The following photographs were taken by Colin Sutton at the Society EGM last month.

(From left to right: David Williams, Ian Meyrick, Charles Morris, Martin Hall, Paul Smith, (?), Ian Grey, Ian Houseman, Johnny Cliff, Derek Atkins, Gerry Glover)

This photo was taken by Kate Taylor.

From Bioscope 91 – May 04

A personal recollection by Gerry Crane

I was working as a Laboratory Assistant at Ship Carbon, the firm who manufactured carbons for industrial arc lamps and, of course, for cinema projectors before these were replaced by xenon lamps, when in 1952 I saw an advert for Trainee Cinema Managers in the Ilford Recorder.

My interview took place at the offices of Circuits Management Association in Albion House, New Oxford Street (C.M.A. was the management company for the various groups of cinemas owned by the Rank Organisation, whose names were later all changed to Odeon). Mr. Simpson, the Personnel Manager, chaired the interview panel and remarked that working for Ship Carbon meant I was nearly in the business already.

This fact seemed to be in my favour and I was appointed Trainee Manager at the Odeon Whalebone Lane under the benevolent eye of Ted Carter. I remember on my first day I was wearing a pullover and Ted told me that if I must wear one then to wear it under my shirt as the District Manager, Charlie Attrill, would be visiting that day and he wouldn’t approve; in the event when I was introduced to him later that day he was wearing a scruffy old khaki-coloured cardigan!

After a few months I was transferred to the Odeon Romford where the manager was George Sewell and his house manager Geoff Davis, who had previously been at the Ritz Southend. (Gordon Nimse who had succeeded Geoff at the Ritz went on to become head of the Rank Publicity Department and upon retirement went on to write novels using his wartime army experiences in Burma.) George Sewell ran a tight ship at what was one of the area’s busiest cinemas. His nearest colleague, Les Martin, ran the Plaza (later the Gaumont) just across the road where he had an ex-organist as an assistant manager. On one occasion this ex-organist, whose name escapes me, was on relief at the Odeon when it was found that due to a time sheet error there was a thirty minute gap before the last house was to start, where upon he delighted the audience with an impromptu organ recital.

From Romford I moved to the Gaumont Leytonstone as assistant manager to Alf Stokes. I had a convenient arrangement whilst there whereby I had a late lunch on Saturdays after which I used to watch football: Leyton Orient one week, the local amateur side the alternate weeks. The not-so-pleasant side of being at Leyton was the day and a half relief I had to do at the Foresters or the Museum, Bethnal Green. To a young assistant manager the East End of London was something of an eye opener, especially the audience reaction when the projectionist put the wrong reel on! I recall George Baker and Alan Harris-Quelch at the Gaumont Heathway, Dagenham and their conversations Monday mornings on how much trouble they had had over the weekend from the local youths who were particularly rampant at the time, particularly on Sundays. No security firms in those days.

My next move was to the Odeon, Forest Gate with manager Les Pinder, with relief duties at the Cinema, Canning Town. From there I went to the Odeon Beacontree; Bill Smith was the manager and that included relief work at the Grange, Dagenham.

I then moved to what I thought was the big time at the Odeon, Gants Hill with Bill Brooker and no relief duty! However, the cinema was the base for the district office so I was sometimes sent out to cover for sick leave with virtually no notice. One of these SOS jobs was at the Trocette Bermondsey, a barn of a place that had seen better days, part of the auditorium being roped off due to the risk of falling plaster. Another hurried relief found me at the Picture House on the Old Kent Road and again a place of some notoriety.

When I unwittingly reprimanded the manager’s favourite member of staff on his day off, my days at Gants Hill were numbered. I was moved to the Odeon Barking under George Bernard, ostensibly to gain live show experience, although by that time Sunday concerts were nearing their end. I do remember however full houses for Ted Heath’s band and a show starring Ruby Murray with Frankie Vaughan and the Kirchen Band.

1954 was the year I got married and we shared accommodation with my sister-in-law who lived in Norwich. Fortuitously I was able to transfer to the Gaumont Norwich, where under the skills of the well-known showman Alf Crisp I learnt my publicity skills which were to serve me well in the coming years and gain me a few honours. At that time Alf went to London each week to mark the showmanship competition folders for the year. However the Norwich Gaumont was to be an early victim of closure, because the Burton’s shop next door wanted to expand. Alf transferred to the Odeon Southend, where he was to stay until retirement. I remained at the Gaumont in charge until they closed the doors for the last time.

It was then that I got my first full management appointment, conveniently at the Odeon Norwich. I recall it was about this time that the infamous ‘flavour of the month’ ice cream was introduced, exotic flavours many of which melted before the salesgirls even reached the floor!

The Odeon, St. Botolph Street, Norwich c.1962. Judging by the canopy edge revamp and the new entrance doors, the Theatre had undergone the notorious Rank ‘Zing!’ treatment. © Eastern Daily Press Norwich.

When Bryan Quilter, who had come to Rank from Beecham’s, was made Assistant Managing Director of Odeon Cinemas he spent some time as my assistant manager getting to know how everything was done, except that is, getting a queue in, as it was during a scorching hot summer! It was during this period that ‘BQ’ whilst standing at the front of house suggested, “I think you chaps could manage two theatres in towns where they are reasonably closely situated.” And so Town Management, later to be called Multiple Unit Management, was born.

In 1966 I applied for and was appointed to the Odeon Portsmouth in succession to Peter Baker. David Carey, an excellent house manager, was still in position, which was a great help in the early days. It was in Portsmouth that I began to put to good use the showmanship skills learnt from Alf Crisp, which resulted in me winning the area competition in 1974 and 1975.

Gerry, in trademark Library-frames and the last ‘Viva Zapata’ moustache in captivity, receives the Champion Showman man-with-a-gong plaque and cheque from John Bell, managing director

Following on from Bryan Quilter’s perception of Multiple Unit Management I was given control of the Gaumont just across the road on the retirement of the manager Douglas Beale.

The Odeon Portsmouth was to be one of the early conversions to three screens by the inclusion of two small auditoria under the circle. These soon proved to be too small and so were extended forward to allow for more seats. The conversion work entailed regular visits from the team in engineering, Les Butler, projection, Derek Hughes, heating and ventilation, Bert Jones, furnishings; all co-ordinated by Roy Summerhayes the zone engineer and a gentleman of the first order.

When Ken Russell was filming Tommy using many locations in the Portsmouth area I managed to get a part as an extra in the film. Needless to say I was highly chuffed to be appearing on the screen of the Odeon whilst I was standing in the foyer of the cinema!

Another highlight of my career was when Laurie Clarke, who had been my area controller and later went on to become managing director of Odeon Cinemas, arranged for me to be on duty to support John Thompson, manager of the Odeon Leicester Square for the Royal Command Performance of Anne of the Thousand Days. What a night to remember with the film industry top executives twitching like nervous children as they waited to greet Her Majesty the Queen.

I must have been doing something right at Portsmouth as I was short-listed for the Dominion / Astoria, Charing Cross Road, Multiple Unit, though losing out to Alan Harris-Quelch who later became manager of the Leicester Square Odeon. Eventually I was chosen for an executive development course, and worked in the Entertaining & Catering Department before going back to Portsmouth for a time.

I was then seconded to a unit lead by Chris Davis, son of Sir John Davis, who had been with Odeon from the late 1930s and had become head of Rank. I found myself in Dubai to operate with other Rank staff an entertainment complex including an ice rink, ten-pin bowling, restaurants, squash courts etc. The contract ended early and I returned home redundant after 28 years with the Rank Organisation.

I returned to Dubai for a year to help in the construction of a three court tennis stadium and putting on what was then the world’s richest tennis tournament. On returning home I worked for periods in local government ending up working for Fareham Borough Council installing a full-scale cinema in the Ferneham Hall whilst raising the live show presentation and operating standards: finally retiring in 1995 after managing a £2 million capital programme – a job which gave me great satisfaction.

Our Administrator recently visited York on July 6th with a new (to him) Fuji s7000 camera. The buildings shown are extensively covered in our Publication, York Cinemas.

from Mercia Bioscope no. 94 February 2005

CINEMA IN BRAINTREE

Richard Cooper

When I first came to live in the Essex town of Braintree, it was a relatively small community that boasted little more than a quaint High Street with a couple of supermarkets, a number of pubs and a twice-weekly market.  Already struggling for survival by the early 1980s was the one remaining cinema, the Embassy, which was, at this time, splitting the weekly programme by showing films for four nights of the week and bingo for the remaining three.

Now, more than twenty years later, ideally situated with easy access to London-Stanstead airport, Braintree has extended its boundaries and become a place to visit rather than just pass through. The town centre remains relatively unchanged, but the developments on the outskirts of the town include a designer shopping village, a bowling alley, nightclubs, restaurants and a twelve-screen Cineworld.

     My first experience of the Embassy, as a visitor to Braintree in the late sixties, was to see a revival double-bill of The Wizard of Oz and Tom Thumb.  Being a holiday attraction, almost all of the 1005 seats were taken (333 of these were circle seats) and the theatre was buzzing with usherettes with ice creams being sold from trays and a family atmosphere rarely experienced in this new century.  The Embassy had been a successful place of entertainment since opening in April 1933, where it was built on the site previously occupied by the Palace.

     The Palace, owned by Cyril Getliffe, opened in 1912 featuring films and stage productions.  It was extended in the early 1920s under a change of ownership to Tozer & Linsell to counter opposition from the new Central. There was a café.  Shipman & King took control of the theatre in 1929, and they or earlier owners had installed a Picturetone sound system. By 1935 the Palace had been demolished and replaced by the Embassy. 

     About 200 yards along the High Street, the Central Picture House was also functioning as a cinema/variety theatre. It opened in the early 1920s with stalls and balcony offering a total seating capacity of 685, and a stage with dressing rooms, and boasted a ‘café lounge’. By the late 1920s it, too, had come under the control of Shipman & King. They installed Western Electric sound. Later they shortened the name to the Central Cinema.

Purchase of these two cinemas brought the fledgling circuit up to 10 halls. Prices under S & K after sound were 5d. to 1/10d at the Central, and 4d. to 1/3d. at the Palace.

The Central continued to show films until about 1957, when it closed, and the building was reopened as a retail store. This is still the case in 2004 with the frontage above the shop fascia remaining unchanged (see right).

The Embassy was designed by Kemp & Tasker, and opened in April 1935. It was the circuit’s first new cinema, and their first called Embassy. Seating 1,005, it had a café, stage facilities, dressing rooms, and a 3c/6 Christie organ with illuminated console on a lift, opened by Thomas W. Grosch. The architect stated later that ‘the client was responsible for the somewhat unusual type of decoration.’

CinemaScope was fitted in the middle 50s, and dressing rooms are no longer listed, so it may be stage shows finished after the new screen was installed. It continued to flourish under Shipman & King throughout the sixties and into the seventies.  During these years the theatre showed new releases about one month after their London general release.  Films that went on general release after a West End run would invariably reach Chelmsford, which is closer to London, after two weeks and then Braintree and Maldon (where another Embassy, also under Shipman & King, was providing a similar programme) one or two weeks later.  The main feature would run for six days with a change of programme for Sundays. This was usually a restricted release film or occasionally an ‘adult’ feature. Sometimes the week was split into three, with general releases shown for three days each, as well as a Sunday special.

     By 1972 the Embassy, no longer under Shipman & King, had been renamed Studio One – along with the Embassy at Maldon. It was at this time that the stalls seats were removed to accommodate the split weekly programmes of films and bingo, and the organ went to a private collector. This proved relatively successful throughout the remainder of the seventies, although the new name did not last and it reverted to its former name. The Embassy lettering at the top of the building had never been removed; the Studio One name was only in place above the main doors.

 Into the eighties difficulties arose when fewer people used the Embassy, which was then under the control of the Coral group.  Full-time bingo did not provide the answer and ultimately ceased.  Over in Maldon the other Embassy closed in 1982 and was demolished in 1985. In Braintree, the Embassy closed from time to time during the late eighties and early nineties with different proprietors trying various ways of keeping the theatre open.  It was never twinned, but the stalls seating was never replaced, and films were shown to the circle seats. The stalls was occasionally used as a disco and even as an indoor market, Braintree Lanes, though this curious and rather disgusting idea – the cinema smelt of burgers and onions – failed after a few months.  Films continued until 1993 when the tabs closed for the last time.  My last visit to the cinema, like the first, was to see a reissue of a family feature; this time Disney’s The Jungle Book.

     The fate of the building was in jeopardy until it reopened as a Wetherspoon’s pub in 1997. Once again, the Embassy is a thriving concern, with many original features still apparent.  The name remains at the top of the frontage and the circle seating is untouched. The bar stands in front of the screen, which occasionally shows (in a reduced size format) special TV events such as Euro 2004.  Members of staff have been spotted sitting in the circle to view these, although the area remains closed to the public. The art deco designs on either side of the proscenium have been restored, and are complimented by a specially-created carpet featuring the same design.  The dividing wall between the foyer and the stalls has been removed to make an open plan bar area. Not perfect: at least the Embassy has not suffered the same fate as many contemporaries and disappeared altogether. 

     In November 2002 cinema returned in the shape of the 12-screen Cineworld.  Business was good from the start and remains so.  We in Braintree can consider ourselves fortunate that we have 12 screens to view the latest releases, and ageing enthusiasts like me can have a pint at the Embassy on the way home and reflect on days gone by.

1              Central Cinema

2              Embassy still  as cinema  in 1987.

3              Embassy ante-proscenium plenum grille today (former stage on right).

4              The former Embassy as Wetherspoon’s today.

5              The 12-screen Cine-World.

All the photographs in this article are by the author.