The Embassy cinema was part of my childhood, as we lived in Oxshott. I saw my first film there in 1950 – I was 6, the film was Ivanhoe. During the next 7 or 8 years we went at least once a month by bus and saw so many great films – big musicals (Oklahoma, Carousel, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers,High Society, Gigi) Danny Kaye (Hans Andersen, The Court Jester)Richard Todd (Robin Hood – we had to queue for that one,in 1952- Yangtse Incident, The Dam Busters)– English classics (Pickwick Papers, Julius Caesar, Hobson’s Choice, A Tale of Two Cities) – gritty dramas (The Colditz Story, Dunkirk, Carve Her Name with Pride, Bridge on the River Kwai,Reach for the Sky, Ice Cold in Alex, The Nun’s Story) and many more. My idols were Richard Todd, Kenneth More and Dirk Bogarde. There were always two full-length feature films, the second being in black and white, usually a Western or thriller, plus a Pathe newsreel, also black and white, and lots of trailers for forthcoming films. Our bus times usually meant we arrived halfway through the second feature, but the programme ran continuously so we just sat there until we got to the bit where we came in! Don’t let anyone tell you that we were starved of entertainment in the 1950s – it’s not true.
The Embassy cinema was part of my childhood, as we lived in Oxshott. I saw my first film there in 1950 – I was 6, the film was Ivanhoe. During the next 7 or 8 years we went at least once a month by bus and saw so many great films – big musicals (Oklahoma, Carousel, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers,High Society, Gigi) Danny Kaye (Hans Andersen, The Court Jester)Richard Todd (Robin Hood – we had to queue for that one,in 1952- Yangtse Incident, The Dam Busters)– English classics (Pickwick Papers, Julius Caesar, Hobson’s Choice, A Tale of Two Cities) – gritty dramas (The Colditz Story, Dunkirk, Carve Her Name with Pride, Bridge on the River Kwai,Reach for the Sky, Ice Cold in Alex, The Nun’s Story) and many more. My idols were Richard Todd, Kenneth More and Dirk Bogarde. There were always two full-length feature films, the second being in black and white, usually a Western or thriller, plus a Pathe newsreel, also black and white, and lots of trailers for forthcoming films. Our bus times usually meant we arrived halfway through the second feature, but the programme ran continuously so we just sat there until we got to the bit where we came in! Don’t let anyone tell you that we were starved of entertainment in the 1950s – it’s not true.