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Birmingham Cinemas

Remember the Jacy now the Electic Cinema in Station Street, big bruv used to take me up from Aston to the Jacy and the mixture of cartoons, newreels and comedy films
 
cornwall col,

You will remember this street scene then.

Phil
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Sorry, bow my head in shame, as soon as l posted that reply l realised that the cinema l refered to as the Gaumont wasn't, then l remembered the Elite and of course the good old Winson Green on Winson Green Rd. Plenty more too but it's been such a long, long time & so many bridges have been crossed. Great site though for bringing it all back. Born in Hockley & raised in Winson Green so know the area pretty well.
 
Cornwall Col - I used to go to that cinema (Jacy/Electric) in Station Street when I was a little girl, but in those days it was called the Tatler and, yes, it showed cartoons and the newsreel. My dad used to take me as a treat. No television in those days :(

pbmc19447 - It was good to see a photo of the cinema and Station Street. It's a long time since I've been in that area of Brum.
 
Elite Soho Rd, 1913 - 1970's - seated 870

Grand picture Palace Soho Rd, 1911 - 1982 - seated 800

Regal Soho Rd, 1929 - 1968 - seated 2150

Palladium Soho Hill (Hockley Picture Palace), 1911 - 1965 - seated 841

Winson Green Picture House Winson Green Rd / Wellington Rd, 1914 - 1959 - seated 1400

Rookery Picture Palace Rookery Rd, 1914 - 1957 - seated 700

I hope this helps you cornwall col & DBD34-Goldie, If you want photo's let me know.

Judy39 if there is any part of Brum you want to see let me know, I may have a picture.

Phil
 
Thanks for the kind offer Phil, I will keep it in mind.

I saw the old Palladium at Hockley offered for sale on an estate agent's website the other day. It looked in a very sorry state, here is the photo. It has been sold for redevelopment I think.

I was trying to think the other day of a cinema I went to in Monument Road in Edgbaston but couldn't recall the name. I remember seeing Pat Boone in April Love there. Can anyone tell me the name?
 
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Judy39

It was called the Edgbaston. 233/255 Monument Rd opened in 1928 and closed in 1968 and had a seating capacity of 1616.

Phil
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If its the correct picture house, this would still be called "THE Picture House" in 1957 when the movie called in at Birmingham. The cinema later became the ABC but of what named locality not yet sure. The cinema became (inevitably) a bingo hall in November 1968. No exact date of demolition.:)
 
Many thanks Phil and Richie. I don't think I would have remembered the name. I think April Love was shown there in 1958 but not sure. "The Picture House" sounds more familiar, but then I can't really remember.
 
As stated by Richie, the Edgbaston closed on Saturday 16th of November 1968 showing its last film "Camelot" (U) starring Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave.

It then opened shortly after as a Music Hall and Bingo Club, but this only lasted a few years until it was demolished.

Phil
 
Does anyone remember The Castle cinema at Castle Bromwich?I used to go to the saturday matinee in the 50's.Has anyone got a picture of it?

Thanks Pam
 
pam 1511

This is the best one I have though I am afraid its very poor, hang on because I am sure some one will have a better one.

Phil
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Here is my favourite picture of a cinema or a picture house as I knew them. It’s of the West End in town before it was demolished. Its not that that makes it one of my favourites, it’s not even a good photo I have much better ones of the West End.

It’s just that this photo, epitomises what the cinema of that era was all about. Just look at the queue outside and imagine this being repeated all across the country and you begin to understand just how popular an entertainment it was. Can you imagine people queuing like this outside a cinema today?

Phil
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West End Cinema.

Yes PMC. The West End was very useful during the 1960's being the third widescreen in the City Centre, after the Gaumont and Scala Superama,being able to accommodate still-popular epics in original format(or only slightly squeezed anyway) that the Odeon in New Street would not have been able to handle.

It closed twice,actually. Once on the 27th March 1965 and then again exactly two years later, because of the instant overwhelming success of "The Sound of Music" parked at the Gaumont for three continuous years eventually.

Have some photos from a variety of Alton Ellis' "Birmingham Remembered" books, and am looking forward to collecting advertisements from the West End during the 1960's especially, owing to its big-screen presentations, to e-mail to America. Mark Norton has at least one side-on photo on his website;the Suffolk Street page.:)

The year will be 1929 October time. The queue would have been for the first showing of Hitchcock's "Blackmail", and the 'Mr.Macdonald goes to Washington' refers to the newsreel of Prime Minister Ramsey Macdonald's trip to the US on an official visit.
 
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Yes Mike, I saw South Pacific at the West End in the 50's. The queue curled round the side of the cinema, and in the winter I would huddle near the wall to keep warm.:)
 
Same here but didn't we always queue for the Cinemas in the Town Di, I know my mates and myself did every Sunday:)
 
Alf - Me and my friends always went to the Odeon in New Street on a Sunday afternoon, and there was always a very long queue to get in :)
 
Judy we went mostly to the othere one in New St opposite Lyons Tea House can never remember the name, it had that very high Circle:)
 
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Alf & Judy

Is this the one you mean, didn't it become the ABC New St?
Phil

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That's the one Phil. Thanks for the photo. I don't know about it becoming the ABC but it's more than likely. It was still called the Forum I think when I left Brum, but that was a long time ago :rolleyes:
 
It was the Masonic Hall 1896 - 1910

Theatre De Lux 1910 - 1922 rename the Regent

Regent/Forum ABC 1930 - 1983


Closed 1983 on 9th April with ET
 
Alf

You are 100% right sir.

Judy

Does the upper circle still make you feel dizzy.

Phil
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