The auditorium of the Odeon Richmond can be seen in the British film “The Smallest Show on Earth” (1957) starring Virgina McKenna, Bill Travers, Margaret Rutherford & Peter Sellers.
In the film, the young couple who have inherited a closed down ‘flea-pit’ cinema go to the local movie palace to see how things should be run. The exterior of the ‘Grand’ is actually the exterior of the Gaumont Palace, Hammersmith in West London (later known as the Odeon) and today in live theatre use as the Apollo, Hammersmith. On the display boards outside, the movies playing that week were Danny Kaye “Knock on Wood” and Stephen Murray “Guilty?”.
When inside the ‘Grand’ (filmed in the Odeon Richmond, which is located just outside London on the Western side), the couple are seated in the circle and there are good views of the stage area, plus you see the Compton organ rising from the orchestra pit.
The exterior of the ‘flea-pit’ Bijou cinema in the film is actually a mock facade that was set up between two railway bridges in Kilburn, North London (the site still remains today. The interior of the Bijou was studio set
Noel Coward’s “Brief Encounter” starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. Directed by David Lean (GB) 1945
A short sequence in this movie was filmed in the auditorium of the Metropole Cinema in May 1945. The couple are sitting in the front circle and are watching a trailer to a movie “Flames of Passion” (not a real movie). The organist (played by Irene Handle) is seen on the Wurlitzer organ at the intermission and there is glimpse of the lower part of the proscenium arch. No exterior shots of the Metropole are in the film, although some may have been filmed that went to the cutting room floor.
Although the auditorium has now been demolished there is still some of the original splendour of the 2 story high lobby to be seen in the restaurant that uses this space.
The Rex Theatre is on the same street, 5th Avenue N. (no # given) but is listed as a seperate entry in Film Daily Yearbooks 1941-1950 that I have. Seating for the Rex is given as 400.
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 gives a seating capacity of 1,000. In the F.D.Y.B. 1950 edition it gives 1,200 seats.
Just a query? The address at 4835 W. Lake St given in the header maps out to Minnetonka Blvd close to Ottawa Ave which is the same address given in the link posted above by TC. My F.D.Y. for 1950 gives the St. Louis Park Theatre a street address as 3825 Minnetonka Blvd. Where does W. Lake street come from?
There are 5 photographs (2 external and 3 of the auditorium) in the excellent book “London’s West End Cinemas” by Allen Eyles & Keith Skone. Published by Keystone Publications 1991 ISBN 0 9514313 1 5 (hardback) and 0 9514313 2 3 (paperback)
It was first converted into a H. Samuel jewelery shop, the current GAP store has been there a couple of years now. I went inside a couple of months ago and there is nothing left to show it was a former cinema.
If you get to see some old postcard views of Piccadilly Circus (usually showing the London Pavillion Theatre) then the Eros Cinema can sometimes be spotted to the left towards the rear, on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue.
The Eros News Theatre opened on 30th August 1934. The architect was Robert Atkinson who designed a 203 seat art deco cinema set in the basement of an already existing building.
Seating was on two levels, orchestra stalls and balcony. The screen was located at the entrance end of the cinema so you walked into the auditorium, right beside the screen. The balcony seating was reached via side slips along the walls.
After newsreels ceased, it went over to screening 1 hour long programmes of cartoon fims through the 1960’s and ‘70’s. Due to its cheap admission prices and its location it became a well known gay pick up place for the local Picadilly Circus 'rent boys’ (hustlers). It went over to screening double bills of soft core porn movies from 29th April 1976, finally closing in 1985 as woody mentioned above.
I worked for Classic Cinemas (who operated the Eros) and did many weeks of relief manager shifts at the Eros in the late 1960’s.
The sequence of the movie “An American Werewolf in London” shot in Picadilly Circus in London’s West End needed permission from the police and local authorities to close down one of the busiest parts of London. Filming took place over one night in late February 1981. You will notice in the movie when the action goes into the Eros, the film-set used the same layout as the actual cinema (entrance to auditorium reached from stairs beside the screen) but the decoration is more Edwardian rather than the Art Deco style that the real Eros cinema had.
The Film Daily Yearbook’s, 1941 and 1943 give a seating capacity of 500 and it is also listed in the Negro theatre section. The 1950 edition of F.D.Y. gives a 700 seat capacity (still a Negro theatre)
While on my recent visit to LA, I stopped by the Chinese (as all good theatre lovers should do! lol) and went into the adjacent gift shop. They have on sale the DVD “Hollywood at Your Feet” ‘The story of the Chinese Theatre footprints’ hosted by Raquel Welch. 53 mins running time. On the Image Entertainment label # ID0964FSDVD
Also, every 15 minutes they announce over a microphone to the crowd viewing the footprints that they can come into the theatre lobby where one of the staff tells you a little about the history of the theatre and you can take photo’s. Of course the movie is screening in the auditorium so you’re not allowed any further inside. 2 Dollars goes to childrens charity as an entry fee to this short tour.
Restoration work continues on the building with the help and advice of Hollywood Heritage. Recent work completed is the new screen curtain which replicates the original Chinese patterned curtain and replaces the plain red drapes that have been in use the past 40 years or so. Also with help from photographs taken at the time of opening, new replica entrance doors have been made and are now in place. They were designed by studio craftsmen at Warner Brothers studios and look terrific with patterns in real gold leaf etc. A small pagoda has also been replaced over the front entrance. The original disappeared many years ago. Next job is apperently to sort out the electric wiring at the theatre and re-light circuits of decorative lighting that has been out of commission for many years.
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 gives a seating capacity of 300. In the 1943 edition seating is given as 615 (the offical website on the history of the Princess states the building was extended in the early 1940’s).
The Savar Theatre had a seating capacity of 1,500 given in Film Daily Yearbooks 1941 and 1943. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it gives a seating capacity of 1,732.
In the Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 the Garden Theatre is not listed in the main listing, but it is listed under the Circuit listings as being under the control of Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. (Closed). Still shown as the Garden Theatre (closed, controlled by Warner Bros.) in the 1943 edition of F.D.Y.B.
The Arlo Theatre is listed in the 1950 edition of Film Daily Yearbook, but no seating capaicty is given. The could mean that the theatre was new and details had not been released. There is no mention of the Arlo Theatre in 1941 or 1943 editions of F.D.Y.B.
The street address is 9232 Mack Avenue, Detroit, MI. Film Daily Yearbooks 1941 to 1950 list a seating capacity as 380.
The auditorium of the Odeon Richmond can be seen in the British film “The Smallest Show on Earth” (1957) starring Virgina McKenna, Bill Travers, Margaret Rutherford & Peter Sellers.
In the film, the young couple who have inherited a closed down ‘flea-pit’ cinema go to the local movie palace to see how things should be run. The exterior of the ‘Grand’ is actually the exterior of the Gaumont Palace, Hammersmith in West London (later known as the Odeon) and today in live theatre use as the Apollo, Hammersmith. On the display boards outside, the movies playing that week were Danny Kaye “Knock on Wood” and Stephen Murray “Guilty?”.
When inside the ‘Grand’ (filmed in the Odeon Richmond, which is located just outside London on the Western side), the couple are seated in the circle and there are good views of the stage area, plus you see the Compton organ rising from the orchestra pit.
The exterior of the ‘flea-pit’ Bijou cinema in the film is actually a mock facade that was set up between two railway bridges in Kilburn, North London (the site still remains today. The interior of the Bijou was studio set
Noel Coward’s “Brief Encounter” starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. Directed by David Lean (GB) 1945
A short sequence in this movie was filmed in the auditorium of the Metropole Cinema in May 1945. The couple are sitting in the front circle and are watching a trailer to a movie “Flames of Passion” (not a real movie). The organist (played by Irene Handle) is seen on the Wurlitzer organ at the intermission and there is glimpse of the lower part of the proscenium arch. No exterior shots of the Metropole are in the film, although some may have been filmed that went to the cutting room floor.
Although the auditorium has now been demolished there is still some of the original splendour of the 2 story high lobby to be seen in the restaurant that uses this space.
Film Daily Yearbook’s give a seating capacity of 700.
Film Daily Yearbook’s give a seating capacity of 600.
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 gives a seating capacity of 891.
The Rex Theatre is on the same street, 5th Avenue N. (no # given) but is listed as a seperate entry in Film Daily Yearbooks 1941-1950 that I have. Seating for the Rex is given as 400.
Thanks lostmemory, looks like another typo in F.D.Y. Grrrrr!
I think Bryan got the W. Lake St address from the book ‘Show Houses’ Twin cities Style by Kirk J. Besse.
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 gives a seating capacity of 1,000. In the F.D.Y.B. 1950 edition it gives 1,200 seats.
Just a query? The address at 4835 W. Lake St given in the header maps out to Minnetonka Blvd close to Ottawa Ave which is the same address given in the link posted above by TC. My F.D.Y. for 1950 gives the St. Louis Park Theatre a street address as 3825 Minnetonka Blvd. Where does W. Lake street come from?
There are 5 photographs (2 external and 3 of the auditorium) in the excellent book “London’s West End Cinemas” by Allen Eyles & Keith Skone. Published by Keystone Publications 1991 ISBN 0 9514313 1 5 (hardback) and 0 9514313 2 3 (paperback)
It was first converted into a H. Samuel jewelery shop, the current GAP store has been there a couple of years now. I went inside a couple of months ago and there is nothing left to show it was a former cinema.
If you get to see some old postcard views of Piccadilly Circus (usually showing the London Pavillion Theatre) then the Eros Cinema can sometimes be spotted to the left towards the rear, on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue.
Film Daily Yearbooks,1941 gives a seating capacity of 1,250. The F.D.Y. 1952 gives a seating capacity of 1,236.
The Eros News Theatre opened on 30th August 1934. The architect was Robert Atkinson who designed a 203 seat art deco cinema set in the basement of an already existing building.
Seating was on two levels, orchestra stalls and balcony. The screen was located at the entrance end of the cinema so you walked into the auditorium, right beside the screen. The balcony seating was reached via side slips along the walls.
After newsreels ceased, it went over to screening 1 hour long programmes of cartoon fims through the 1960’s and ‘70’s. Due to its cheap admission prices and its location it became a well known gay pick up place for the local Picadilly Circus 'rent boys’ (hustlers). It went over to screening double bills of soft core porn movies from 29th April 1976, finally closing in 1985 as woody mentioned above.
I worked for Classic Cinemas (who operated the Eros) and did many weeks of relief manager shifts at the Eros in the late 1960’s.
The sequence of the movie “An American Werewolf in London” shot in Picadilly Circus in London’s West End needed permission from the police and local authorities to close down one of the busiest parts of London. Filming took place over one night in late February 1981. You will notice in the movie when the action goes into the Eros, the film-set used the same layout as the actual cinema (entrance to auditorium reached from stairs beside the screen) but the decoration is more Edwardian rather than the Art Deco style that the real Eros cinema had.
The Film Daily Yearbook’s, 1941 and 1943 give a seating capacity of 500 and it is also listed in the Negro theatre section. The 1950 edition of F.D.Y. gives a 700 seat capacity (still a Negro theatre)
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1950 gives a seating capacity of 366.
While on my recent visit to LA, I stopped by the Chinese (as all good theatre lovers should do! lol) and went into the adjacent gift shop. They have on sale the DVD “Hollywood at Your Feet” ‘The story of the Chinese Theatre footprints’ hosted by Raquel Welch. 53 mins running time. On the Image Entertainment label # ID0964FSDVD
Also, every 15 minutes they announce over a microphone to the crowd viewing the footprints that they can come into the theatre lobby where one of the staff tells you a little about the history of the theatre and you can take photo’s. Of course the movie is screening in the auditorium so you’re not allowed any further inside. 2 Dollars goes to childrens charity as an entry fee to this short tour.
Restoration work continues on the building with the help and advice of Hollywood Heritage. Recent work completed is the new screen curtain which replicates the original Chinese patterned curtain and replaces the plain red drapes that have been in use the past 40 years or so. Also with help from photographs taken at the time of opening, new replica entrance doors have been made and are now in place. They were designed by studio craftsmen at Warner Brothers studios and look terrific with patterns in real gold leaf etc. A small pagoda has also been replaced over the front entrance. The original disappeared many years ago. Next job is apperently to sort out the electric wiring at the theatre and re-light circuits of decorative lighting that has been out of commission for many years.
Film Daily Yearbooks give the seating capacity of the Lansdale Theatre as 900.
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 gives a seating capacity of 300. In the 1943 edition seating is given as 615 (the offical website on the history of the Princess states the building was extended in the early 1940’s).
The F.D.Y. 1950 also has the Roxy Theatre listed in the Negro theatre’s section, catering for black audiences.
The 1950 F.D.Y. also has the Lyric listed as a Negro theatre for black audiences
The 1943 edition of Film Daily Yearbook gives a seating capacity of 335.
The Savar Theatre had a seating capacity of 1,500 given in Film Daily Yearbooks 1941 and 1943. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it gives a seating capacity of 1,732.
Listed in 1941 Film Daily Yearbook as the Broadway Theater with 1,100 seats.
In the Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 the Garden Theatre is not listed in the main listing, but it is listed under the Circuit listings as being under the control of Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. (Closed). Still shown as the Garden Theatre (closed, controlled by Warner Bros.) in the 1943 edition of F.D.Y.B.
In several editions of Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 – 1950 that I have, the seating capacity of the Strand Theatre is given as 200.
The Arlo Theatre is listed in the 1950 edition of Film Daily Yearbook, but no seating capaicty is given. The could mean that the theatre was new and details had not been released. There is no mention of the Arlo Theatre in 1941 or 1943 editions of F.D.Y.B.