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Author Topic: The Glen Cinema Disaster
Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006


 - posted January 07, 2018 02:08 PM      Profile for Graham Ritchie   Email Graham Ritchie   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The other day I was asked about emergency lighting that I used to check weekly at the cinema, that question, reminded me of this terrible tragedy and the changes that would take places regarding safety.

Its a three part...here is a link to the fist one..

https://youtu.be/pEQKagxCti8

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014


 - posted January 08, 2018 02:43 AM      Profile for Brian Fretwell   Email Brian Fretwell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
As soon as they mentioned it was in 1929 I thought "Nitrate fire".

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Allan Broadfield
Master Film Handler

Posts: 452
From: Bromley, Kent
Registered: Nov 2010


 - posted January 09, 2018 01:50 AM      Profile for Allan Broadfield   Author's Homepage   Email Allan Broadfield   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The 1929 Glen cinema disaster post should be seen by anyone interested in film history.
The building is now a showroom, and the shots above the false ceiling of the original features are beyond spooky.

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted January 09, 2018 09:47 AM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What a tragedy. I had never heard about this. From that short documentary it sounded like the children died more from the exits being locked than any fire. It's sad that it takes such a horrific disaster like this to establish safety regulations... very sad indeed [Frown]

[ January 10, 2018, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: Janice Glesser ]

--------------------
Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Allan Broadfield
Master Film Handler

Posts: 452
From: Bromley, Kent
Registered: Nov 2010


 - posted January 10, 2018 05:29 AM      Profile for Allan Broadfield   Author's Homepage   Email Allan Broadfield   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The terrible danger of nitrate based film was well known in the industry from the beginning, but there wasn't much awareness among the general public.
My first introduction as a child to this magical busėness was around 1950 when i was given a toy 35mm hand cranked projector by my uncle. It was housed in a large biscuit tin and also contained several small rolls of film which even then I could tell were at varying stages of decomposition.
I found it great fun tearing pieces off and watching them flare up in the fireplace. Ignorance was bliss I suppose!
It was a revelation later to find that I could hire complete films on a smaller guage
that turned out to be 9.5mm, which probably saved me from being blown up!

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David Hardy
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 955
From: Johnshaven Village , Montrose, Scotland
Registered: Jan 2015


 - posted January 10, 2018 10:09 AM      Profile for David Hardy     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
That Glen Cinema disaster changed things a lot with regards to health and safety both IN and OUT of the projection box here in the UK. The Cinematograph Act Regulations and Legislations were tightened.

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" My equipment's more important than your rats. "

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Bill Brandenstein
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1632
From: California
Registered: Aug 2007


 - posted January 10, 2018 12:08 PM      Profile for Bill Brandenstein   Email Bill Brandenstein   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Incredibly tragic. How sad that an awful happening such as that is necessary to enact common sense procedures.

Is that furniture store still around? I wonder what would be found by poking around above the ceiling towards the former balcony and (of course) the booth!

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006


 - posted January 10, 2018 02:57 PM      Profile for Graham Ritchie   Email Graham Ritchie   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I remember once at the cinema and just to see what it would be like, I brought the lights down to "complete darkness" standing at the back. The feeling I got was one of "disorientation", although you might think cinemas are dark places and they are, the projector lamp always will give some light even in a dark scene. If you take the projector out of the equation its a very different story.

I was on my own when I tried that out, and it was for only a minute or so, even with exit lights in the distance, the darkness in the place still made me uneasy. It was an "experiment" as to what it might feel like at that level of darkness, in a full cinema that "disorientation" could easily create panic, thats why "emergency lighting", that will come on automatic in a instant is so important.

Every morning before any of the sessions started, I would also check the ease of freedom of operation of all "outward facing" exit doors, any inward opening door would simply be a death trap when large numbers are on the move.

Getting large numbers of people out of a building quickly and safely was always in the back of my mind, and practiced with other staff during my time as a projectionist.

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Allan Broadfield
Master Film Handler

Posts: 452
From: Bromley, Kent
Registered: Nov 2010


 - posted January 11, 2018 03:59 AM      Profile for Allan Broadfield   Author's Homepage   Email Allan Broadfield   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
When in darkness I should imagine a theatre auditorium could spread a sense of panic in certain circumstances.
Years ago, when working at the Rialto just off leicester square, London, we were asked if we would take turns standing in for the nightwatchman who was ill (shouldn't think this would happen today with health and safety), and this would involve turning off all the lights under the stage and returning to the lobby in pitch black, apart from a torch. Pretty creepy stuff for an over imaginative young fellow as I was at the time, especially with the legend of the 'lady in a crinoline' supposedly haunting the place! Probably all theatres had their ghosts.

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