8mm Forum: Cartoon Theatre at Victoria Station

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Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on February 27, 2006, 09:04 AM:

We just had a 6 hour stop over at Miami airport and I got to thinking how good it would have been to have a small cinema there, then I remembered for the first time in years about a tiny cinema in Victoria Station (London) that showed cartoons on a continual and rolling basis for passengers waiting for connections.

When I was a child I used to travel across London with my brothers at the begining and end of each school term, I can remember being installed in this little cinema with a bottle of coke and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps whilst waiting for our train to Hastings, I think my older brothers waited for the connection in Wimpy!

Does any one else remeber this little cinema or others like it?

Mike

Posted by David Park (Member # 123) on March 03, 2006, 05:06 PM:

In the old days there was one at Leeds City Station, called the News Theatre.
I think it was the same ownership as the small cinema just across the road from it. This was called the Tatler, a very naughty cinema, think you had to be a member. Allways thought it strange the vast difference in the way they were run by the same people. I did hear that it had the better seats than any other cinema with more room between rows and the seats being wider as well, I guess on a par with the Pullman seats of the 70's.
One short period was interesting it was run as a normal cinema and one week a rerun of the cinemascope Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was showing. Never seen it first time round for some reason, probablely gone to a non cinemascope cinema in my town, so went to see it there. Yes it was a nice small confortable cinema. ( Possible not considered that small today.}
When it was demolised thier type of programmes went to the News Theater, can't remember what it became called. Think at the end of its days it was run for or by students, remember being stood in the entrance sheltering from the rain one day and one of the staff came out for a breath of air, might have been a projectionist, and we were chatting he was no longer a happy chappy as all the films chosen by the students contained rape sences.
It closed shortly after that.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on March 04, 2006, 02:28 AM:

Hi Mike
I spent much of my childhood growing up in Glasgow and I remember a cinema just like the one you described it was situated just outside the Glasgow Central Station,quite small and ran a continuous program mainly Warner Bros cartoons, I think a news reel as well, it was a great place to go to kill a bit of time off waiting for a bus or train, I wonder if the one you described and the one in Glasgow were the same owners it was along time ago about the early to mid sixties it would be good if someone out there has more infomation on it
Graham [Smile]

Posted by Ian John (Member # 507) on March 04, 2006, 07:03 AM:

I used to be the cheif projectionist at the "Jacy" cinema Platform 1 on Waterloo Station (eary 70's). We used to screen Cartoons etc in daytime, and features in the evening.

Ahhhhhh, those were the days when presentation meant everything, and a projectionist was a real SHOWMAN.

Ian. (UK)

Posted by Paul Spinks (Member # 573) on March 04, 2006, 09:48 AM:

I used to visit the Eros Cinema in Shaftesbury Avenue in London whenever I was in the area, which was quite often as there used to be a Super 8 shop nearby. They showed the standard format of cartoons, Movietone News,(I always preferred Pathe News) and a two reel comedy short on a continuous rolling basis. It was a funny little cinema because the auditorium was below ground level and you entered from the side of the screen, so as you opened the door you faced thirty or so people all looking straight at you. It was a bit unnerving at first. I have never come across another cinema where the main entrance from the foyer was from the front of house. I think they used this cinema in John Landis's excellent "An American Werewolf in London."
Paul.

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