Cineworld Cinema - Hammersmith
207 King Street,
London,
W6 9JT
207 King Street,
London,
W6 9JT
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Associated British Cinemas Ltd., Cannon Cinemas, Cineworld, MGM Theatres, UGC, Virgin Cinemas
Architects: William Riddell Glen
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Regal Cinema, ABC, Cannon, MGM, Virgin, UGC
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Located in the west London inner city district of Hammersmith. Designed by Associated British Cinemas(ABC) in-house architect William R. Glen, the Regal Cinema replaced two earlier cinemas on the site (Blue Hall 1 and 2-Annexe).
It is a handsome theatre inside with seating for 1,283 in the stalls and 974 in the circle. It was equipped with a Compton 2Manual/5Rank theatre organ that was opened by Gilbert Handley (The organ was not new, as it had previously been installed in the Granada Theatre, Hove). There was a stage and four large dressing rooms. The décor was simple, the main feature being a large galleon on the splay wall either side of the screen and, typically for Glen, concealed trough lighting. The Regal Cinema opened on 14th September 1936 with Clark Gable in “Wife vs Secretary” and Irene Dunne in “Magnificent Obsession” plus a stage show.
The Regal Cinema was renamed ABC in 1964 and closed for tripling in March 1975. Reopening took place 25th May with 662 seats in ABC 1 in the former circle, 414 seats and 213 seats in ABC’s 2 & 3 in the former stalls. Later ABC 1 was twinned to become Screens 1 & 2, while ABC’s 2 & 3 became Screens 3 & 4.
Running the usual gamut of names of former ABC house’s lately, the cinema eventually became the UGC and is now known as the Cineworld. It appears to be prosperous with usually five screenings of each film per day starting from around mid-day. In February 2016 it was announced that the Cineworld would close mid-April 2016 as the landlord had served notice to vacate the building due to the King Street regeneration project, and it will be demolished. Plans are for a 3-screen Curzon Cinema will take its place in the redevelopment. It closed 14th April 2016 and was demolished in March 2017.
Contributed by
Ian Grundy
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
Reading up on this, apparently MGM spent £1.5m refurbishing this cinema in the early 90s including restoring the exterior, removing the false ceiling from the foyer and practically rebuilding the auditoriums from the ground up. There was such an overspend that Ealing (demolished by Empire) didn’t get its proposed bar!
I’m not sure there will be a big rush for Curzon, Picturehouse or Everyman to come in with new screens in the old BBC complex in Shepherd’s Bush due…I agree that the Western corridor is underscreened in terms of quality films not in terms of blockbusters when you have 5-7 screens in the two Vues showing the same product
Update on this site : tragically, no sooner was this magnificent cinema demolished than the plans to re-develop the area fell through spectacularly. The local council though are going through the planning process again to gain permission for housing and a new four-screen cinema which, unlike the original plans, will be built on the site of the old cinema. Given vocal unhappiness from the near-residents, the new cinema could be built as early as this summer (2018) – but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The Picture House Chiswick plans for the site straight up the road from here have apparently been permanently shelved, adding to the paucity of viewing options in the Chiswick/Hammersmith direction.
Footage from the MGM Hammersmith in 1995 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rs3RhrGyqE
And some more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dYGIl8b1Yo
Visited the site a number of weeks ago, sadly unlike the much more recently demolished Cineworld Chelsea the only ‘progress’ seemed to be a wraparound placed on the exterior (presumably by the local council) showing an artist’s impression of the proposed replacement cinema. This will be though a much larger job : there will be a very substantial retail and residential element to the rebuild, though local agitation at the loss of a very popular facility has seen the council announce that the rebuild of the cinema will be a priority. Nearby, up the road in Chiswick, plans to convert the old Rambert Dance Studios to a five-screen cinema have been revived and construction is understood to be in hand, with a possible opening before the end of 2019. It seems that Picturehouse Cinemas are no longer attached, though, and the cinema will be a stand-alone independent.
The Regal Hammersmith is a rare (possibly unique) example of a purpose built ABC which, for decades, did not play the ABC release. In the absence of an Odeon cinema in Hammersmith, the Regal played the Odeon release while the ABC release played the Commodore and the Broadway (and the Gaumont release obviously played the Gaumont). When Rank reorganised its circuits in January 1959 the new Rank release went to the Gaumont, leaving the Regal with the National release or off circuit releases. It was not until the Commodore closed in 1963 that the Regal finally played the ABC release.
Grand opening ad posted.
May 25th, 1975 Grand opening ad as ABC 1 2 & 3 King St. Hammersmith posted. the 4th screen came later.
the cinema actually closed on April 14th