Odeon Temple Fortune
850 Finchley Road,
London,
NW11 6BB
850 Finchley Road,
London,
NW11 6BB
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It can be seen in the background of a couple of scenes in an episode of “Dial 999” (“Mechanical watchman”, 1958) with Odeon Temple Fortune clearly visible on the side wall.
Many happy memories of the odeon going to see many films and shows there and being there for the forthy gang show in the presence of the Queen and the getting a job as a trainee projectionist swiss cottage and spending all my spare time at temple fortune I learnt a lot thanks to the chief projectionist it was a great cinema/theatre.
Also went to Hampstead Garden Suburb primary school behind the Odeon, from 1947. Saturday morning pictures were spent at a cinema in Finchley Central, taken by a local Mum with her daughter and other children (by bus). Then, when I was about 13/14 went to the Odeon on Sat afternoons with a couple of local lads – but only if there was a good Western being shown! Moved to Bristol, then the Midlands, finally West Sussex Channel coast. Many good cinemas have been demolished all over England, such as the Odeon, and the ABC Golders Green.
Map & street view corrected.
I went to primary school just behind the cinema. It was also used by the Jewish community for special meetings at Yom Kippur. NB your map location actually shows the Regal at Childs Hill. Temple Fortune is north of Golders Green.
I worked at this theatre/cinema for a short time doing stage lighting and 1st projectionist around the late 1960’s early 1970’s Rank had just spent a small fortune redoing the rigging and stage lighting. The new dimmer board was on a platform stage left with three preset’s the fly rigging was also stage left. It was a big theatre/cinema though it did a lot of live show’s which payed there way, it was not paying it’s way as a single screen cinema. Nor would it pay it’s way as a multi screen cinema, it was just to far out of the shopping area.
After closure Rank proposed to use this as a Sundown balroom/nightclub.However because there were restrictive covenants restricting this use an application was made to the Lands Tribunal to vary them This was turned down thus dooming the cinema.The cinema was always used by the local synagogue for its High holiday services.
Only the stage house and a section of the right hand side of the front of the building remain standing in this May 1982 demolition photograph:
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