Colonnade Cinema

Located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Opened the Colonnade Hall for shows and circuses. It became the Olympia Skating Rink (roller skating) on 9th October 1909. The 1,000-seat Colonnade Theatre de Luxe appears to have opened on Boxing Day, 26th December 1910 having moved from the Winter Halls. The opening film was “Life for Life” with variety acts on the stage. The Colonnade Theatre de Luxe was first run by Cecil Smith and later a Mr Bell, and lasted until July 1918 when the Charlie Chaplin film “Zepped” closed the operation.

Arthur Morris reopened the cinema by Christmas 1918 as the Colonnade Cinema and introduced talkies on 25th November 1929 when “On Trial” was screened. Morris was found to be in contravention of the Cinematograph Act in July 1930 and closed the cinema taking a lease on the Scala Cinema instead. The last films are believed to have been Eddie Quillan in “Easy Money” and “Bright Lights”. The building was later a roller-skating rink which had closed by 1933. It then went into retail use and from 1940 was used by the War Ministry during the war. The Loft Theatre then occupied it before building a new theatre on site in 1991.

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