Embassy Cinema
17 Luton Road,
Harpenden,
AL5 2UA
17 Luton Road,
Harpenden,
AL5 2UA
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Firms: T.H. Johnson & Son
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Austral Cinema
Nearby Theaters
The Austral Cinema was a purpose built cinema which was owned by an Australian called Captain Fredrick Webb. It was opened by Sir Halley Steward on 27th November 1935 with George Arliss in “Cardinal Richelieu”. Designed by an architectural firm from Doncaster, it had a seating capacity of 870. The balcony was not the traditional type found in most cinema buildings. It began some six foot above the auditorium floor and then rose gradually towards the back of the cinema in a stadium style. The entrance to it was gained from a staircase in the foyer.
The projectors in the 1950’s were Kalee 8’s with Ross carbon arcs and the sound system was BTH. Sometime in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s the projectors were changed to Kalee 21’s.
It was shortly after the second World War that it changed its name to the Embassy Cinema which it retained till it closed on the 30th October 1983. The last film to be shown was “Gone With The Wind” starring Clark Gable, Leslie Howard Olivier de Havilland and Vivian Leigh.
Later that same year it was demolished and the petrol station which had stood next to the cinema most of its life extended its forecourt over to the site.
Contributed by
P. Horner
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
An old photo of the Embassy, Harpenden can be found here:–
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My grandfather Harry Lazell worked at the Austral (as it was first called) when he married in 1936 – and later also worked as a projectionist at the Felixstowe Playhouse.
Did you know that Dudley Moore worked here as an electrician etc before he became famous?