The Bioscope (Jul-Sep 1931)

July 15, 1931 MODERN CINEMA TECHNIQUE THE BIOSCOPE IX Guernsey Reconstruction Gaumont Palace Opened Blackburn Rialto Usually the building of new picture theatres is started without ceremony, but that was not the case with the £60,090 Blackburn enterprise which has just been launched. A valuable site has been secured in Penny Street, and here, one evening recentlv, in the presence of a number of interested persons, David Rosenfield, of Rochdale, laid the foundation stone. The Rialto, as the theatre will be called, will accommodate 2,000 persons ; an organ costing nearly £5,000 is to be installed ; there will be two crush halls to seat 600 people each, and at the rear will be space to park 100 cars. Mr. Rosenfield expressed the hope that the opening would coincide with the lifting of the keen depression which had overcast Blackburn’s staple industry for so long. The sub-contracts for terra cotta and heating and ventilating have been placed with Shaw’s Glazed Brick Co., Ltd., of Darwen, and Edward Filton & Co., of Chester Road, Manchester, respectively. The main ■contract is in the hands of William Livesey & Sons, Ltd., Nova Scotia, Blackburn. Making Better and Brighter Theatres A.B.C. appear to be making a systematic overhaul of many of their cinemas in Manchester and Liverpool. A few days ago the Ardwick P.H. (Ardwick), the Playhouse (Miles Platting), and the Savoy (Chorlton), all Manchester, closed for renovation. The Playhouse, which will reopen on August Bank Holiday, is being redecorated and other alterations are being made to permit of tile abandonment of projection from the back of the screen ; contractors are building a new operating box at the rear of the balcony. New projectors are to be installed. The Playhouse and the Ardwick P.H. are to be entirely reseated, and at the last-named theatre the ventilating equipment will be overhauled. The Ardwick will also reopen on August Bank Holiday and the Savoy in about ten days’ time. Transformation of the old St. Julian’s Theatre, Guernsey, into the new Gaumont Palace has been a work of extreme ingenuity, for although the outer shell still remains, the interior reveals an up-to-date, fire-resisting cinematograph theatre, designed and equipped in accordance with the latest principles in lighting, heating, ventilation, picture projection and acoustics. In this reconstruction a considerable amount of steel and concrete has been used, and every requirement in the interests of public safety has been conformed to. There are seats for 570 in the stalls and 188 in the balcony, each person having an uninterrupted view of the screen. Every seat is an easy chair, affording ample knee room and the maximum comfort. The convenience of visitors has been studied in every detail, and adequate waiting room accommodation has been provided for both balcony and stalls patrons. The reconstruction was carried out to the plans and under the supervision of W. E. Trent, F.S.I., architect to the company, and E. F. Tulley, L.R.I.B.A., his assistant. The whole of the electrical installation and lighting schemes have been devised by E. C. C. Nichols, A.M.I.M.E., the company’s engineer, and carried out by his staff. Getting Away from Cream and Gold Much time and thought has been given to the decoration of the auditorium. The old time and conventional method of cream and gold has been avoided, and a rich modelled plaster ceiling has been designed in the manner known as “ modern French,” and treated in tiffany shading, giving a mother-of-pearl effect, relieved by bands of shell pink and reseda green. Colour has been freely used, and rich tones of emerald green, apricot and blue predominate, with contrasting touches of pink and fawn, relieved with gold. New methods of decorative lighting have been introduced, the whole being concealed behind modelled and gilded grilles in the ceiling. Peacock Blue and Apricot Experiment The walls are textured in an oyster-shell motif and bronzed and scumbled with emerald green, the texture introduced being conducive to perfect acoustical effect. This also refers to the cork dado which runs around the whole building. Modern methods have again been carried out in the main foyer, where the textured walls have been treated with silver and glazed over in peacock blue and the ceiling in tones of pale apricot. Similar colouring has been introduced along the foyer staircases. The proscenium frame is worthy of notice, concealed lighting having been introduced to form a brilliant and effective framework to the screen. Rose du Barry colouring of the seating and the blue of the tableau curtains complete a bright and joyous colour scheme and form a worthy background and environment for the entertainment of the public. The theatre has been fitted with British Acoustic sound system of the very latest type, and the Gaumont projectors are of the most modern design. The opening ceremony, which took place on June 29th, was performed by the Bailiff of Guernsey, Arthur W. Bell. Jensen Curtain Control Gear The screen curtains are electrically controlled by the Jensen Patent Automatic Electric Curtain Control. For an off-stage position this curtain control can be operated from several points in the operating room and from the stage. The gear is of the worm-driven type, with a roller chain-drive arranged between the worm-wheel and the drum shaft, and the chain sprocket on the drum shaft drives it by means of a positive pin clutch, thus making it possible in a few seconds to disconnect the motor drive from the drum and use the control as an ordinary hand control. The motor is of the enclosed ventilated type, shunt wound, -4 h.p., and to avoid humming it runs at the slow speed of 1,100 r.p.m. The electric controller is of the clapper type, and so interlocked by means of a switch that at no time is it possible for the contact of an opposing direction to be brought into action. Incorporated in and synchronised with this curtain control is a 4 kw. dimmer capable of dealing with the selected colour in the front batten and in the footlights. A very effective scheme of lighting characterises the West End Cinema, Whalley Range, Manchester, at night. One is only inclined to ask whether a more complete floodlighting installation would not compel greater attention I For a Brighter Outlook e CARBONS