ABC Cardiff

One plan showing the alterations for the large curved screen for 70mm has survived in the Archive.

Hi all, Allanevans mentions that he has photo’s of the ABC before it was converted. I was a regular at the ABC minors during the 60’s and I absolutely loved that place. If anyone has photo’s or movies of the interior I would love to see them. Email me at .au I now have my own private cinema…..16mm 8mm and digital….so the passion for film continues. Also, any photo’s of other cinema’s in Cardiff such as park lane or Odeon or Capitol would be appreciated.

You are probably right with the roller skating and no, unfortunately I do not recall any photographs being taken atb the time, but if any exist I would think they would be in Associated British Cinemas' archives somewhere. I often regret not keeping a pictorial record of my time in the cinema industry but these lessons are not learned until too late. I can still remember after taking down the screen, moving out the old speakers (Perspecta Stereo) and there on the rear stage wall was this full colour painting, sadly covered up again within days by the neww deeply curved Todd AO size screen

I actually worked there so am rather familiar with the building and its environments.The arcade alongside the cinema was called Andrews Arcade, and into this arcade were Three emergency exits (incorporating, via a catwalk, the Box emergency exit) and at the Crockherbtown Lane end, the doors to the boiler house, which in my time housed a gas boiler with a plennum system clean air distributor above it.
When the Proscenium arch was dismantled ready for Todd AO, we found on the rear wall of the stage area, a guigantic painting of a female ice skater with the words To Skate is to be Beautiful alongside it, so sometime in the past perhaps ice skating took place here.

Do You Know Allan, I never thought of the Tardis comparism, I like it. In fact the auditorium was virtually a seperate building from the buildins fronting Queen Street. The long rising foyer actually went through those buildings to the cinema proper at the rear. Yes the auditoriun was partially below ground level and in fact even lower than that was, enser the stage apron was a spring of water, which had its ownn sump pump to get rid of the water as it rose in its well.

I used to be a projectionist in Pwllheli before my retirement, I remember in 1960 going on a coach trip to Cardiff, setting off after 10.00pm Saturday evening. I did not even have time to pop home after finishing work, It’s not the easiest of journeys down to South Wales even now, but much worse back then.
After travelling all night we were all very tired after walking around all day Sunday,there was no hotel involved on this crazy trip.the bus was not due to set back for home until quite late on Sunday. In the end we all landed up in the Olympia, mostly just for the rest. the first thing I noticed was the location of the box as described mickrick,the first i’d seen in that position. The film running was ‘Hercules Unchained’ starring Steve Reeves not that we cared much of what was on offer. Smashing cinema I visited it a couple of times after that, when more awake !
Here’s a photo from 1996.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58677517@N03/?saved=1

As I sit here at this moment in time, with the Magic Film being shown on tele NOW!, I hear the strains of “OKLAHOMA ” filling the air and I am immediately taken back to the opening night in Cardiff. The strains of “Beautiful Morning” fill the theatre, the Tabs SWEEP open and the sharpest ever Todd AO image filled the sheet with colour. An experience I will treasure for ever

I hope you guys haven’t replaced your great projectionists with high school kids like they have done almost everywhere in the States.Sad thing was the Union makes the movies,but has no say in having a trained Union person in the booth,never could figure it out.Mike Local 629.

Yes indeed the projection equipment in the late 60s and early 70s and infact upto the closure for conversion to a triple complex were Phillips DP70/35 projectors. Mostly during this time the film format was 35mm, but yes in 1972 “Ryans Daughter” was screened in 70mm and also “Ben Hur” then in 1974 a two week re-run of “Dr Zhivago” which was the last film to be shown in 70mm, and with the last 35mm shown on that equipment was “Jaws” after a 3 month run.
The Projection team were highly professional and presentation was always of a very high standard.
The Cinema was always extremly busy during this period and the staff very well trained in seating the near 1,600 capacity audiances very quickly which usually took place during the showing of the short feature, well in time for the start of the main film.

I was ther when the 70 mm re release of gone with the wind was on, i remeber carrying the reels in ther metal cases to the projection area.i think one of the last 70 mm films shown at the olympia was Ryans daughter in about 1972.but ther may have been a few more later.I have some photos of the hall just prior to tripling ,which im hopeing to put on here sometime.thanks for the above reply.

I was a probationer at the abc olympia in late 1968, the DP 70 projectors were in use then , and as far as i know were in use up until the triple conversion in 1976.

Between 1955 and 1960 I worked at the nearby Dominions Arcade vaults. Every week the distributors gave two free passes, to each member of staff, which could be used at any one of the four remaining cinemas operating in Queen Street. The Olympia was at that time considered to be the best operated and most comfortable of the three halls on the north side of Queen Street and this was where I nearly always used my passes.

The Gaumont possessed terrible sound amplification as it sometimes functioned as a theatre which led to it having mobile stage mounted speakers. The Odeon had a box with poor sound insulation. Patrons sitting in the balcony could often hear noises from the box during quiet interludes in the film presentations.

The operating skills of the Olympia projectionists were highly regarded by those in the trade. The hall had a large and permanent box staff so never hired outside jobbers. One of the features I can recall was the way that the projection staff seamlessly operated the cinema so that interval music and lighting was faded up and down almost as if it were a part of the opening or closing sequences of the films being presented. Joins in trailers and ice-cream advertisements were noticed to have professionally blooped out sound tracks that never treated the audience to the bangs and buzzes experienced in more minor halls. Changeovers were slick and almost unnoticeable to those without knowledge of projecting. In my later days as a jobbing minor hall projectionist I always tried, but rarely succeeded owing to inferior equipment, to emulate the standards which I’d previously admired at the Olympia.

Even now, some fifty years on, when I think of the Olympia, I can easily recall the Percy Faith version of “A Summer Place” being carefully faded out as the distributor’s title plate replaced the silent British Board of Censor’s certificate.

The Olympia name appears on an advert dated 1911 reproduced in a local history book, and was used in press advertising e.g. for a “Kinemacolor” show.