Royal Film Performances

[CaptainWaggett]

Originally Posted by Blondel This is a similar subject. Can anyone on here help me find out which London cinema held the world premier of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men. ? It was held in the presence of a young Queen Elizabeth II on the 13th March 1952. I would be grateful for any information. Walt Disney's Story Of Robin Hood

It was at the Leicester Square Theatre - now the Odeon West End (not to be confused with the Odeon Leicester Square which was showing The Card at the time)

[julian_craster]

Check out Val Guest's autobiography for info on the stage production at the Royal Film Performance of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. He produced the show, and devotes 2/3 pages to it in his book.......

[Blondel]

Thanks Captain Waggett, you've made an old outlaw very happy!

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by julian_craster Check out Val Guest's autobiography for info on the stage production at the Royal Film Performance of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. He produced the show, and devotes 2/3 pages to it in his book.......

I think that could be worth a trip to the library to find (or request) that one. I haven't been to see them for some time

Steve

[charliekane]

Carol Reed's 'The Key' starring Sophia Loren and Trevor Howard was given a 'royal premiere' on 29th May 1958, with Princess Margaret. Not strictly a 'royal film performance' and, as Steve Crook says, probably one of many royal premieres. Sophia Loren's website, though, seems to want to claim it as one !

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by charliekane Carol Reed's 'The Key' starring Sophia Loren and Trevor Howard was given a 'royal premiere' on 29th May 1958, with Princess Margaret. Not strictly a 'royal film performance' and, as Steve Crook says, probably one of many royal premieres. Sophia Loren's website, though, seems to want to claim it as one !

Just another case of the Royal Family "going to the pictures"

I emailed the people that run the Sophia Loren site and they said they'd change it

Steve

[John Llewellyn Moxey]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook I think that could be worth a trip to the library to find (or request) that one. I haven't been to see them for some time Steve

It was a great show, and a marvelous film. Not to mention a one off occasion

JLM

[Moor Larkin]

Anyone got any photo-publicity of Where No Vultures Fly (1951). I read that Ralph Smart was presented to the Queen (later Queen Mum) at the Premiere. I'd love to find a picture of him in his pomp......



Ralph Smart - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by John Llewellyn Moxey It was a great show, and a marvelous film. Not to mention a one off occasion JLM

Were you there? For the 1946 Royal Film Performance?
Lucky you if you were

Steve

[John Llewellyn Moxey]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook Were you there? For the 1946 Royal Film Performance? Lucky you if you were Steve

Yes, as a matter of fact I was! I was working as a 2nd assistant director at Nettlefold, and I won a ticket for two. Fantastic luck, I will never forget it.

Cheers John

[penfold]

Originally Posted by John Llewellyn Moxey Yes, as a matter of fact I was! I was working as a 2nd assistant director at Nettlefold, and I won a ticket for two. Fantastic luck, I will never forget it. Cheers John

We are utterly envious....

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by John Llewellyn Moxey Yes, as a matter of fact I was! I was working as a 2nd assistant director at Nettlefold, and I won a ticket for two. Fantastic luck, I will never forget it. Cheers John

Totally envious
(Not that I was around at the time)

Steve

[Blondel]

I thought this might be of interest to Moor Larkin and others. This is a list of some of the Royal Film Performances at the Odeon Leicester Square including Rob Roy.


Always a first run cinema, initially the films played were mainly United Artist productions. Later it premiered many films from the Rank Organisation, who took over Odeon Theatres in 1941 on the death of Oscar Deutsch. From 1946 and for many years, it alternated each year with the Empire Theatre across Leicester Square to host the Royal Film Performance. The Empire Theatre was dropped from this honour after it was modernised in 1961. The Royal Film Performance is an Annual event, unique to the United Kingdom. The film industry invites the reigning monarch or a leading member/members of Royalty to attend a performance of an unseen film, the attending audience pay big money to participate in the event, the money made goes to charity. Many film stars and personalities also attend this glittering event.

Some early Royal Film Performances at the Odeon Leicester Square have been: 1947 Cary Grant in "The Bishops Wife", 1951 Dinah Sheridan in "Where No Vultures Fly", 1953 Richard Todd in "Rob Roy The Highland Rogue", 1955 Cary Grant in "To Catch A Thief", 1957 Gene Kelly in "Les Girls", 1966 Virginia McKenna in "Born Free", 1962 Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" in Panavision 70, 1967 Elizabeth Taylor in "The Taming of the Shrew", 1968 Leonard Whiting in "Romeo and Juliet", 1969 Maggie Smith in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", 1970 Richard Burton in "Anne of the Thousand Days", 1971 Ali MacGraw in "Love Story", 1972 Vanessa Redgrave in "Mary, Queen of Scots" in 70mm, 1973 Peter Finch in "Lost Horizon" in 70mm, 1974 Michael York in "The Three Musketeers", 1975 Barbra Streisand "Funny Lady" in 70mm, 1976 Richard Chamberlain in "The Slipper and the Rose", 1977 Gene Wilder in "Silver Streak", 1978 Richard Dreyfuss in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in 70mm, 1979 Michael Caine in "California Suite", 1980 Dustin Hoffman in "Kramer vs Kramer", 1981 Ben Cross in "Chariots of Fire", 1982 Peter Usinov in "Evil Under the Sun", 1983 Jon Voight in "Table For Five",1984 Albert Finney in "The Dresser", 1985 Judy Davis in "A Passage To India", 1986 Mikhail Baryshnikov in "White Nights" and in 1987 Anne Bancroft in "84 Charing Cross Road".

Other important events at the Odeon Leicester Square have been:
Gala European Premiere 27/8/53 "Melba"
European Premiere 19/11/53 "The Robe"
World Premiere 01/03/56 "A Town Like Alice"
Royal World Premiere 22/03/56 "Alexander The Great"
World Premier 24/05/56 "Storm Centre"
Charity World Premiere 05/07/56 "Reach For The Sky"
European Premiere 06/09/56 "Oklahoma"
World Premiere 13/03/57 "Fortune is a Woman"
Royal World Premiere 29/05/58 "The Key"
Gala World Premiere 30/12/59 "Our Man In Havana"
Royal World Premiere 11/02/60 "Sink the Bismark"
Royal World Premiere 05/01/61 "The Singer Not the Song"
Gala World Premiere 05/04/61 "The Greengage Summer"
Royal World Premiere 27/04/61 "The Guns of Naverone"
Royal World Premiere 04/01/62 "The Valiant"
Gala World Premiere 22/02/62 "HMS Defiant"
Royal World Premiere 10/12/62 "Lawrence of Arabia" in Super Panavision 70
Gala World Premiere 20/06/63 "The Great Escape"
Gala World Premiere 17/09/64 "Goldfinger"
Royal World Premiere 23/11/65 "The Heroes of Telemark"
Gala World Premiere 10/11/66 "The Quiller Memorandum"
Gala World Premiere 29/01/67 "The Night of the Generals"
Royal World Premiere 12/06/67 "You Only Live Twice"
Royal World Premiere 26/09/68 "Oliver"
Royal World Premiere 16/12/68 "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
Royal World Premiere 18/12/69 "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"
Royal World Premiere 16/07/70 "Cromwell" in 70mm
Royal World Premiere 26/10/70 "Waterloo" in 70mm
Royal World Premiere 13/01/71 "Murphy's War"
World Premiere 07/10/71 "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"
Royal World Premiere 29/11/71 "Nicholas and Alexandra"
Gala World Premiere 20/07/72 "Young Winston"
Royal World Premiere 05/07/73 "Live and Let Die"
Royal World Premiere 08/08/74 "Caravan to Vaccares"
Gala World Premiere 05/09/74 "Gold"
Royal World Premiere 01/05/75 "Paper Tiger"
Royal European Premiere 18/12/75 "The Man Who Would Be King"
Gala World Premiere 13/04/76 "Shout at the Devil"
Royal World Premiere 16/12/76 "The Pink Panther Strikes Again"
Royal World Premiere 13/07/78 "Revenge of the Pink Panther"
Royal World Premiere 26/06/79 "Moonraker"
Royal World Premiere 18/12/79 "The Black Hole" in 70mm
Royal European Premiere 20/05/80 "The Empire Srikes Back" in 70mm
Gala World Premiere 17/12/80 "The Dogs of War"
Gala European Premiere 09/04/81 "Popeye"
Royal European Premiere 07/07/82 "Annie" in 70mm
Royal World Premiere 26/08/82 "Who Dares Wins"
Royal European Premiere 02/12/82 "Ghandi" in 70mm
Royal World Premiere 06/06/83 "Octopussy"
Royal World Premiere 01/03/84 "Champions"
World Premier 28/03/85 "Not Quite Jerusalem"
World Premiere 19/03/87 "The Fourth Protocol"
Royal World Premiere 29/06/87 "The Living Daylights"
Gala World Premiere 03/09/87 "Hope and Glory"

[paul welsh]

hi i have been lucky enough to have been to about 10 royal film performances,all in leicester square plus the 007 one at the royal albert hall. invited to one and paid the rest of the time :)

the one i most enjoyed was 'titanic' but there have also been one or two real stinkers. phantom menace was also a bit of a let down especially having to virtually fight for tickets.

i have now collected a copy of a programme from each of the occasions back to 1946. i wish i had been around when they used to include a 'stage show' featuring uk and hollywood stars who were in town at the time.
i have 'retired' from attending nowadays but it was good fun.

paul
elstree studios historian

[johng]

Does anyone know of a site which lists the artisies appearing in each years show?

There is a list on Wikepedia but there are quite a few years missing.