Odeon Hendon

This was the last of the original Oscar Deutsch built Odeon Theatres to open before the outbreak of World War II. It opened on 28th August 1939 with Laurence Olivier in “Q Planes”.

It was located in a residential area of Hendon on the corner of Church Road and Parson Street, as opposed to the Ambassador Cinema which was in a prime location besides shops and opposite Hendon Central underground railway (tube) station.

The Odeon was designed by Robert Bullivant from the Harry Weedon firm of architects and had all the hallmarks in style of a typical ‘Odeon’. There was a slab tower, a rounded corner which formed the entrance (similar to the Odeon Leicester) and the only difference to the majority of Odeons was the elevation was in brick, rather than in cream faiance tiles.

Inside the auditorium there were two large light fittings over the balcony and a stepped ceiling rising up from the top of the proscenium which held concealed lighting. The splay wall on each side of the proscenium had horizontal bands of plaster which contained concealed lighting.

The Odeon closed on 13th January 1979 with Robert Shaw in “Force 10 From Navarone”. The building was untouched from its opening, although looking a little jaded. It was demolished in December 1981 and a block of flats/sheltered housing for the retired named Ferrydale Lodge was built on the site.

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

KenRoe on December 29, 2006 at 8:57 am

A set of vintage photographs of the Odeon Hendon:
Exterior by day in September 1949
View link
A day-time close-up of the entrance in August 1950
View link
The exterior photographed at dusk in August 1950
View link
A night view in August 1950
View link
A night view from a different angle in August 1950
View link
Close-up of the entrance at night in December 1950
View link
Exterior by day in July 1951
View link

lostmemory on January 8, 2009 at 7:18 pm

Here are new links for the seven photos posted above.

Photo1

Photo2

Photo3

Photo4

Photo5

Photo6

Photo7

orpheum on May 21, 2010 at 8:01 am

Again i was present at its closure.This was a cinema with a very attractive interior.there was no circle.With a very small car park,it wa s very difficult to park nearby.Rarely attracted big audiences.

SJT on June 2, 2011 at 7:09 pm

There most certainly was a Circle! I sat there often enough (and indeed had several formative encounters there unrelated to film) It must have seated between 400-500, the rest being in the Stalls (around 800)the back of which had a semi-occluded view of the whole enormous screen because of the overhang. If you look at any of the surviving photos of what was a large building http://www.mawgrim.co.uk/cavalcade/hendon2.jpg you will see that it was very high, with an giant tea-rooms/restaurant behind the windows on the first floor, which backed on to the Circle entrance through a single, central door. As far as I know, right to the end it retained its original, multi-drop curtains: and the decor was pure Art Deco. Do any interior shots exist?

SJT

PeterBradshaw on October 16, 2011 at 10:56 am

I have very happy memories of this cinema when I was growing up! I vividly remember watching John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King there!