Spotlight Magazine
History of British Cinemas
On a recent trip to Kent, I visited a quaint
little cinema in Westgate-on-Sea. Tucked
between shops on the high street, you
pass through its arched entrance into a
dark foyer with an old fashioned counter
where you buy tickets at yesterday’s prices.
The Carlton brought back fond memories
of my visits to the cinema as a child.
with balconies and staggered rows for
easier viewing.
Typically in the 1960s, several cinemas
were located in town centres, each showing a different film. Multi screen cinemas
had yet to be invented and 2 for 1 deals or
cinema cards offering unlimited visits were
a thing of the future!
In 1927 The Jazz Singer was released. The
first feature length film to include sound,
it heralded the Golden Age of Hollywood
with all-talking, all-singing movies. Going
to the cinema became hugely popular, with
newsreels, short comedy films, documentaries or cartoons being screened before
the main feature film. Many classic cartoons like Loony Tunes and Mickey Mouse
were created for this purpose.
Visiting the cinema was a real treat, and I
remember queuing to see favourites like
Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.
Often, more than one film would be shown
with an interval in between, when an usherette would wander down the aisle with a
tray full of goodies and stand at the front
while we queued to purchase ice cream or
popcorn.
Over time this evolved into the tiered, stadium style seating we have today.
Thick, heavy curtains covered the screen,
which were drawn back when the film was
due to start.
Cinema faced a decline during the 1980s
when films became readily available on
video. With this trend continuing, new innovations have been introduced to make
visiting the cinema more attractive.
There were no fixed start and end times
for programmes. You turned up and left
when you liked as the films were screened
continuously throughout the day. At the
close I remember standing quietly while the
national anthem was played!
Stereo sound, 3D films, luxury seating and
live broadcasts of theatre productions are
amongst them. Visiting the cinema today
is very different from my experience as a
child, and I can’t help wondering what it
will be like in fifty years f ɽ