Freddy

Thursday, 19th June, C4 12.30pm

Great British Brands - 12:30

Odeon

Entertaining, fact-filled insight into the history of one of Britain's best-loved brands. Paddy O'Connell reveals how a Birmingham-born son of a Hungarian immigrant built up what has become the home of British cinema-going since the 1930s.


Channel 4 : (15 mins)


Regards
Freddy

"What I owe you Colonel Lawrence, is beyond evaluation."

Steve Crook

So that'll be Oscar Deutsch they'll be talking about, not J. Arthur Rank

Steve

john audley

As an ex-trainee Manager of the old Odeon chain I have lost track who owns what in the mega cinema complexes that we have now. I suppose the TV programme will give me the gen but what is the current set up with Ranks?

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

image45

We no longer have our Odeon at York as it closed around 2 years ago now. Shame as it dated from 1935 and I had lots of memories from seeing lots of films in its large screen 1

"Seya next time!"

Steve Crook

See the Wikipedia for details. Rank sold the chain some time ago. It went through being owned by various other companies and is now owned by a private equity group.

It hasn't been owned by anyone who actually cared about film for many years

Steve

MB

Odeon is our only choice here, these days..

When it opened here, our local cinema struggled on for a few years and then shut - to a genuine outpouring of grief from the locals..

I don't understand how the Odeon can happily charge so much for food..luckily for me, I'm not too badly off, but some of my daughter's friends don't stand a chance of being taken as a family..too expensive..

Our local cinema smelled a bit - but you could get a bag of raspberry ruffles for a pound and all the lovely Pearl and Dean adverts (plus the badly made, but very funny ads for local restraunts etc...)

Plus, at the local cinema - the projectionist would let the kids in to have a look at the equipment (he even gave me a 'tour' once) the sound was set at a comfortable level and the staff had worked there for years and were not stressed out, bewildered looking students letting minors into 18 rated films by mistake..

We have sold our soul for the luxury of cup holders, it seems..

orpheum

Probably the last owners who really cared were the Deutschs.After all when Rank owned the chain they did nothing to improve the cinemas for about 30 years.They were the first part of the empire to feel the axe wielded by John Davis.

Welcome To Highbury The Home Of Football

Windthrop

I was in London a couple of weeks ago and went to the Leicester Sq Odeon and curiously found it cheaper than some of the other London screens which are frankly in a poor state.

That's the joke that killed the Music Hall

MB

Well, I no longer live in London - but I agree, some of the 'local' cinemas in London were horrendous..but out in the sticks and the seaside towns (where I live) they were and still are, for many, very important to the community.

john audley

I met John Davis

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

orpheum

Tell us what was he like.He was the most hated man in the film industry.Kenneth Moore made a drunken outburst against him at a film inductry function at The Dorchester Hotel.As revenge Davis prevented Moore being loanded ou for the part in Guns of Navarone which instead went to David Niven.Effectively this killed Moores film career.

Welcome To Highbury The Home Of Football

Windthrop

Alec Guinness is quite cutting about him in his memoirs

That's the joke that killed the Music Hall

Steve Crook

There are some very nice cinemas in London - but don't bother with most of the multi-screen mega-whatsits.

Try the Apollo, West End in Regent Street (click on The Cinema). It mainly just shows mainstream films but it's a gorgeous cinema

The Odeon, Leicester Square is still a bit of a flagship cinema for the chain and as such they do keep their prices low so that they can fill such a huge place.

Steve

Steve Crook

Michael Powell has quite a bit to say about John Davies in his autobiography.

And there's someone in the production office of the film we see being made in Peeping Tom who is called Don Jarvis. He's constantly phoning people about cutbacks and saving money and he says (something like) "If you can see it on the first take then that's enough"

Steve

john audley

Can't say much really, not one to invent stuff (unless I can help it!)
Actually I was at one of those training seminars for one week in London. All very good and well organized and Davis attended one meal at the hotel and gave a pep speech to us prodigies. He did seem stuffy.

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!