Carlton Cinema

The Carlton opened on Thursday 17th January 1935 (not 1936), the first film being Evergreen starring Jessie Matthews. There is, however, a slight doubt as to the closing date. Frank Manders in the Cinemas of North Tyneside gives the date as 11th September 1976, the last film being It Shouldn’t happen to a vet. I have checked in the Shields News, and although that does appear to be the last film, it was advertised as being shown a week earlier finishing on the 4th September with no further adverts appearing. I have cross-checked with the Newcastle Evening Chronicle where the last advert appeared on the 4th September, so unless anybody knows different, then I would suggest that the date that the Carlton closed was 4th September 1976. I first began making occasional visits to the Carlton in the mid-sixties. Programmes at that time usually ran for six days and would be shown shortly after neighbouring North Shields. The cinema tended to go for more upmarket fare, horror films being rarely show. One of the first films that I recall seeing there was a revival of Jane Eyre starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. My impression was that the Carlton was a well run cinema, although the architect had a bit of a problem squeezing everything into the limited space resulting in a slightly cramped effect. One memory that I have of the Carlton was that at the end of the show, the besuited manager would stand in the entrance thanking patrona and wishing them goodnight, not something that I can recall experiencing at circuit cinemas.