Metro Cinema
East Link,
Dundonald,
BT16
East Link,
Dundonald,
BT16
1 person
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Located opposite Ulster Hospital on the corner of East Link, Dundonald, to the east of Belfast. The Metro Cinema opened on 3rd September 1956 with “Rear Window” starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Built at a cost of £50,000, it was the first post-war cinema with a balcony. CinemaScope had also been installed. It was owned by Supreme Cinemas, which also controlled another 13 Ulster cinemas. With hindsight it turned out to be an ill-timed venture. Located in a then sparsely populated area, it had to compete with television and more convenient city cinemas. So it was soon in difficulties.
It closed on 29th March 1961, giving it the dubious distinction of being the shortest-lived lifespan of any modern Northern Ireland cinema. By coincidence, the Curran Group also wound up that year. It was briefly converted into the the New Metro Ballroom by February 1962. Rather ironically, one of the building’s last uses was as a repair depot for Check Rentals, a television hire company. The building was later demolished and a McDonald’s restaurant occupies the site.
Contributed by
David Simpson
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Having conducted an extensive trawl of the advertising columns of the Belfast Telegraph, from the opening to the closure of this cinema, I can find absolutely no evidence that the Metro ever changed its name to the Rex. It opened as the Metro, it continued as the Metro and when it closed on 29th March 1961, it was still the Metro. By 10th February 1962 it had become the New Metro Ballroom, a short-lived venture.(KYB 1958 shows the owners as Sandro Theatres, which was a Supreme Cinemas company.)