Queen's Cinerama Theatre

The Queen’s Hall opened on 9th September 1913. Although it was a large building, it had a rather plain facade facing onto the narrow Northumberland Place, with a small entrance to the extreme left of the building which accessed the mid-stalls. There were two other entrances, one on Northumberland Street which accessed the best seats in the stalls and circle and another on Lisle Street which accessed the front stalls.

The building was designed by Newcastle architects Marshall & Tweedy and there were 1,047 seats in the stalls and 366 in the small circle. There were also six private boxes at circle level along each of the two side walls. There was a square proscenium arch and rounded barrel ceiling. Initially an independent cinema, it was taken over by George Black in March 1920 and a Vincent 3Manual 29Ranks straight organ was installed.

In 1928, George Black sold the Queen’s Hall to General Theatres Corporation and it was closed for four weeks during July and August 1928 for redecoration. It was soon under the operations of Gaumont British Theatres when they took over General Theatre Corporation, and it became the premier Gaumont operated theatre in the city.

In 1957, the organ was sold and removed from the cinema and a new wide screen was erected in front of the old proscenium opening. The Queen’s Hall began screening Roadshow films. First came "Around the World in 80 Days" which ran for 3 months. "The Ten Commandments" ran for 4 months in May to August 1958. The cinema was then equipped to screen Todd-AO and it opened with "South Pacific" which ran for 81 weeks from September 1958. The Queen’s Hall was closed on 15th June 1963, to be converted into a Cinerama Theatre. The building was totally gutted and a new roof installed. Seating was reduced to 972 (613 stalls and 359 circle) in the new luxury cinema, which had drapes on the wall and a huge curved screen.

The Queen’s Cinerama Theatre opened on 9th November 1963 with "How the West Was Won", projected via a 3-projector system. From 23rd May 1964 "Cinerama Holiday" played and this was followed by "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm". The cinema then went on to screen films in 70mm Cinerama on a single projector "Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which was followed by a 140 weeks run of “The Sound of Music” from 18th April 1965.

The Queen’s Cinerama Theatre closed on 16th February 1980 with Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. It remained empty and unused and was demolished in February 1983. A shopping centre was built on the site, which was unsuccessful and it is now converted into gambling areas and restaurants.

Recent comments (view all 19 comments)

nic1946 on August 6, 2014 at 10:33 am

My first visit to this wonderful cinema was a school trip to see a film about the Bolshoi Ballet which would have been 1955 ish. I then saw many shows in the years after in all it’s formats. Presentation always impressed me in those days, not any more! The multiplex way seems to be just slap it on the screen!

terry on June 3, 2016 at 8:52 pm

Photo of original auditorium uploaded.

NThomson on October 23, 2016 at 7:50 pm

My favourite movie being the 1969 War Blockbuster:– “Where Eagles Dare” and I remember seeing this at the Queens in 1974 just before I began my career here, all its glory on the 70mm giant screen… never forget it… nothing ever compares to this presentation….

Mr_BTH on June 1, 2018 at 6:40 am

I have the 2 Philip’s DP70 projectors from the Queens. I have spent the last 8 years restoring them to full working order. I would like to contact any of the projectionist from the Queen.

NThomson on June 11, 2018 at 1:37 am

Hi there Mr BTH, Im probably one of the last projectionists from the Queens Cinerama Newcastle, Im thrilled to hear the original projectors are still around and in working condition.

terry on June 18, 2020 at 12:37 am

Whilst the Queen’s is probably most famously associated with ‘The Sound of Music’ which ran for 140 weeks from 18th April 1965, it was also the venue where, 5 years earlier in 1960, Hitchcock’s biggest commercial success, ‘Psycho’ had an extended run (photo uploaded).

It is exactly 60 years since the film’s New York premiere whilst August 4th this year will mark the 60th anniversary of the start of its engagement at the Queen’s

peterlogan on February 4, 2023 at 9:55 pm

I worked at The Queens Cinerama as a projectionist using the DP 70 projectors. I showed The Sound of music twice a day for two years. Con Dougherty was the manager, Derek was the chief also worked with Brian, Cecil and John. Im pleased to see Mr BTH has the DP 70s. I still have a small roll of 35mm which is one third of How The West was Won.

NThomson on February 5, 2023 at 11:13 pm

Hi Peter, nice to see another name added to the projection team, I began my job at the Queens in the box in 1974, until closure… I worked with Derek (super guy) and Brian, and Theo. I knew Cec who worked with me at the Odeon. John Henderson I recall too.. Have you any pics of the Queens.

peterlogan on February 7, 2023 at 5:29 pm

Hi NThomson, sorry don’t know your first name, thanks for getting in touch. Yes Derek was a great guy, he loved his photography. I remember he had a dark room in his office on the right as you entered the projection room. I am Amazed we both worked with the same people. When I started working at the Queens I had just missed the three projector system. Wow 55 years ago. Do you remember the live showing of the boxing matches in The Odeon, and the special projector that was used. I think it was called Eidathor. It was hired in and was hauled all the way up into the projection room. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of my time at The Queens. The only thing I have is my evidence of my attending The Rank training academy in London and the short sample of one third Cinerama footage of How The West Was Won.

NThomson on March 19, 2023 at 10:45 pm

Hi Peter, Good to hear from you, sorry for the delay in replying… yeah I loved working at the Queens, great cinema to be part of, I began my job here 1974, before transferring to the Odeon in 1975 but came back following training, 1977, You must have worked around 1965, to show SOM… I understand they had two prints as the first, lost colour over time.. How long did you work here… Derek Passed away in 1995, Cec too around 2007 I think ? did you know Bill Furness (chief Odeon ) Brian is still around… Best. Neil.