Cinemas - memories

[Gibbie]

ollie: Architecture is something i've got interested in over the last few years,i wonder if some of it is due to the fact that some cinema's where structured in a kind of (exteriorally) art deco(or is that moderne) frank lloyd wright style.smooth,turrets, curves balcony's with rails,kind of down town miami. (closest ive been to miami is, miami vice,)lol cheers Ollie. wink

Ollie,

That could be true. The early theaters were meant to attract people not repel them or induce a cumulative consumer mentalite. Yes, Miami has a number of places in that style. Frank Lloyd Wright was from Chicago. His Prarie Style built upon the deco style.

Great British Art Deco stylists include: Charles MacKintosh, the Glasgowegian style; British educated Serge Chermayeff introduced the use of tubular steel; sculptor Eric Gill; the fashionable Oliver Hill; Charles Hoiden, famous for his Underground station fascades; furniture deco queen Betty Joel (The Savoy, etc.); Edward McKnight Kauffer, made Underground posters; Thomas Wallis, designer of Hoover factory and Victoria Coach Station.

The top Art Deco Hotels are considered:
* Burgh Island, Devon
* Claridge's, London (my favorite London hotel!)
* La Mamounia, Marrakesh, Morocco
* The Master's Lodge, Napier, New Zealand
* Tides, Miami Beach

Art Deco was the mod style of the 20s and 30s when the great theaters were being built. It's origin was based on styles from the Parisian World's Fair in 1925. Ocean liners of the time also were places of Art Deco form. A good example of Art Deco is the Poirot series with David Suchet.

Here is an international listing of Art Deco Theatres.

So, you have a lot of Deco nearby.

And btw, Worcestershire gave us the best steak sauce ever!

Best regards,
Gibbie

[ 03. September 2004, 01:41: Message edited by: Gibbie ]

[Steve Crook]

Gibbie: [snip] Art Deco was the mod style of the 20s and 30s when the great theaters were being built. It's origin was based on styles from the Parisian World's Fair in 1925. Ocean liners of the time also were places of Art Deco form. A good example of Art Deco is the Poirot series with David Suchet. [snip]

There's a sort of sub-genre of the Art Deco form where they made the buildings look similar to ocean liners. There are a few of those still around.

Architecture spotting & admiration (or criticism) is always a fun hobby. In many cities here, particularly in London, it's interesting to see so many styles side-by-side. And quite often they do fit well together.

There's a great Art Deco cinema near me in Tooting, the old Granada. That's been fairly recently refurbished (although it's now mainly a Bingo Hall)

For other Art Deco buildings, have a look at this page.

Steve

[David Brent]

Memories.....
Three main cinema's in Smethwick nr. Birmingham were The Gaumont (now bingo hall), The Grove (now Indian cinema) & The Princes (demolished).

Saturday morning childrens club at the Gaumont.Sixpence downstairs,ninepence in the circle.Won sports quiz on stage & got to spend the day as guest of Birmingham City FC.Filmed with manager Gil Merrick & players & shown that night on ATV's local television news bulletin.Sherbet dabs,lemon drops,aniseed balls.

Afternoon matinees.Double features.Walt Disney,Hayley Mills,re-enacting movie scenes on the way home,raspberry ripple,orange juice in plastic container tasting like flavoured water.

Occassional night sesssions with mom & dad,saw my first James Bond film,smoke filled cinema,ice cream lady at intermission,choc ice,dandelion & burdock.
Fish & chips on way home.

School holidays.Ventured into Birmingham,The Odean,The Gaumont,The Futurist ect..They used to get the new releases first,1-2 weeks before reaching Smethwick.Also ventured to ABC West Bromwich to see the local premiere of the Beatles "A Hard Day's Night."Cinema was packed,stood all the way through the movie & heard nothing due to the screaming,but it was FAB! Crisps,ice lolly,Jubbly juice.

I may be biased but i think the early 60's were the very best time to be a young kid & to go to the movies.

Dave.

[Russ]

I grew up in St Helens then in Lancashire now in Merseyside, our two cinemas (by the way I have always used the term "going to the cinema" as against "going to the pictures")were the Savoy and the Capital. My preference was always the Savoy with its plush velveted upper level, and anyway the rumour amongst us kids was that the Capitol had fleas.
Both now sadly gone one is a sports shop the other part of a shopping centre.
My soapbox point is that in those days each cinema only showed one film at a time this meant that the screen was "massive" I remember seeing "How the West was Won" with its amazing triple screen process, it always makes me laugh when they try to cram it onto a tv screen. Another memory was a school trip to see Cromwell at the Liverpool Odeon again on a large screen.

Sadly in these days of Multiplexes etc most screens are no larger than most televisions, such a shame.
The only step in the right direction has been IMAX

[ollie]

Thanks gibbie,and steve,for some really infomative post's,I'm not sure but burgh island devon might have been featured in an episode of Lovejoy.(i think)
cheers Ollie.

[Hackett]

Thanks for all your memorys I've enjoyed reading them. They triggered a memory of my own of the only time I ever went to the Cinema with my mother. 1962 a trolly-bus journey in a pea-soup thick fog to see "THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM" in CINERAMA. We had tea at Lyons corner house and came home with a programme that was more like an annual. Wish I still had that programme but I'll settle for having the memory back. Thank you one and all.

[Gibbie]

HACKETT: Thanks for all your memorys I've enjoyed reading them. They triggered a memory of my own of the only time I ever went to the Cinema with my mother. 1962 a trolly-bus journey in a pea-soup thick fog to see "THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM" in CINERAMA. We had tea at Lyons corner house and came home with a programme that was more like an annual. Wish I still had that programme but I'll settle for having the memory back. Thank you one and all.

Sure thing Ollie!

There are a lot of great places around Britain, yet London, putting all the negatives aside, is probably the most dynamic city I've know. Steve's got some interesting notes on Art Deco places and there are so many other places.It's the one town where I feel like I blend into history just by walking down the street and becoming a part of everybody elses experiences and memories.

Great memories on this thread!

[Steve Crook]

Gibbie: [snip] There are a lot of great places around Britain, yet London, putting all the negatives aside, is probably the most dynamic city I've know. Steve's got some interesting notes on Art Deco places and there are so many other places.It's the one town where I feel like I blend into history just by walking down the street and becoming a part of everybody elses experiences and memories. Great memories on this thread!

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford" Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

It's far from perfect but it's a great place. It has an amazing, continuous history and it's all there for you to find.

I'll be breaking into "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner" if you're not careful :)

Steve

[Gibbie]

I was thinking Johnson when I wrote my bit - you just put on the speakers!

Thanks!

[David Brent]

Every word of Johnson's is still true today.
I've revisited London six times in the last 30 years.In 1977 i lived on Kensington High Street for 6 months and NEVER got bored once.
History,museums,sights,concerts,theatre's,sport the envy of the world.
Sure the weather can be a little bleak sometimes but you do get used to it.I remember going 16 days without seeing the sun there at one time but London is magical in any conditions.
It is still the most popular place for young Australians to visit.
It's like a sojourn to visit the "Mother" country
that true Aussies feel they must make at least once in their life.Of course Earl's Court was always associated with them.I think nearly every pub in London has had an Aussie backpacker working behind the bar at one time or another.
Funny though...i have a couple of relatives living in the UK that have never been to London and have no wish to go.
I still laugh at that "Royle Family" tv episode when the family all gaped in awe after Dave told them he had been to London.

Dave.

[David Brent]

This royal throne of kings,this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty,this seat of Mars,
This other Eden,demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men,this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot,this earth,this realm,this England,
This nurse,this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their earth.

Willie Shakespeare.
From Richard II.

[Gibbie]

You are describing the dynamic I mentioned.

Good line from William. It will make anyone with British blood a bit homesick doesn't it.

While the Holy Land and Iraq are the centers of human history, I still see London as the center of the world - the world still comes to London.

[Freddy]

Steve et all
I have to agree with you about London, it is a lovely place. Like you say it isn't perfect but where is?
regards
Freddy

[Russ]

It's not a patch on Manchester !

[Steve Crook]

Russ: It's not a patch on Manchester!

Yes dear :)

Steve