An interesting bit of inf I came across…before the West End Cinema closed, the screening of CLEOPATRA was cut by about 45 minutes because the length of the film would not have allowed people to see it all without missing the last bus! Does anyone else remember this? Does anyone remember how long SOUTH PACIFIC ran there?
Appreciate the corrections. I felt sure that I saw a photograph of the Gaumont marquee on Colmore Row (as it was then)displaying The Fastest Guitar Alive – buat again, I concede that many of the chain'e cinemas looked alike. My memory is not as good as it was… I don’t remember the ABC (Forum) New St showing it. Mad World I went to see on Boxing day with my family….however, according to you this was the first day(?). I had already been to see it sometime before I treated family to the performance on Boxing Day. The Big Top thing was an American Thing. I called Cinerama here to ask them about it as I was thinking of putting on a charit benefit show. Most Americans never saw tru8e Cinerama. I was told that it was no longer travelling. I didn’t know that there ws a UK version. I met a Cinerama ‘salesman’ in the early 70’s. His company was interested in introducing ‘drive-in theaters’ in Britain. I told him that I didn’t think it would work. When he asked why not, (he was American)I explained the continuous problem with weather….plus…. most small cars were not comfortable enough to sit in for watching a movie. Very different from the cars in ths US at the time. The target area for the first one was LUTON. It never happened as far as I know. Maybe I deprived Britain of something….?! Maybe not.
I was also priveliged to appear on stage at the Odeon in the early 70’s. as bass player and personal representative to ROY ORBISON for 10 years. The Odeon audience (a sold out performance)remains fixed in memory because in the 10 years of performing with Roy, it was the only show that did NOT get us a standing ovation. Everyone remained seated and applauded wildly for the longest time! Why Brum?!
Our many performances in Birmingham (my home town) were always precious to me. Roy loved the Birmigham people They rated highly amongst his favorite audiences worldwide. Roy’s movie, “The Fastest Guitar Alive” was screened at the Gaumont, Snow Hill on it’s
release in the late 60’s. Shortly after that the Gaumont was transformed into a Cinerama theater which had the largest screen in the world with the exception of the ‘travelling’ Cinerama theater in the US – held under a big-top, circus style.
In 1964, the Odeon broke it’s box office record with the Beatles' film “A Hard Days Night” which ran for many weeks. However, it was short lived as the next presentation, Walt Disney’s 1937 Classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” surpassed it creating a new record.
An interesting bit of inf I came across…before the West End Cinema closed, the screening of CLEOPATRA was cut by about 45 minutes because the length of the film would not have allowed people to see it all without missing the last bus! Does anyone else remember this? Does anyone remember how long SOUTH PACIFIC ran there?
Appreciate the corrections. I felt sure that I saw a photograph of the Gaumont marquee on Colmore Row (as it was then)displaying The Fastest Guitar Alive – buat again, I concede that many of the chain'e cinemas looked alike. My memory is not as good as it was… I don’t remember the ABC (Forum) New St showing it. Mad World I went to see on Boxing day with my family….however, according to you this was the first day(?). I had already been to see it sometime before I treated family to the performance on Boxing Day. The Big Top thing was an American Thing. I called Cinerama here to ask them about it as I was thinking of putting on a charit benefit show. Most Americans never saw tru8e Cinerama. I was told that it was no longer travelling. I didn’t know that there ws a UK version. I met a Cinerama ‘salesman’ in the early 70’s. His company was interested in introducing ‘drive-in theaters’ in Britain. I told him that I didn’t think it would work. When he asked why not, (he was American)I explained the continuous problem with weather….plus…. most small cars were not comfortable enough to sit in for watching a movie. Very different from the cars in ths US at the time. The target area for the first one was LUTON. It never happened as far as I know. Maybe I deprived Britain of something….?! Maybe not.
I was also priveliged to appear on stage at the Odeon in the early 70’s. as bass player and personal representative to ROY ORBISON for 10 years. The Odeon audience (a sold out performance)remains fixed in memory because in the 10 years of performing with Roy, it was the only show that did NOT get us a standing ovation. Everyone remained seated and applauded wildly for the longest time! Why Brum?!
Our many performances in Birmingham (my home town) were always precious to me. Roy loved the Birmigham people They rated highly amongst his favorite audiences worldwide. Roy’s movie, “The Fastest Guitar Alive” was screened at the Gaumont, Snow Hill on it’s
release in the late 60’s. Shortly after that the Gaumont was transformed into a Cinerama theater which had the largest screen in the world with the exception of the ‘travelling’ Cinerama theater in the US – held under a big-top, circus style.
In 1964, the Odeon broke it’s box office record with the Beatles' film “A Hard Days Night” which ran for many weeks. However, it was short lived as the next presentation, Walt Disney’s 1937 Classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” surpassed it creating a new record.
Terry Widlake