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Villa Cross Cinema

hi reg...i lived in villa st and if memory serves me right thats where len pritchard had his butchers shop.. it was on the left going towards villa road.lovely man...

lyn
 
I always thought that the Villa X had a beautiful entrance with the large circular windows. I notice the frames on the demolition photographs #9 - Such a shame that it is no longer with us? The last film I saw there was the 'Witch Finder General' back in the 60's. Mabz
 
I always thought that the Villa X had a beautiful entrance with the large circular windows. I notice the frames on the demolition photographs #9 - Such a shame that it is no longer with us? The last film I saw there was the 'Witch Finder General' back in the 60's. Mabz


hi ya mabz....totally agree with you it was a fine looking buiding and noticed the frames too...i bet lots of us on here have crossed paths going in and out of that cinema..i also remember going to see jungle book there...


happy days..

lyn
 
hi roverman here is a pic of the cinema and you can just see thats its showing the jolson story...the date on the pic says 1962 so im not sure if that date is correct if you saw it in the forties...im trying to put a date on the car and van..mind you they could have shown it more than once...

lyn


All we need is someone to go up to the Local Studies section on what days they are still open and check out the newspapers for 1962 on microfilm.
Is that facility still going with all the upheavals?
 
My friend has sent me this picture of the foyer. It looks very elegant.
 

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what a wonderful pic topsy....brings back so many happy memories...:)

thank you for posting it and to your friend for sending it to you...

lyn
 
View attachment 70982 My friend has sent me this picture of the foyer. It looks very elegant.

That's a lovely photo Topsy! You get a good idea of the magnificent size of the round window above the entrance. It's nice to see a photo of how cinema foyers used to be; inviting and promising a few hours escapism from the real world. It's a pity today we're bombarded with all those products you can buy in the foyer before the film. I'd rather be cocooned in this sort of splendor any day than queue for a mega tub of popcorn and a diet coke! Notice the simplicity of the booking office too - well I assume it's the booking office to the right. Enjoyed this photo very much, thanks for posting. Viv.
 
ive just been studying that pic topsy and drifting back in time lol...we didnt sit up in the balcony but always sat dowstairs for easy access to the front of the stage...during the interval music of the day would be played and those that wanted would go down and have a dance...pretty sure we could use both doors either side of the stairs...

thanks again for posting it..

lyn
 
Loved the pic Topsyturvey.

Lyn I wonder if you used to go to the Villa Cross when I did. The picture certainly revived memories for me that I had forgotten. I used to queue outside regularly with my friend Jean Thomas to go in to see films there in the mid-1950s!

Judy
 
hi judy..hope you are keeping well....it would have been the mid 60s when i started using the villa cross...such a lovely building...just an empty space now so what a waste..ive mentioned this before that we used to buy tizer pop by the glass from the little shop next to the cinema and i can still see the lady coming round flashing the torch as she went on her way selling those little tubs of ice cream with the wooden spoons.......happy days...

lyn
 
Hi Lyn

I used to buy glasses of Tizer from Mrs Payne's sweet shop which was at the top of Villa Road near the junction with Soho Road. It was just by the tram terminus. It was a real treat to go in for one of those which I think cost a penny or tuppence! I moved from Handsworth in 1956, so used the Villa Cross much earlier than you did. I do remember the tubs of ice cream but we had to fold the lids in half to use as scoops to eat the ice cream - nothing as sophisticated as wooden spoons in those days!

Judy
 
:DLyn it came in a see thro container with a straw. Infact the times we have been told to " SHARRAP" when you are trying to suck every last drop from the container:D Needed it though to swill The Poppets down.
 
Or if you are really ancient it came in a waxed cardboard carton with a straw, and you could taste the wax.
 
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