Regarding the programming, early Polanski films, Knife In The Water, Repulsion, Cul-de-Sac. Films by Bunuel – Un Chien Andalou, L'Age d'Or, Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel, Belle De Jour. Quite a few musicals, including Tea For Two with Doris Day, Easter Parade with Judy Garland, plus several of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Some Marx Brothers, I think and quite a few shorts, among them The Cut Ups, made by Balch and William Burroughs. The programming was bizarre, but that was half the fun!
A wonderful picture of the cinema when it was the Rex in 1960. OK, so the cinema isn’t wholly in view, but the overall atmosphere; the cars, trolleybus wires and East Finchley Station Northern Line bridges in the distance, is just as I remember it in the late 50’s when mum took me to see Clamity Jane and Carousel. Thanks to LostMemory for posting – I wonder if there are any other photos from this period?
During the 60’s, I lived only a few hundred yards away in Birkenhead Street. At that time, the Regent had become a cinema and was called The Century Cinema. I’m not sure when this happened, but perhaps it was in the late 50’s. Anyway, I was a regular there up until the late 60’s. The last film I saw there starred Bette Davis (Dead Image, or Dead Ringer in the U.S.) and if I remember rightly, they showed mostly old films, or at least, old-ish stuff. Another film I clearly remember seeing at the Century was a piece starring Brandon de Wilde, Carol Lynley, Macdonald Carey and Marsha Hunt. It was called Blue Denim in the U.S., but Blue Jeans in the U.K. and was a story about teenage pregnancy and abortion – quite a daring subject at the time. The cinema was down at heel and had obviously seen better days and I think fell into disuse, either in the late 60’s or sometime in the 70’s. It lay empty for some years, before, sadly, being demolished to make way for the hideous council building, unfortunately still extant.
Thanks to Kenroe for posting the pictures. Unfortunately, the view from the street obviously wasn’t taken with the Ionic specifically in mind, although you can just about see the building. I wonder if there are any other photos – perhaps from the 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s? I’m not holding my breath, but maybe some will eventually appear.
If there are any photos of the original cinema, I’d be grateful if someone would point me to the relevant website. And orpheum, I totally agree with your sentiments regarding local council planning committees. I suppose you could argue that the pressure from multi-billion pound conglomerates puts them under intolerable pressure – but, inner city vandalism, in the shape of outsize, ugly buildings, has been going on for years. It was pointed out to me some time ago that the famous Euston Arch would be listed Grade 11 if in fact it still existed. That may be so, but beautiful buildings are still being torn down at a rate of knots. Even where they aren’t particularly beautiful, any replacements are usually far to big and completely out of keeping with the surrounding structures. The Arts Depot in Finchley is a gross and rather extreme example.
I’d forgotten about the Beatles' Apple store. It’s more than probable that Anthony Balch had a preview copy of the White Album, which is why we were all knocked out when it was played in the cinema.
I just looked up Balch on Wikipedia and found that, together with William Burroughs, he made some of the films we went to see. And although there was an aborted film with Mick Jagger, it does seem likely that he could have had access to preview albums – on vinyl of course! Sadly, Balch died in 1980 of stomach cancer at the young age of 43. But I see his films, or bits of his films, are all up on Youtube. Rogers & Hammerstein he aint! But if you’re into avant garde stuff that’s pre-Bowie etc, there are some interesting things to explore.
After reading the above, I send my heartfelt thanks to Mr Anthony Balch for providing me and all my friends with the most exciting and bizarre cinema programming in London in the late 60’s. After a few visits, we didn’t even bother to look at the listings – we just turned up, knowing that whatever it was, it would be good. For some special screenings, we used to pile in around 7ish in the evening and then pile out again at 1 in the morning, after watching several Polanski films and a few weird shorts. The following week, we’d be treated to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and the week after that, it would be some extraordinary film by Bunuel. The strange thing was that we’d see the same people in the audience for all these films. And with the plethora of joints being smoked, you could cut the air with knife! It was at this cinema, in 1968, I first heard the Beatles White Album – it was being played as intro and interval music.
From marijuana to Bob Hope is rather a long stretch – nevertheless Mr Balch…. thanks for the memory!!!
I seem to remember a regular Marx Brothers mini-season each year in the 1960’s, I think. I went to a couple and the place was packed! As was a film with G B Shaw that my mum took me to in the late 50’s. He was chatting away in his, or somebody’s, back garden. I was probably too young to appreciate the “wit”, but I wonder what film it was…
Oh how the memories come flooding back! A marvellous building, its giant screen was a real treat for cinema-goers. I fondly remember the trips to Saturday Morning Pictures when I was a lad. And the time that our class from Friern Barnet County School were ushered in to listen to Muir Matheson and the London Sinfonia play live. And the films… well Norman Wisdom was guaranteed to put a lot of bums on seats! I remember my mum taking me to see Separate Tables and although young then, I still recall Niven’s wonderful performance. Then there was Psycho, when the doors were locked 5 minutes before the performance was due to start. Who really needed the west end cinemas when you could see West Side Story, Der Rosenkavalier, South Pacific and The Guns Of Navarone on this huge screen boasting a great sound system?
And it’s all been replaced with one of the most hideous buildings in north London – a huge structure that, not content with being overbearing and completely out of place in its surroundings, is visible for miles around, as if to send out the message to all and sundry, “look how ugly I am”. I can’t imagine anyone lamenting its demise in years to come…. but maybe I’m wrong…. perhaps brutal architecture and buildings are here to stay.
I wish I hadn’t looked at the photo! What a sad demise of a lovely art deco building. I lived in Finchley Park, just round the corner, and was a regular visitor in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. They weren’t doing that badly – the place was jam-packed for Summer Holiday and Zulu, but of course, TV was gaining ground and perhaps closure was inevitable. But to replace it with “Furnitureland” – just how gross can things get!
It would be nice to some pictures of this cinema in it’s prime – maybe with some trolleybuses, buses, or Greenlines that all stopped outside the entrance.
My mum took me fairly regularly in the 1950’s, when there wasn’t much else on at the Odeon and Gaumont in North Finchley. I don’t remember much about the building, so it would be nice to see some photos from that era – sadly, none seem to exist, or be available.
Sounds interesting Olivia – how do we get in touch?
There are some pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/59082098@N05/sets/72157626005885698/ taken in the 1930’s when the building was new.
Regarding the programming, early Polanski films, Knife In The Water, Repulsion, Cul-de-Sac. Films by Bunuel – Un Chien Andalou, L'Age d'Or, Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel, Belle De Jour. Quite a few musicals, including Tea For Two with Doris Day, Easter Parade with Judy Garland, plus several of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Some Marx Brothers, I think and quite a few shorts, among them The Cut Ups, made by Balch and William Burroughs. The programming was bizarre, but that was half the fun!
A wonderful picture of the cinema when it was the Rex in 1960. OK, so the cinema isn’t wholly in view, but the overall atmosphere; the cars, trolleybus wires and East Finchley Station Northern Line bridges in the distance, is just as I remember it in the late 50’s when mum took me to see Clamity Jane and Carousel. Thanks to LostMemory for posting – I wonder if there are any other photos from this period?
During the 60’s, I lived only a few hundred yards away in Birkenhead Street. At that time, the Regent had become a cinema and was called The Century Cinema. I’m not sure when this happened, but perhaps it was in the late 50’s. Anyway, I was a regular there up until the late 60’s. The last film I saw there starred Bette Davis (Dead Image, or Dead Ringer in the U.S.) and if I remember rightly, they showed mostly old films, or at least, old-ish stuff. Another film I clearly remember seeing at the Century was a piece starring Brandon de Wilde, Carol Lynley, Macdonald Carey and Marsha Hunt. It was called Blue Denim in the U.S., but Blue Jeans in the U.K. and was a story about teenage pregnancy and abortion – quite a daring subject at the time. The cinema was down at heel and had obviously seen better days and I think fell into disuse, either in the late 60’s or sometime in the 70’s. It lay empty for some years, before, sadly, being demolished to make way for the hideous council building, unfortunately still extant.
Thanks to Kenroe for posting the pictures. Unfortunately, the view from the street obviously wasn’t taken with the Ionic specifically in mind, although you can just about see the building. I wonder if there are any other photos – perhaps from the 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s? I’m not holding my breath, but maybe some will eventually appear.
If there are any photos of the original cinema, I’d be grateful if someone would point me to the relevant website. And orpheum, I totally agree with your sentiments regarding local council planning committees. I suppose you could argue that the pressure from multi-billion pound conglomerates puts them under intolerable pressure – but, inner city vandalism, in the shape of outsize, ugly buildings, has been going on for years. It was pointed out to me some time ago that the famous Euston Arch would be listed Grade 11 if in fact it still existed. That may be so, but beautiful buildings are still being torn down at a rate of knots. Even where they aren’t particularly beautiful, any replacements are usually far to big and completely out of keeping with the surrounding structures. The Arts Depot in Finchley is a gross and rather extreme example.
I’d forgotten about the Beatles' Apple store. It’s more than probable that Anthony Balch had a preview copy of the White Album, which is why we were all knocked out when it was played in the cinema.
I just looked up Balch on Wikipedia and found that, together with William Burroughs, he made some of the films we went to see. And although there was an aborted film with Mick Jagger, it does seem likely that he could have had access to preview albums – on vinyl of course! Sadly, Balch died in 1980 of stomach cancer at the young age of 43. But I see his films, or bits of his films, are all up on Youtube. Rogers & Hammerstein he aint! But if you’re into avant garde stuff that’s pre-Bowie etc, there are some interesting things to explore.
After reading the above, I send my heartfelt thanks to Mr Anthony Balch for providing me and all my friends with the most exciting and bizarre cinema programming in London in the late 60’s. After a few visits, we didn’t even bother to look at the listings – we just turned up, knowing that whatever it was, it would be good. For some special screenings, we used to pile in around 7ish in the evening and then pile out again at 1 in the morning, after watching several Polanski films and a few weird shorts. The following week, we’d be treated to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and the week after that, it would be some extraordinary film by Bunuel. The strange thing was that we’d see the same people in the audience for all these films. And with the plethora of joints being smoked, you could cut the air with knife! It was at this cinema, in 1968, I first heard the Beatles White Album – it was being played as intro and interval music.
From marijuana to Bob Hope is rather a long stretch – nevertheless Mr Balch…. thanks for the memory!!!
I seem to remember a regular Marx Brothers mini-season each year in the 1960’s, I think. I went to a couple and the place was packed! As was a film with G B Shaw that my mum took me to in the late 50’s. He was chatting away in his, or somebody’s, back garden. I was probably too young to appreciate the “wit”, but I wonder what film it was…
Oh how the memories come flooding back! A marvellous building, its giant screen was a real treat for cinema-goers. I fondly remember the trips to Saturday Morning Pictures when I was a lad. And the time that our class from Friern Barnet County School were ushered in to listen to Muir Matheson and the London Sinfonia play live. And the films… well Norman Wisdom was guaranteed to put a lot of bums on seats! I remember my mum taking me to see Separate Tables and although young then, I still recall Niven’s wonderful performance. Then there was Psycho, when the doors were locked 5 minutes before the performance was due to start. Who really needed the west end cinemas when you could see West Side Story, Der Rosenkavalier, South Pacific and The Guns Of Navarone on this huge screen boasting a great sound system?
And it’s all been replaced with one of the most hideous buildings in north London – a huge structure that, not content with being overbearing and completely out of place in its surroundings, is visible for miles around, as if to send out the message to all and sundry, “look how ugly I am”. I can’t imagine anyone lamenting its demise in years to come…. but maybe I’m wrong…. perhaps brutal architecture and buildings are here to stay.
I wish I hadn’t looked at the photo! What a sad demise of a lovely art deco building. I lived in Finchley Park, just round the corner, and was a regular visitor in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. They weren’t doing that badly – the place was jam-packed for Summer Holiday and Zulu, but of course, TV was gaining ground and perhaps closure was inevitable. But to replace it with “Furnitureland” – just how gross can things get!
It would be nice to some pictures of this cinema in it’s prime – maybe with some trolleybuses, buses, or Greenlines that all stopped outside the entrance.
My mum took me fairly regularly in the 1950’s, when there wasn’t much else on at the Odeon and Gaumont in North Finchley. I don’t remember much about the building, so it would be nice to see some photos from that era – sadly, none seem to exist, or be available.