Release product but also re-runs of the most profitable films to have appeared at the larger and superior Odeon. Sometimes films would literally transfer from the Odeon to the St. George’s overnight, “Tom Jones” was one such film – two busy weeks at the Odeon were immediately followed by a healthy week here. The Odeon would occasionally run films for a short “season” on a roadshow basis(“The Longest Day”, and “Cleopatra” for example), but these were usually no more than two weeks
while some general release films would also run more than one week at the Odeon (“Mary Poppins” four weeks, Bond films two or three weeks). When the busy Odeon was thus occupied, Rank release films it would otherwise have shown played the St. George’s so that York kept up with the combined circuits’ output.
A fairly ornate auditorium with barrel-vaulted ceiling, elegant pendant light fittings and much fancy plasterwork made for a pleasant place to enjoy films if slightly old fashioned and a tad narrow compared to the younger, more modern Odeon, Regal, and Rialto (not forgetting the modern suburban halls Clifton and Regent).
Film presentation at the St. George’s was to a high standard; its last chief projectionist was welcoming and cheerful Mr “Johnny” Johnson whose kindness led to my first visit to a projection box as a schoolboy. The “box” was positively tiny and only just accommodated the two Gaumont Kaylee 21s, rewind bench and other necessary equipment.
I was in the capacity audience at the Cinema’s closing and it was a sad and nostalgic night for many. The close relationship with York’s Odeon was emphasised, the closing film, “Cleopatra” had played the Odeon during the previous year and, in the intermission, an electric organ was played on stage by George Shepheard, the Odeon’s manager, while members of York Light Opera Company sang a selection of songs from musicals.
Trivia: the screens of the Regal and St. George’s were little more than a couple of hundred yards apart and both cinemas suffered at times from flooding of the river Foss which flowed close to their “screen ends”.
The capacity given here cannot be correct. The main screen seats around 800, the two smaller cinemas beneath seat around 110 each while the little cinemas, 4 and 5, seat around 35/40 each so, I estimate, something less than 1,100 in total. 1,484 was the capacity given for the Odeon, York at opening and I can only assume someone has transferred this figure in error. A great deal has happened, internally, to this building since 1937 and the “complex” of today is world’s away from the fondly remembered Odeon Theatre.
acs is spot on. When TVs are becoming ever more sophisticated, one would think cinemas ought to be going all out to offer something very different – including a sense of occasion and special atmosphere, something well maintained older cinemas can do so well. Cinema architects with flair and imagination have long gone, as have the theatrical elements which can create magic in most cinema buildings. The multiplex screen is naked, in a “black box” with airport lounge lighting – a conveyor belt for films and giant portions of predictable, expensive refreshments. If you’re lucky, the sound will be fair to good; if you’re lucky, the other cinemagoers around you might know how to behave in a public place. Chances are, in four months time, you could watch the film when you want, in Blu-ray quality and in the undisturbed comfort of your home.
As with everything, mercifully, there are exceptions to the general rule and there are cinemas I travel many miles to enjoy, like the Odeon and Empire One in Leicester Square, the Rex, Berkhamstead, the Plaza, Stockport, the Pictureville, Bradford and several other, largely independent, cinemas whose owners/operators know the value of putting on a good show around the film programme.
steveking, remember me?! When you were at the Dorchester, you very kindly showed me around that lovely cinema and I vividly remember the two of us rising on the organ stool from the pit to stage level in the impressive auditorium. The gold satin festoon curtain and plain satin front curtains, together with the red/amber/blue stage lighting created an unforgettable spectacle. At the time of my visit, I believe “Mary Poppins” was enjoying a very healthy run there.
It was two years before I joined the industry at the Odeon, York and I had never previously been inside a cinema while it was closed to the public or been shown over a projection suite and had so much explained. You also showed me the Carlton and I enjoyed lunch with you and your wife (no doubt bombarding you with questions). It was one of those occasions one never forgets and you were my first “cinema contact”! My only regret is never having had the opportunity to see a film at the Dorchester.
I now have a home cinema with variable masking, screen and house tabs, three-colour circuit pageant lighting, LED concealed lighting and projected clock. All inspired by places like the Dorchester and the Odeon, Leicester Square.
So, thank you again and, if you’d like to give me the opportunity of returning the favour, albeit on a much more modest scale!, by showing you my little Odeon, I’m on Flickr as “Fanatical about Odeon”. I’m guessing we have a fair bit of catching up to do – forty nine years later!!!
James
Both the St Leonard’s Hospice shop in the centre of the façade and the recently opened Cooperative supermarket to its left have penetrated the auditorium space although not entirely. The screen and minimal “stage house” were to the right, or York, end of the building. The light-coloured, triple section, chamferred arch which encloses the central entrance and first floor window above, reflected the identically shaped proscenium arch within. Living to the west of York, I was taken to the Regent once as a small boy but remember vividly a striking cinema. The screen curtains had an appliqued pattern comprising a large star or sunburst near the bottom with radiating “beams” which reached the top and sides of the proscenium. Stage lighting was red/green/blue footlights and the high standard of presentation resulted in spectacular effects. The film I saw was “Smiley Gets a Gun” starring Colin Peterson.
The Regent’s closure was partly due to York’s Odeon and ABC Regal having the pick of the main circuit releases (as well as several other cinemas in the City centre) and partly due to badly behaved teenagers inside and vandalism around the cinema. Bicycles left anywhere near the building would risk having their tyres slashed, car windows would be broken regularly and gangs would congregate around the entrance.
The loss was a great shame as the Regent was, technically and architecturally, superior to some of York’s older, though more central, cinemas.
To my mind, one of Glen’s best interiors. The wide proscenium arch and restrained splay wall treatment with its concealed lighting and slender statuettes made for a handsome auditorium. The largely coffered ceiling had three large roses above the front stalls from which were suspended “ABC” spray chandeliers. A gold, satin festoon curtain was lit in the primary colours and secondary blending by footlights and, behind it, a festooned border was lit either red or green by a batten which was typically operated when trailer leads or theatre sales adverts were being screened. CinemaScope was particularly effective within such a relatively wide opening (compared with York ABC’s more restricted arch).
I was in a capacity audience at the opening performance of a pre-release run of “Doctor Zhivago” at Harrogate ABC in 1967 and the presentation was “top notch” throughout.
I believe that, when the cinema was demolished, the “Oscar” style statuettes were rescued and installed at the Halifax ABC where that cinema’s own, similar figures had been lost.
GilesEngland – Really good to hear about the presentation standards at the Gaumont in such detail – especially the use of the act-drop/house curtain and the precision of the non-sync music. What a sense of occasion and excited anticipation would be created by clever use of tabs and lighting and how “conspicuous by their absence” are such things in today’s uninspired multiplex rooms. At a time when cinemas ought to be pulling out all the stops to make the experience very different from today’s increasingly sophisticated TVs, the opposite seems to be happening – naked screens, lighting like an airport lounge, masking unused, “No thanks!”.
I have a home cinema with variable masking, house and screen tabs, three-colour circuit pageant lighting, LED concealed lighting and projected clock. Friends and neighbours love the atmosphere and you should see children’s expressions when colours change and fade as the curtains open and the picture appears as if by magic.
Most multiplexes are conveyor belts for the consumption of popcorn and films – in that order – designed by those with neither flair nor imagination but who are capable of feeding numbers of seats and exits, speaker positions, air conditioning and screen dimensions into a computer model. What comes out at the other end is a cinema with no theatrical connection whatsoever; bland, cold, uninspiring and without “magic”.
As “Fanatical about Odeon”, I have posted pictures of the 1968 Odeon, interior and exterior, and a ticket to the opening performance, on Flickr.
I have good memories from my time spent there as Assistant/Relief Manager from 1969 to 1971. A lovely cinema with a loyal staff and in the friendliest town I’ve ever worked in.
The Odeon long gone, a motorway built right through the town, the railway station replaced by a “bus shelter” halt…such decimation is a dreadful shame and, in the current economic climate, Stockton-on-Tees is a mere shadow of its former self.
Bernard Goldthorpe and Stan Close continued in their respective roles in the replacement Odeon and I knew them well. I was Bernard’s assistant manager from late 1969 and took over the cinema when he was hospitalised with a heart condition during 1970. Mr Goldthorpe was a most enthusiastic manager and a lovely man, his wife and family were most supportive and would invite me to join them for Sunday lunch while Bernard recuperated. He was always keen to hear of my latest attempts to boost the Odeon’s profitability (with new 70mm. product becoming thin on the ground and our cinema mainly depending on the Rank Release, we were struggling as a proportion of the rebuilding cost was still coming out of our profits every week and we were sharing programmes with the Odeons Middlesbrough, Darlington and West Hartlepool).
On Flickr as “Fanatical about Odeon”, I have posted pictures of the new Odeon’s interior and exterior and a ticket for the opening performance.
In 1968, while based at the Odeon, Harrogate, I was asked to relieve Mr Archer, the manager at Grimsby Odeon (former Savoy), for two days to allow him to take his days off while his assistant manager was on holiday. Compared to my “purpose built” Odeon at Harrogate, the Grimsby Odeon seemed small and rather old fashioned but was well run and very popular. The film showing while I was there was “The Jokers” starring Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed, a somewhat run-of-the-mill ‘60s comedy, nevertheless, the midweek evening performances were pretty full. There was a palpable “family” atmosphere amongst the staff who knew their manager affectionately as Dan – after Dan Archer in the radio serial, “The Archers”.
The screen frame was erected in front of the original, rather small, proscenium arch (presumably from the advent of CinemaScope)and, unusually, there had been no attempt to create a new proscenium – hard or soft – and the floor-mounted curtain motor was even partly visible. When the curtains were opening or closing, the sound was quite loud in the auditorium.
A lovely, well-tended cinema.
John Barry, (Barry Prendergast)persuaded his father to let him have a short stage spot on Sunday nights, he would appear with his group, later known as the John Barry 7, between the two films which were usually reruns showing for one night only as, by then, York’s Odeon and ABC Regal were taking the pick of the general release and the Rialto was becoming difficult to book with the City also boasting other, smaller but more central cinemas. The pop group soon became a draw for many teenagers who would make the “Ri” their regular Sunday night destination.
At opening, the Rialto was one of the cinemas where Holophane, the decorative lighting specialists, were contracted not just for the auditorium and stage lighting but also the wall and ceiling reflective treatments and striking main curtains – all to maximise the overall effect. I vividly remember the curtains (Holophane provided identical curtains for the unrelated Capitol, Scarborough)though, by my day, much of the Holophane lighting was not being used, just open-white footlights (economy?), even so, the huge cinema was still most impressive.
A mural surrounded the upper parts of the foyer walls and this depicted the Roman walls and gates, or bars, surrounding the City of York.
I believe the vertical “cut-out” name sign around the corner to the right of the frontage is the one removed from the Odeon Haymarket. Although the lovely Haymarket cinema was closed by the time of the “Fanatical rebranding exercise”, there was still talk of it reopening so it’s red neon against a blue background sign was replaced by one of the new, silver cut-out type (only correctly readable from one direction although the designers, Wolff Olins, felt the mere shape of the characters was enough for the brand to register).
A wonderful surviver. A close friend and colleague of mine, Steve Gaunt, was the Odeon’s manager from 1970. On my first visit, all three lighting coves on the splay walls were in use and each had coloured bulbs – one had red bulbs, one blue and one green. Now coloured bulbs in blue and green provide a poor, greyish light, unlike colour filters. I got Steve to order sufficient bulbs in pink and amber and later, the projectionists were only too happy to replace the green and blue versions. The result was a brighter and warmer glow nearest the proscenium, a golden amber glow in the middle section and the original red nearest the balcony. The vertical glow was slightly shorter in each cove with the highest being that closest to the proscenium. The curtains at that time were plain, brown velvet so, using newly ordered Cinemoid colour gel, we replaced the blue and green circuits with deep golden amber and magenta. Leaving the red circuit alone, the new colours were far more effective on the non-reflective tabs. I was especially gratified when the tabs were briefly closed between the trailers and the main feature at every performance and the projectionists invariably just brought up the magenta footlights; in an otherwise darkened auditorium the moving tabs looked very opulent.
Guess “Highgate” was to avoid any confusion with the Holloway Odeon nearby. Donald Sinden also appeared at the opening of the Gaumont, later Odeon, Holloway.
I saw “The Last Starfighter” at one of the Rivoli Twins in July, 1984. I was aware “South Pacific” had played a long run there in Todd-AO, having transferred from the Criterion. Whilst being impressed by the cinema I was in, I wish I’d seen the large theatre in its 70mm. heyday. All the above info. is fascinating and I now know just how important the Rivoli was.
Whilst I agree that minis resulting from typical tripling have seldom, if ever, created what we would consider satisfactory cinemas, they have usually proved their worth with additional revenue prolonging the “parent” cinema’s life, albeit, as you say, not indefinitely. There were no plans to extend the large circle forward at Scarborough or utilise the front stalls. There were thoughts, as long ago as the ‘60s, of creating a cinema within the cafe area (which by then had become the rather tired Showbar)and we’ll never know whether a screen count of four would have enabled the Odeon to survive longer. Jim Whittell, then M.D. of Rank Leisure Services, persuaded the Board to go in for an “especially sensitive” tripling as he loved the Scarborough Odeon and was determined to stem the winter losses.
I was Scarborough’s assistant/relief manager in the late 'sixties and it was something of a culture shock to be controlling queues and putting the “House Full” boards out quite regularly up until mid September and then find staff outnumbering patrons on some out-of-season days. Of course, some pre-release films and a Thursday start helped when Sunday start was the norm at provincial, non-resort cinemas, not to mention the vagaries of the English summer weather!
In 1980 when Rank announced the closure of Muswell Hill, my late friend/colleague and former M.H. manager, Steve Gaunt, although having taken over the Odeon, Holloway, threatened to chain himself to the front doors! Although, mercifully, in the event, that didn’t become necessary. I’m surprised M.H. has lasted this long with just three screens, it may have a large catchment area but it also has other cinemas not very far away.
York? Well what can I say? With a multiplex within two miles of York and a three screen Picture House operation in the city centre, one might have thought the Council would have encouraged the refurbishment Odeon wanted to do at the time but, instead, ignorance and intransigence won the day and the Odeon was lost. As with Scarborough, who knows how long the rebranded cinema would have survived but it would have been given a fighting chance. It’s now a dire Reel and, having known the York Odeon for over fifty years and having trained there in my management days, one visit to the Reel was quite enough. Guess nothing lasts forever.
The nine 2k Strand Electric fresnel-lensed lanterns (Patt. 234s) housed on the circle front, were favoured by the interior design partnership of Trevor and Mavis Stone who were brought in by Rank Theatres Ltd. to give their more prosperous Odeons a more modern look. Removal of Odeon clocks, decorative features (like Bradford’s sculptures) and most concealed and stage lighting was also characteristic of the Stones. Everything had to be plain and simple in the ‘60s. At York’s Odeon, new, plain silver screen curtains were hung, three-colour footlights removed and splay wall cove lighting disconnected. The replacement nine lanterns on the circle front were all filtered in 57 pink and the entire auditorium was painted in a neutral “biscuit” shade. As at Bradford the new lighting was dazzling, spectacular in its way but not allowing for changing/blending colours. At both cinemas, the Stones said the gels for the new lanterns could be either “57 pink” or “straw”. York chose the former while Bradford went for “straw”. Once the proverbial dust settled, the projection crew at both locations quietly reintroduced three separate circuits for controlling the pageant lighting and, once again, varying hues played on the reflective curtains and the presentation was enhanced as a result.
Whilst the Odeon could take a fortune during Scarborough’s short summer seasons by the ‘80s, such a large, single screen cinema just wasn’t feasible in the resort and any “summer profit” would be overtaken by mounting winter losses. The Rank Group were prepared to undertake a more expensive-than-normal, drop wall tripling to provide two small cinemas in the rear stalls while preserving the entire auditorium above and in front of the balcony with all its plasterwork, lighting coves and screen within the original proscenium. The two extra screens enabling three choices of film could have much reduced the winter losses but the Council wouldn’t allow any changes whatsoever and Rank had to cut their losses. This was the same council which, a few short years later, allowed the auditorium to be totally gutted in order for two small auditoria to be created within the shell. No amount of cleaned faience tiling and restored neon will ever compensate for the unforgivable loss of this impressive cinema. In the Odeon’s later years, it joined the Odeon, Leicester Square in being one of only two unsubdivided original Odeon theatres. Then there was one…
My personal favourite of all time – and many musicals leave me unimpressed. I first saw it in York, England in 35mm. CinemaScope at the Tower cinema which had stereophonic sound installed especially. The Tower was one of many independents/small chain cinemas which benefitted from a rift between 20th Century Fox and Rank, owners of the Odeon circuit, who were not prepared to install stereophonic sound in all their cinemas. The “lesser” cinemas who did make the investment found themselves showing “South Pacific” for lengthy runs often followed by return engagements over a number of years. In York, the film returned several times to the Tower as well as the Odeon on general release and even the ABC where it appeared as a one day special presentation during the ‘70s.
On my first of many visits to see “South Pacific”, the impact was incredible. I had never heard stereophonic sound or seen cinematography so breathtaking. The film has played over nineteen weeks in York and is the longest running stage or screen entertainment in a large venue in the City, ever.
I have paid to see the film, in both Todd-AO and 35mm. over forty times, shown it as a cinema manager and now project the stunning Blu-ray version in my home cinema to new generations of delighted audiences. If I can take one film with me into my pyramid, it will be “South Pacific”!
The Odeon, Leicester Square is now a two screen cinema – though mercifully not “twinned”. A white screen for 2D product sits in the conventional screen frame with attendant top and side masking. When 3D product is shown, the frame is wheeled to the rear of the stage and a silver screen is lowered from the fly tower to replace it. The screen speakers are separately mounted and positioned behind whichever screen is being used. Having both white and silver screens enables optimum visual quality for both digital formats. When the silver screen is being used, it precludes the use of both sets of tabs and when it was hung, the spot bar with twelve profile spots focussed on the screen tabs and filtered blue (part of 1998’s revamp) had to be removed to allow for the raising and lowering of the silver screen. Fourteen of the eighteen pageant spotlights housed on the balcony front survived the revamp but were rewired on one circuit instead of three so the blending and changing of three different colours was replaced by all lanterns being filtered rose pink. The “pageant box” also accommodates four less powerful spots shuttered and focussed – open white – on the golden figures adorning the splay walls.
The 1968 modernisation did not actually remove the French Renaissance style decor but “inserted” a modern auditorium into the original shell. The balcony was indeed removed and the new proscenium was situated on the old stage. This situation remains with the “new” cinema simply twinned. Much original decor can still be seen in “mirth and mayhem’s” photostream on Flickr.
CGG, I was the Harrogate Odeon,s assistant/relief manager in the late sixties and your comments about the, then, single screen cinema make welcome reading. Although we prided ourselves on the standard of presentation, we never had a festoon curtain which, I believe, is the type to which you refer. Our house curtains were plain grey velour while the screen curtains were gold satin (previously used as house curtains and which, in 1968, the projectionists and I reinstated when we realized the CinemaScope screen frame was set far enough back not to foul the tabs on the original screen tabs track. Both sets of curtains parted centrally and opened to the side. The ABC Regal was far more ornate, being one of W. R. Glen’s best interiors, and they did indeed have a gold, festoon curtain which gathered upwards on many wires. The festooning satin looked very attractive when lit by the three-colour circuit footlights.
I attended Archbishop Holgate’s Grammar School in York and in 1960 our annual speech day was held in the Clifton one afternoon. Only the cleaners' lights relieved the darkness in the auditorium. Our headmaster, Mr Frith, had recently taken over the post and the cinema’s bill at the time of our speech day was “Carry on Teacher” supported by “Not as a Stranger”, this gave our leader a wonderful starting point for his speech. Unfortunately, the Clifton, like its larger sister cinema the Rialto, had taken “continuous performance” rather too literally and the screen curtains at both venues would open at the beginning of the afternoon show and not be seen again until they closed before the National anthem at around 10.30 pm. Between the films, the house lights would come up briefly while ice cream, popcorn and hot dog adverts were screened but then it was on with the programme without the least theatrical touch to the presentation.
Together with a group of friends, I attended a late night show at the Gaumont one Saturday evening in the early ‘70s. The programme was an Astaire/Rodgers double bill of “Top Hat” and “Swing Time” and the atmosphere in those theatrical surroundings was fantastic. My group were not able to get seats together and, shortly after we took our seats, people were being turned away. After every musical number, enthusiastic applause rang out and a very happy crowd emerged to wend their ways home in the early hours. Following the double bill’s success here, Rank’s Booking Dept. was instructed to only arrange such screenings of one film or the other as it was felt that, in the right locations, each of the films would do well on its own. Thus two profitable shows could be had. Tills, or rather Automaticket machines, would ring merrily and I can’t imagine the films would have cost much to hire. When managing the Odeon, Stockton-On-Tees, I showed “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!” as a late night double bill in 1970 – United Artists charged Rank £14.7s.6d for the films (£14.37) and we sold over 700 tickets. I digress!
An unusual and lovely cinema. I saw several films there in the late ‘70s/early '80s and was always impressed by the standard of presentation. As well as the large screen, sharp picture and excellent sound, it was nice to see both footlights and batten still being used with the three, primary colours to produce some beautiful effects on the screen curtains and matching border. This and the State, Grays, were my favourite non-West End venues in which to enjoy films in the Greater London area.
The “Hall” part of the title had been dropped by the ‘fifties and the cinema was known to one and all as the St. George’s. The heading block used for newspaper advertising showed the cinema’s name in the Gaumont house-style of lettering and a sign above the cinema entrance proclaimed “A Gaumont Theatre” in the Circuit mid-blue colour. Centrally situated and being larger and technically superior to the City’s other two cinemas with Gaumont links, (Scala/Electric and Picture House) the St. George’s enjoyed the pick of the Circuit’s films. Both the sister cinemas closed during the 'fifties and once part of Circuits Management Association, the St. George’s not only took the less appealing Rank Release product but also re-runs of the most profitable films to have appeared at the larger and superior Odeon. Sometimes films would literally transfer from the Odeon to the St. George’s overnight, “Tom Jones” was one such film – two busy weeks at the Odeon were immediately followed by a healthy week here. The Odeon would occasionally run films for a short “season” on a roadshow basis(“The Longest Day”, and “Cleopatra” for example), but these were usually no more than two weeks while some general release films would also run more than one week at the Odeon (“Mary Poppins” four weeks, Bond films two or three weeks). When the busy Odeon was thus occupied, Rank release films it would otherwise have shown played the St. George’s so that York kept up with the combined circuits’ output. A fairly ornate auditorium with barrel-vaulted ceiling, elegant pendant light fittings and much fancy plasterwork made for a pleasant place to enjoy films if slightly old fashioned and a tad narrow compared to the younger, more modern Odeon, Regal, and Rialto (not forgetting the modern suburban halls Clifton and Regent). Film presentation at the St. George’s was to a high standard; its last chief projectionist was welcoming and cheerful Mr “Johnny” Johnson whose kindness led to my first visit to a projection box as a schoolboy. The “box” was positively tiny and only just accommodated the two Gaumont Kaylee 21s, rewind bench and other necessary equipment. I was in the capacity audience at the Cinema’s closing and it was a sad and nostalgic night for many. The close relationship with York’s Odeon was emphasised, the closing film, “Cleopatra” had played the Odeon during the previous year and, in the intermission, an electric organ was played on stage by George Shepheard, the Odeon’s manager, while members of York Light Opera Company sang a selection of songs from musicals. Trivia: the screens of the Regal and St. George’s were little more than a couple of hundred yards apart and both cinemas suffered at times from flooding of the river Foss which flowed close to their “screen ends”.
The capacity given here cannot be correct. The main screen seats around 800, the two smaller cinemas beneath seat around 110 each while the little cinemas, 4 and 5, seat around 35/40 each so, I estimate, something less than 1,100 in total. 1,484 was the capacity given for the Odeon, York at opening and I can only assume someone has transferred this figure in error. A great deal has happened, internally, to this building since 1937 and the “complex” of today is world’s away from the fondly remembered Odeon Theatre.
acs is spot on. When TVs are becoming ever more sophisticated, one would think cinemas ought to be going all out to offer something very different – including a sense of occasion and special atmosphere, something well maintained older cinemas can do so well. Cinema architects with flair and imagination have long gone, as have the theatrical elements which can create magic in most cinema buildings. The multiplex screen is naked, in a “black box” with airport lounge lighting – a conveyor belt for films and giant portions of predictable, expensive refreshments. If you’re lucky, the sound will be fair to good; if you’re lucky, the other cinemagoers around you might know how to behave in a public place. Chances are, in four months time, you could watch the film when you want, in Blu-ray quality and in the undisturbed comfort of your home.
As with everything, mercifully, there are exceptions to the general rule and there are cinemas I travel many miles to enjoy, like the Odeon and Empire One in Leicester Square, the Rex, Berkhamstead, the Plaza, Stockport, the Pictureville, Bradford and several other, largely independent, cinemas whose owners/operators know the value of putting on a good show around the film programme.
steveking, remember me?! When you were at the Dorchester, you very kindly showed me around that lovely cinema and I vividly remember the two of us rising on the organ stool from the pit to stage level in the impressive auditorium. The gold satin festoon curtain and plain satin front curtains, together with the red/amber/blue stage lighting created an unforgettable spectacle. At the time of my visit, I believe “Mary Poppins” was enjoying a very healthy run there. It was two years before I joined the industry at the Odeon, York and I had never previously been inside a cinema while it was closed to the public or been shown over a projection suite and had so much explained. You also showed me the Carlton and I enjoyed lunch with you and your wife (no doubt bombarding you with questions). It was one of those occasions one never forgets and you were my first “cinema contact”! My only regret is never having had the opportunity to see a film at the Dorchester. I now have a home cinema with variable masking, screen and house tabs, three-colour circuit pageant lighting, LED concealed lighting and projected clock. All inspired by places like the Dorchester and the Odeon, Leicester Square. So, thank you again and, if you’d like to give me the opportunity of returning the favour, albeit on a much more modest scale!, by showing you my little Odeon, I’m on Flickr as “Fanatical about Odeon”. I’m guessing we have a fair bit of catching up to do – forty nine years later!!! James
Both the St Leonard’s Hospice shop in the centre of the façade and the recently opened Cooperative supermarket to its left have penetrated the auditorium space although not entirely. The screen and minimal “stage house” were to the right, or York, end of the building. The light-coloured, triple section, chamferred arch which encloses the central entrance and first floor window above, reflected the identically shaped proscenium arch within. Living to the west of York, I was taken to the Regent once as a small boy but remember vividly a striking cinema. The screen curtains had an appliqued pattern comprising a large star or sunburst near the bottom with radiating “beams” which reached the top and sides of the proscenium. Stage lighting was red/green/blue footlights and the high standard of presentation resulted in spectacular effects. The film I saw was “Smiley Gets a Gun” starring Colin Peterson. The Regent’s closure was partly due to York’s Odeon and ABC Regal having the pick of the main circuit releases (as well as several other cinemas in the City centre) and partly due to badly behaved teenagers inside and vandalism around the cinema. Bicycles left anywhere near the building would risk having their tyres slashed, car windows would be broken regularly and gangs would congregate around the entrance. The loss was a great shame as the Regent was, technically and architecturally, superior to some of York’s older, though more central, cinemas.
To my mind, one of Glen’s best interiors. The wide proscenium arch and restrained splay wall treatment with its concealed lighting and slender statuettes made for a handsome auditorium. The largely coffered ceiling had three large roses above the front stalls from which were suspended “ABC” spray chandeliers. A gold, satin festoon curtain was lit in the primary colours and secondary blending by footlights and, behind it, a festooned border was lit either red or green by a batten which was typically operated when trailer leads or theatre sales adverts were being screened. CinemaScope was particularly effective within such a relatively wide opening (compared with York ABC’s more restricted arch). I was in a capacity audience at the opening performance of a pre-release run of “Doctor Zhivago” at Harrogate ABC in 1967 and the presentation was “top notch” throughout. I believe that, when the cinema was demolished, the “Oscar” style statuettes were rescued and installed at the Halifax ABC where that cinema’s own, similar figures had been lost.
GilesEngland – Really good to hear about the presentation standards at the Gaumont in such detail – especially the use of the act-drop/house curtain and the precision of the non-sync music. What a sense of occasion and excited anticipation would be created by clever use of tabs and lighting and how “conspicuous by their absence” are such things in today’s uninspired multiplex rooms. At a time when cinemas ought to be pulling out all the stops to make the experience very different from today’s increasingly sophisticated TVs, the opposite seems to be happening – naked screens, lighting like an airport lounge, masking unused, “No thanks!”. I have a home cinema with variable masking, house and screen tabs, three-colour circuit pageant lighting, LED concealed lighting and projected clock. Friends and neighbours love the atmosphere and you should see children’s expressions when colours change and fade as the curtains open and the picture appears as if by magic. Most multiplexes are conveyor belts for the consumption of popcorn and films – in that order – designed by those with neither flair nor imagination but who are capable of feeding numbers of seats and exits, speaker positions, air conditioning and screen dimensions into a computer model. What comes out at the other end is a cinema with no theatrical connection whatsoever; bland, cold, uninspiring and without “magic”.
As “Fanatical about Odeon”, I have posted pictures of the 1968 Odeon, interior and exterior, and a ticket to the opening performance, on Flickr. I have good memories from my time spent there as Assistant/Relief Manager from 1969 to 1971. A lovely cinema with a loyal staff and in the friendliest town I’ve ever worked in. The Odeon long gone, a motorway built right through the town, the railway station replaced by a “bus shelter” halt…such decimation is a dreadful shame and, in the current economic climate, Stockton-on-Tees is a mere shadow of its former self.
Bernard Goldthorpe and Stan Close continued in their respective roles in the replacement Odeon and I knew them well. I was Bernard’s assistant manager from late 1969 and took over the cinema when he was hospitalised with a heart condition during 1970. Mr Goldthorpe was a most enthusiastic manager and a lovely man, his wife and family were most supportive and would invite me to join them for Sunday lunch while Bernard recuperated. He was always keen to hear of my latest attempts to boost the Odeon’s profitability (with new 70mm. product becoming thin on the ground and our cinema mainly depending on the Rank Release, we were struggling as a proportion of the rebuilding cost was still coming out of our profits every week and we were sharing programmes with the Odeons Middlesbrough, Darlington and West Hartlepool). On Flickr as “Fanatical about Odeon”, I have posted pictures of the new Odeon’s interior and exterior and a ticket for the opening performance.
In 1968, while based at the Odeon, Harrogate, I was asked to relieve Mr Archer, the manager at Grimsby Odeon (former Savoy), for two days to allow him to take his days off while his assistant manager was on holiday. Compared to my “purpose built” Odeon at Harrogate, the Grimsby Odeon seemed small and rather old fashioned but was well run and very popular. The film showing while I was there was “The Jokers” starring Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed, a somewhat run-of-the-mill ‘60s comedy, nevertheless, the midweek evening performances were pretty full. There was a palpable “family” atmosphere amongst the staff who knew their manager affectionately as Dan – after Dan Archer in the radio serial, “The Archers”. The screen frame was erected in front of the original, rather small, proscenium arch (presumably from the advent of CinemaScope)and, unusually, there had been no attempt to create a new proscenium – hard or soft – and the floor-mounted curtain motor was even partly visible. When the curtains were opening or closing, the sound was quite loud in the auditorium. A lovely, well-tended cinema.
John Barry, (Barry Prendergast)persuaded his father to let him have a short stage spot on Sunday nights, he would appear with his group, later known as the John Barry 7, between the two films which were usually reruns showing for one night only as, by then, York’s Odeon and ABC Regal were taking the pick of the general release and the Rialto was becoming difficult to book with the City also boasting other, smaller but more central cinemas. The pop group soon became a draw for many teenagers who would make the “Ri” their regular Sunday night destination. At opening, the Rialto was one of the cinemas where Holophane, the decorative lighting specialists, were contracted not just for the auditorium and stage lighting but also the wall and ceiling reflective treatments and striking main curtains – all to maximise the overall effect. I vividly remember the curtains (Holophane provided identical curtains for the unrelated Capitol, Scarborough)though, by my day, much of the Holophane lighting was not being used, just open-white footlights (economy?), even so, the huge cinema was still most impressive. A mural surrounded the upper parts of the foyer walls and this depicted the Roman walls and gates, or bars, surrounding the City of York.
I believe the vertical “cut-out” name sign around the corner to the right of the frontage is the one removed from the Odeon Haymarket. Although the lovely Haymarket cinema was closed by the time of the “Fanatical rebranding exercise”, there was still talk of it reopening so it’s red neon against a blue background sign was replaced by one of the new, silver cut-out type (only correctly readable from one direction although the designers, Wolff Olins, felt the mere shape of the characters was enough for the brand to register).
A wonderful surviver. A close friend and colleague of mine, Steve Gaunt, was the Odeon’s manager from 1970. On my first visit, all three lighting coves on the splay walls were in use and each had coloured bulbs – one had red bulbs, one blue and one green. Now coloured bulbs in blue and green provide a poor, greyish light, unlike colour filters. I got Steve to order sufficient bulbs in pink and amber and later, the projectionists were only too happy to replace the green and blue versions. The result was a brighter and warmer glow nearest the proscenium, a golden amber glow in the middle section and the original red nearest the balcony. The vertical glow was slightly shorter in each cove with the highest being that closest to the proscenium. The curtains at that time were plain, brown velvet so, using newly ordered Cinemoid colour gel, we replaced the blue and green circuits with deep golden amber and magenta. Leaving the red circuit alone, the new colours were far more effective on the non-reflective tabs. I was especially gratified when the tabs were briefly closed between the trailers and the main feature at every performance and the projectionists invariably just brought up the magenta footlights; in an otherwise darkened auditorium the moving tabs looked very opulent.
Guess “Highgate” was to avoid any confusion with the Holloway Odeon nearby. Donald Sinden also appeared at the opening of the Gaumont, later Odeon, Holloway.
I saw “The Last Starfighter” at one of the Rivoli Twins in July, 1984. I was aware “South Pacific” had played a long run there in Todd-AO, having transferred from the Criterion. Whilst being impressed by the cinema I was in, I wish I’d seen the large theatre in its 70mm. heyday. All the above info. is fascinating and I now know just how important the Rivoli was.
Whilst I agree that minis resulting from typical tripling have seldom, if ever, created what we would consider satisfactory cinemas, they have usually proved their worth with additional revenue prolonging the “parent” cinema’s life, albeit, as you say, not indefinitely. There were no plans to extend the large circle forward at Scarborough or utilise the front stalls. There were thoughts, as long ago as the ‘60s, of creating a cinema within the cafe area (which by then had become the rather tired Showbar)and we’ll never know whether a screen count of four would have enabled the Odeon to survive longer. Jim Whittell, then M.D. of Rank Leisure Services, persuaded the Board to go in for an “especially sensitive” tripling as he loved the Scarborough Odeon and was determined to stem the winter losses. I was Scarborough’s assistant/relief manager in the late 'sixties and it was something of a culture shock to be controlling queues and putting the “House Full” boards out quite regularly up until mid September and then find staff outnumbering patrons on some out-of-season days. Of course, some pre-release films and a Thursday start helped when Sunday start was the norm at provincial, non-resort cinemas, not to mention the vagaries of the English summer weather! In 1980 when Rank announced the closure of Muswell Hill, my late friend/colleague and former M.H. manager, Steve Gaunt, although having taken over the Odeon, Holloway, threatened to chain himself to the front doors! Although, mercifully, in the event, that didn’t become necessary. I’m surprised M.H. has lasted this long with just three screens, it may have a large catchment area but it also has other cinemas not very far away. York? Well what can I say? With a multiplex within two miles of York and a three screen Picture House operation in the city centre, one might have thought the Council would have encouraged the refurbishment Odeon wanted to do at the time but, instead, ignorance and intransigence won the day and the Odeon was lost. As with Scarborough, who knows how long the rebranded cinema would have survived but it would have been given a fighting chance. It’s now a dire Reel and, having known the York Odeon for over fifty years and having trained there in my management days, one visit to the Reel was quite enough. Guess nothing lasts forever.
The nine 2k Strand Electric fresnel-lensed lanterns (Patt. 234s) housed on the circle front, were favoured by the interior design partnership of Trevor and Mavis Stone who were brought in by Rank Theatres Ltd. to give their more prosperous Odeons a more modern look. Removal of Odeon clocks, decorative features (like Bradford’s sculptures) and most concealed and stage lighting was also characteristic of the Stones. Everything had to be plain and simple in the ‘60s. At York’s Odeon, new, plain silver screen curtains were hung, three-colour footlights removed and splay wall cove lighting disconnected. The replacement nine lanterns on the circle front were all filtered in 57 pink and the entire auditorium was painted in a neutral “biscuit” shade. As at Bradford the new lighting was dazzling, spectacular in its way but not allowing for changing/blending colours. At both cinemas, the Stones said the gels for the new lanterns could be either “57 pink” or “straw”. York chose the former while Bradford went for “straw”. Once the proverbial dust settled, the projection crew at both locations quietly reintroduced three separate circuits for controlling the pageant lighting and, once again, varying hues played on the reflective curtains and the presentation was enhanced as a result.
Whilst the Odeon could take a fortune during Scarborough’s short summer seasons by the ‘80s, such a large, single screen cinema just wasn’t feasible in the resort and any “summer profit” would be overtaken by mounting winter losses. The Rank Group were prepared to undertake a more expensive-than-normal, drop wall tripling to provide two small cinemas in the rear stalls while preserving the entire auditorium above and in front of the balcony with all its plasterwork, lighting coves and screen within the original proscenium. The two extra screens enabling three choices of film could have much reduced the winter losses but the Council wouldn’t allow any changes whatsoever and Rank had to cut their losses. This was the same council which, a few short years later, allowed the auditorium to be totally gutted in order for two small auditoria to be created within the shell. No amount of cleaned faience tiling and restored neon will ever compensate for the unforgivable loss of this impressive cinema. In the Odeon’s later years, it joined the Odeon, Leicester Square in being one of only two unsubdivided original Odeon theatres. Then there was one…
My personal favourite of all time – and many musicals leave me unimpressed. I first saw it in York, England in 35mm. CinemaScope at the Tower cinema which had stereophonic sound installed especially. The Tower was one of many independents/small chain cinemas which benefitted from a rift between 20th Century Fox and Rank, owners of the Odeon circuit, who were not prepared to install stereophonic sound in all their cinemas. The “lesser” cinemas who did make the investment found themselves showing “South Pacific” for lengthy runs often followed by return engagements over a number of years. In York, the film returned several times to the Tower as well as the Odeon on general release and even the ABC where it appeared as a one day special presentation during the ‘70s. On my first of many visits to see “South Pacific”, the impact was incredible. I had never heard stereophonic sound or seen cinematography so breathtaking. The film has played over nineteen weeks in York and is the longest running stage or screen entertainment in a large venue in the City, ever. I have paid to see the film, in both Todd-AO and 35mm. over forty times, shown it as a cinema manager and now project the stunning Blu-ray version in my home cinema to new generations of delighted audiences. If I can take one film with me into my pyramid, it will be “South Pacific”!
The Odeon, Leicester Square is now a two screen cinema – though mercifully not “twinned”. A white screen for 2D product sits in the conventional screen frame with attendant top and side masking. When 3D product is shown, the frame is wheeled to the rear of the stage and a silver screen is lowered from the fly tower to replace it. The screen speakers are separately mounted and positioned behind whichever screen is being used. Having both white and silver screens enables optimum visual quality for both digital formats. When the silver screen is being used, it precludes the use of both sets of tabs and when it was hung, the spot bar with twelve profile spots focussed on the screen tabs and filtered blue (part of 1998’s revamp) had to be removed to allow for the raising and lowering of the silver screen. Fourteen of the eighteen pageant spotlights housed on the balcony front survived the revamp but were rewired on one circuit instead of three so the blending and changing of three different colours was replaced by all lanterns being filtered rose pink. The “pageant box” also accommodates four less powerful spots shuttered and focussed – open white – on the golden figures adorning the splay walls.
The 1968 modernisation did not actually remove the French Renaissance style decor but “inserted” a modern auditorium into the original shell. The balcony was indeed removed and the new proscenium was situated on the old stage. This situation remains with the “new” cinema simply twinned. Much original decor can still be seen in “mirth and mayhem’s” photostream on Flickr.