The aim of the Going to the Pictures Project has been to help preserve a part of our local cinema heritage by collecting and recording memories from people who used and worked in the local picture houses from the 1930′s to the 1960′s.
Explore this map of 21 local cinemas within a 3 mile radius of the Plaza, from 1930 to 1960.
We come along on a Saturday morning, greeting everybody with a smile….
Children’s Matinees
Saturday morning, hundreds of unsupervised rowdy children. What could it be?
Souvenir Film Brochures were widely sold at cinemas during the initial release of what at the time were described as film “Epics” they helped promote the film and usually contained details of the cast, how the film was made and also assorted stills from the film.
The Broadway Cinema – Stanley Road Bootle
Built as a theatre in 1890 then moved on to show popular moving images, known locally as ‘The Ranch’ the building held many interesting memories until it was destroyed by fire in the 1950′s
When we were all younger, we used to go to the Odeon cinema for the the Saturday Morning Club. We would pay our 6(d) pence to go in, buy our sweets and walk into the main auditorium were a man played the organ.
Tommy remembers exchanging jam jars and doing odd jobs to earn money to go to the pictures.
Films and Filming was first published in 1951, and where other film magazines of the time publicized films and their stars with little critical appraisal, Films and Filming was very much a serious magazine about […]