70 Years Ago!

[Maurice Leakey]

Seventy years ago, on Monday 7th January 1952, when I had just turned seventeen, I started work as a Cinema Projectionist at the Odeon Cinema, here in Bristol.
Odeon cinema, Bristol. - Chester Cinemas

Thus starting my fifty years in the business. The projectors then were the great BTH (British Thomson Houston) SUPAs. This stood for Single Unit Projection Assembly.
Complete Projectionist 1949 BTH SUPA Projector (villagehallcinemas.co.uk)

Time does fly, but I do have a house full of films and projectors, sadly not 35mm! Last night I ran a new acquisition, "The Dam Busters" on 16mm.

I can still remember all the cinemas and different projectors which I ran. If I had the chance I'd do it all again. But, only with real film.

[Martin Davey]

Happy Birthday Maurice!

[Clive Casey]

Congratulations Maurice, I know exactly how you feel. I am not quite as old as you but I would do my career as a projectionist all over again. It never seemed as if I was going to work, it was more a pleasure. You didn’t mind working 12+ hours a day, as long as the kettle was working and you had tea and milk.
Digital is ok but it will never replace film. I won’t go into a rant about digital I’m just glad I experienced being a reel projectionist and that can never be taken away from me.

[Ali Hipperson]

Congratulations Maurice!

Former projectionists on here like you, Clive, Graham et al, make me determined to come back in the next life as a projectionist - via a time machine of course! 😉

[John Burgess]

What an amazing story. How lucky you were to be born whilst film was at its peak. Love the pics of the Odeon where you started , lucky you missed the digital change over I think you would have probably moved on , I rarely visit cinemas these days , like you , but a few years younger, can’t forget the thrill of watching films in a proper cinema using film , it will never be the same .
John

[Maurice Leakey]

Thanks for your comments folks.

Safety film had been introduced only a couple of years before so our older films for Sunday showing were nitrate. We had two types of film cement. Safety film could be recognised as each side had a printed S. They also came on 2000ft cores, whereas the nitrate films arrived on 1000ft cores. The Chief Operator disliked change-overs every few minutes so it was my job to make "doubles" of the Sunday show films.

The cinema was built over a covered up River Frome so unfortunately there was insufficient room for the installation of a cinema organ pit.

Only a few weeks later on the 6th February King George VI died. Our instructions were to play morbid music in the intervals. But, being a cinema we had nothing like this. I was given a ten shilling note to go to a local record store for something suitable. I came back with a 12" of Handel's Largo. This was met with approval. Every time I hear this piece of music it takes me back all those years.

I mainly worked for the Odeon circuit but did spend some years with the Classic Cinema chain, however, as Rank had sold a lot of his Odeons to Classic I was virtually still in Odeon projection rooms and equipment. One such cinema was an ex Odeon in Bridgwater, Somerset. It became a Classic where I worked. It is still operational as a Scott Cinema.

Scott Cinemas, Bridgwater © Jaggery :: Geograph Britain and Ireland

[Osi Osgood]

Maurice! I had no idea that we shared Birthdays! Happy birthday to ye, me slightly older brudder in film!

[Joe Caruso]

Cheers Maurice...your mate, Shorty

[Maurice Leakey]

Maurice! I had no idea that we shared Birthdays! Happy birthday to ye, me slightly older brudder in film!

Osi
My birthday was 27 December 1934.

[David Roberts]

An interesting post Maurice,
I am not quite as old as you,but did have my first job in Bristol in 1970.
That was at "Husbands " photo and opticians at the bottom of Park Street. (near the Colston Hall )
Also at that time,did a photographic course at college in Filton,during the era of Concorde,and saw that fly over a few times.

[Martin Davey]

Sorry Maurice I misread your post and I thought your birthday was on the same day you started work! Happy anniverary anyway and its always interesting to hear your memories.

Happy Birthday to Osi!

[Maurice Leakey]

Martin
It now makes me older.

David
Yes. I well remember Husbands, and of course, Concorde.
Concorde 216 Alpha Foxtrot, the last to fly, flew into Filton on 26 November 2003. On 7 February 2017 it moved to its new hanger at Aerospace, Bristol (Filton). For many years it had lived in the open on the side of the old Filton Airfield runway.
It's only a mile or so from where I live in North Bristol.

[Paul Adsett]

Belated Happy Birthday Maurice! And many more to come.
If you are like me, then you undoubtedly feel that the film hobby has kept your mind constantly interested and your body active (lifting a GS1200for example!). Your frequent posts on this forum are always informative and knowledgeable and have added so much to the legacy of both the professional and home cinema.
Wishing you the very best for this next year.

[Graham Ritchie]

Maurice

When I worked at the cinema we used to get a weekly visit of a retired chap who had spent 50 years as a projectionist. Our downstairs staff would always give us a call when he arrived, armed with a packet of biscuits the girls would make him a free coffee. I asked him once if he ever regret being a projectionist and his reply was a simple "no" he had enjoyed every minute of it. My thinking after that reply, was how many of us out there could say that about there job.

He was a real character, always full of stories and enthusiasm, we always enjoyed his weekly visit to the cinema projection room. Sadly he passed away years a go, as we went to his funeral, upon entering for his funeral each person was given a admission ticket "admit one". We really missed his weekly visits to the cinema and projection room, things afterwards never seemed the same.

[Maurice Leakey]

.....If you are like me, then you undoubtedly feel that the film hobby has kept your mind constantly interested and your body active (lifting a GS1200for example!).....

Paul
I recently sold three GS-1200s, and a Fumeo 9119, due to their excessive weight, and I didn't care for them anyway.


Graham
I used to make regular visits to the Bristol Odeon to chat with the Chief. It was great to see the three screens being served from two Cinemeccanica Victoria 5s and one Cinemeccanica Victoria 8. All with Christie platters.
One day, a few years ago, he told me that he and his other operator were to be fired when Digital came in. This was because Odeon had decided that there would be no work for two operators in the Digital age.
Later, he was still there among his new NEC projectors, but he said it was to be a short-lived stay because as soon as Management could work the digital set-up then he and his fellow operator would be gone. And it happened.
Odeon had decided that only cinemas with five screens or more would be able to keep their projectionists.