I worked for Classic Cinemas between about 1972 and 1974. At that time Classic had moved it’s head office to Victoria above the Classic/Cameo in Victoria St. I was first employed by Classic to sell records in the small shop on the left of the Classic Baker St entrance which was called “The Record Rendezvous”. Classic had bought a warehouse full of deleted LPs and set up the shop here to sell their stock. All records were 1 pound.There were boxes and boxes of records stored in the now vacated, former Classic Head Office. Eric Rhodes was semi retired by then and a man called Yeomans was the boss. I got the job because I knew the projectionist Denis Laws. Denis went on to become the Technical manager of the London IMAX on the South Bank. The manager at Baker St was a man called Firth and the assistant manager a Miss Crosley. When the cinema closed in 1973, I was transferred to the classic Piccadilly Circus where I worked as cashier and trainee manager, eventually becoming a relief manager, working at the Classic Moulin, Classic Windmill, Classic Praed Street, Eros Cinema and then became the assistant manager at the Victoria Cartoon Cinema. It was sad that the Classic Baker St closed as it was a beautiful old cinema.
I worked here for about 2 years as assistant manager in the early 1970s. Mrs Evans was the manager and a great boss and the 2 long time and elderly doormen/ushers were Walter and John. John was Irish and had a striking resemblance to Stan Laurel! Bridget, also Irish was the cashier in the kiosk/box-office at the ground floor entrance that opened onto Buckingham Palace Road where the Queen’s Guard would march past every day for the changing of the Guard at the Palace. There were no public toilets in the cinema but the staff had one toilet off a store room accessed half way up the stairs. We had another store room at the rear side of platform 16 below. Access to the projection box was via a spiral staircase accessed from the tiny office off the cinema foyer. There was another very small kiosk on the 1st floor just near the entrance to the auditorium and a poker machine in the corner which only took 10p coins. We opened at 10am with a continuous programme of cartoons, travelogues, “Look At Life” mini documentaries, 1950s Pete Smith or Laurel & Hardy comedy short and a 1930s serial. The last session was at 9pm finishing at 10pm with national anthem God Save The Queen. Saturday and Sunday afternoons were the busiest times. People would come every week just to see the next episode of the Flash Gordon or Tarzan serials. One of my jobs at the end of the evening was to walk along each aisle in the auditorium and check there were no burning cigarette butts left in the ashtrays or on the floor.
Update January 2021. New seating and wall drapes installed 2012 (actually 2nd-hand ex “Regent On Manners” in Wellington) Seating capacity now 100 seats . Projection upgraded to DCI Digital in Feb 2015.
Our website is now: https://www.regentupstairs.co.nz
Happy memories from the mid 70s of being an Electric Cinema Club member and seeing some amazing movies not available in mainstream cinemas, in that faded and jaded, but utterly charming old Electric auditorium. The Electric and the Gate along with the Paris Pullman between Old Brompton Rd and Fulham Rd were my regular haunts and refuge for a number of years.
I worked as trainee manager here while these two movies were showing. The manageress was Mary Codd, the chief projectionist was Charlie.It was the only cinema in London that had this programme. We also screened (exclusvely) the film version of Oh Calcutta! and the French film Themroc with Michel Piccoli, controversial because there was no dialogue in the entire film and it had a theme of cannibalism. Did a few duties of the All Night sessions.
The downstairs auditorium can seat 150. The seats are not cinema seats as such but are soft-furnished chairs some of which are used with tables as sometimes the live productions in this auditorium are presented in “theatre-restaurant” style with a meal and bar services avaialble before the show. The downstairs auditorium is the home of the Pahiatua Repertory Society who own the building and who put on 3 or four live shows every year.
Here is a link to our web-site: http://www.nzcinema.co.nz/cinemas/1018.php
I recently came across an advertisement in the Pahiatua Herald of 14 Feb 1914, for a production of the comic opera “The Cingalee” held at The King’s Theatre Pahiatua. So we now know that this theatre was known as the “King’s Theatre” at that date. :–)
Also we only have one screen. We have 2 auditoriums but one is used only for live productions and has no projector or screen.We also have only 175 seats now.
And of course it is a “Kinoton” projector we have and not “Kinetron”.
( I don’t know how to edit the information already on this page, hence these comments.
Bruce Lea, Manager/operator
I believe it became known as The Kings Theatre when talkies were first introduced. It was previously known as The Olympic Theatre and was originally built in 1890, by a Mr Stewart the owner of “Stewarts Family and Commercial Hotel” next door and was known then as Stewarts Hall.
Wow that brought back lots of memories for me!! I was a relief manager for Classic Cinemas London circuit in the early 1970s and for a short time worked at the Eros. It was then showing cartoons and known as the Eros Cartoon Cinema. It had two “sister” “cartoon cinemas” –(these were also formerly “News Theatres”) one on Waterloo station which closed in about 1969 and the other on Victoria Station, known as the Victoria Cartoon Cinema, which closed in about 1977. I was assistant manager at the Victoria Cartoon Cinema for about a year.The cinema had an entrance just beside platform 17 and another entrance on Buckingham Palace Road and one of the highlights of each day was watching the guards as they marched past the cinema entrance from the barracks up to Buckingham Palace for the “Changing of the Guard”.
Good Luck.The Regent deserves to be restored and preserved.It is an important part of your social history. This is one of the few remaining purpose-built NZ cinemas from the “heyday” of NZ cinema and I suggest and hope that option 2 is the way to go. No other options should even be considered.
The “character”, “ambience” and “feel” of the Regent (indeed the very name “Regent”) could never be replaced with a new building (even with the old facade), and it is these aspects of the building and the fact that it was built at a time when “cinema was King” in New Zealand that gives it a “soul” and makes it of historical value and well worth preserving. The local council should be supporting your restoration efforts as it is a valuable community asset. If it is demolished, the town will live to regret it..
I worked for Classic Cinemas between about 1972 and 1974. At that time Classic had moved it’s head office to Victoria above the Classic/Cameo in Victoria St. I was first employed by Classic to sell records in the small shop on the left of the Classic Baker St entrance which was called “The Record Rendezvous”. Classic had bought a warehouse full of deleted LPs and set up the shop here to sell their stock. All records were 1 pound.There were boxes and boxes of records stored in the now vacated, former Classic Head Office. Eric Rhodes was semi retired by then and a man called Yeomans was the boss. I got the job because I knew the projectionist Denis Laws. Denis went on to become the Technical manager of the London IMAX on the South Bank. The manager at Baker St was a man called Firth and the assistant manager a Miss Crosley. When the cinema closed in 1973, I was transferred to the classic Piccadilly Circus where I worked as cashier and trainee manager, eventually becoming a relief manager, working at the Classic Moulin, Classic Windmill, Classic Praed Street, Eros Cinema and then became the assistant manager at the Victoria Cartoon Cinema. It was sad that the Classic Baker St closed as it was a beautiful old cinema.
I worked here for about 2 years as assistant manager in the early 1970s. Mrs Evans was the manager and a great boss and the 2 long time and elderly doormen/ushers were Walter and John. John was Irish and had a striking resemblance to Stan Laurel! Bridget, also Irish was the cashier in the kiosk/box-office at the ground floor entrance that opened onto Buckingham Palace Road where the Queen’s Guard would march past every day for the changing of the Guard at the Palace. There were no public toilets in the cinema but the staff had one toilet off a store room accessed half way up the stairs. We had another store room at the rear side of platform 16 below. Access to the projection box was via a spiral staircase accessed from the tiny office off the cinema foyer. There was another very small kiosk on the 1st floor just near the entrance to the auditorium and a poker machine in the corner which only took 10p coins. We opened at 10am with a continuous programme of cartoons, travelogues, “Look At Life” mini documentaries, 1950s Pete Smith or Laurel & Hardy comedy short and a 1930s serial. The last session was at 9pm finishing at 10pm with national anthem God Save The Queen. Saturday and Sunday afternoons were the busiest times. People would come every week just to see the next episode of the Flash Gordon or Tarzan serials. One of my jobs at the end of the evening was to walk along each aisle in the auditorium and check there were no burning cigarette butts left in the ashtrays or on the floor.
Update January 2021. New seating and wall drapes installed 2012 (actually 2nd-hand ex “Regent On Manners” in Wellington) Seating capacity now 100 seats . Projection upgraded to DCI Digital in Feb 2015. Our website is now: https://www.regentupstairs.co.nz
Happy memories from the mid 70s of being an Electric Cinema Club member and seeing some amazing movies not available in mainstream cinemas, in that faded and jaded, but utterly charming old Electric auditorium. The Electric and the Gate along with the Paris Pullman between Old Brompton Rd and Fulham Rd were my regular haunts and refuge for a number of years.
I worked as trainee manager here while these two movies were showing. The manageress was Mary Codd, the chief projectionist was Charlie.It was the only cinema in London that had this programme. We also screened (exclusvely) the film version of Oh Calcutta! and the French film Themroc with Michel Piccoli, controversial because there was no dialogue in the entire film and it had a theme of cannibalism. Did a few duties of the All Night sessions.
Latest Updates June 2011: Now screen every Thurs Fri Sat Sun & Wed.
The downstairs auditorium can seat 150. The seats are not cinema seats as such but are soft-furnished chairs some of which are used with tables as sometimes the live productions in this auditorium are presented in “theatre-restaurant” style with a meal and bar services avaialble before the show. The downstairs auditorium is the home of the Pahiatua Repertory Society who own the building and who put on 3 or four live shows every year.
Here is a link to our web-site: http://www.nzcinema.co.nz/cinemas/1018.php
I recently came across an advertisement in the Pahiatua Herald of 14 Feb 1914, for a production of the comic opera “The Cingalee” held at The King’s Theatre Pahiatua. So we now know that this theatre was known as the “King’s Theatre” at that date. :–)
Also we only have one screen. We have 2 auditoriums but one is used only for live productions and has no projector or screen.We also have only 175 seats now.
And of course it is a “Kinoton” projector we have and not “Kinetron”.
( I don’t know how to edit the information already on this page, hence these comments.
Bruce Lea, Manager/operator
I believe it became known as The Kings Theatre when talkies were first introduced. It was previously known as The Olympic Theatre and was originally built in 1890, by a Mr Stewart the owner of “Stewarts Family and Commercial Hotel” next door and was known then as Stewarts Hall.
Wow that brought back lots of memories for me!! I was a relief manager for Classic Cinemas London circuit in the early 1970s and for a short time worked at the Eros. It was then showing cartoons and known as the Eros Cartoon Cinema. It had two “sister” “cartoon cinemas” –(these were also formerly “News Theatres”) one on Waterloo station which closed in about 1969 and the other on Victoria Station, known as the Victoria Cartoon Cinema, which closed in about 1977. I was assistant manager at the Victoria Cartoon Cinema for about a year.The cinema had an entrance just beside platform 17 and another entrance on Buckingham Palace Road and one of the highlights of each day was watching the guards as they marched past the cinema entrance from the barracks up to Buckingham Palace for the “Changing of the Guard”.
Good Luck.The Regent deserves to be restored and preserved.It is an important part of your social history. This is one of the few remaining purpose-built NZ cinemas from the “heyday” of NZ cinema and I suggest and hope that option 2 is the way to go. No other options should even be considered.
The “character”, “ambience” and “feel” of the Regent (indeed the very name “Regent”) could never be replaced with a new building (even with the old facade), and it is these aspects of the building and the fact that it was built at a time when “cinema was King” in New Zealand that gives it a “soul” and makes it of historical value and well worth preserving. The local council should be supporting your restoration efforts as it is a valuable community asset. If it is demolished, the town will live to regret it..