I was an occasional visitor in my early years in the 1950’s. They ran Saturday morning kids shows – children only – you couldn’t take your parents! Sometimes they played the organ and we sang the Clapham Grenadiers song. The shows always started with a short cartoon – Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. Or perhaps Bugs Bunny or Sylvester & Tweety Pie. Next was an episode of a serial such as Flash Gordon – great stories, pity about the pathetic special effects! Occasionally they showed a newsreel, but often it was a comedy short – The Three Stooges, or Bowery Boys. Finally the main film. Westerns were very popular. Anything with plenty of action and not too much kissing! As a visitor from Devon, I found the London kids rather lively, but there was no really bad behaviour. Imagine the atmosphere when there was an exciting scene – all those kids shouting there support for the goodies and booing the bad guys! Those shows were really enjoyable.
When I first started going to the Regal the screen was in 4:3 format. Later they converted it to widescreen when Cinemascope came out. I remember being enthralled by The Dam Busters, and also remember seeing West Side Story there.
I was a regular at the Regal from my early years in the 1940’s. They ran Saturday morning kids shows – children only – you couldn’t take your parents! Sometimes they played the organ and we sang the ABC Minor’s song (see youtube). The shows always started with a short cartoon – Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. Or perhaps Bugs Bunny or Sylvester & Tweety Pie. Next was an episode of a serial such as Flash Gordon – great stories, pity about the pathetic special effects! Occasionally they showed a newsreel, but often it was a comedy short – The Three Stooges, or Bowery Boys. Finally the main film. Westerns were very popular. Anything with plenty of action and not too much kissing!
I was an occasional visitor in my early years in the 1950’s. They ran Saturday morning kids shows – children only – you couldn’t take your parents! Sometimes they played the organ and we sang the Clapham Grenadiers song. The shows always started with a short cartoon – Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. Or perhaps Bugs Bunny or Sylvester & Tweety Pie. Next was an episode of a serial such as Flash Gordon – great stories, pity about the pathetic special effects! Occasionally they showed a newsreel, but often it was a comedy short – The Three Stooges, or Bowery Boys. Finally the main film. Westerns were very popular. Anything with plenty of action and not too much kissing! As a visitor from Devon, I found the London kids rather lively, but there was no really bad behaviour. Imagine the atmosphere when there was an exciting scene – all those kids shouting there support for the goodies and booing the bad guys! Those shows were really enjoyable.
When I first started going to the Regal the screen was in 4:3 format. Later they converted it to widescreen when Cinemascope came out. I remember being enthralled by The Dam Busters, and also remember seeing West Side Story there.
I was a regular at the Regal from my early years in the 1940’s. They ran Saturday morning kids shows – children only – you couldn’t take your parents! Sometimes they played the organ and we sang the ABC Minor’s song (see youtube). The shows always started with a short cartoon – Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. Or perhaps Bugs Bunny or Sylvester & Tweety Pie. Next was an episode of a serial such as Flash Gordon – great stories, pity about the pathetic special effects! Occasionally they showed a newsreel, but often it was a comedy short – The Three Stooges, or Bowery Boys. Finally the main film. Westerns were very popular. Anything with plenty of action and not too much kissing!