The Bioscope (Jul-Sep 1931)

September 9, 1931 MODERN CINEMA TECHNIQUE THE BIOSCOPE IX Building News In Brief The beauty of the proscenium decoration is enhanced by clever lighting, and the bizarre treatment of the side walls is added to by a gay and vivid colour scheme tion is as inadequate as black-and-white pictures to convey the agitation, vividness of colour and endless succession of shocks which must impress every visitor. The coved sky ceiling in greenish blue over the auditorium gives place over the balcony to a rich and heavily coffered metal ceiling of unbelievable weightiness. The front of the house at each side of the proscenium is made interesting by a succession of contrasting features. There is on each side a huge stained glass window illuminated from behind, followed by a pointed arch on squat pillars over the entrances and surmounted by three tiers of modernised angel choir arcades illuminated inside and decorated with formal stars on a pale blue background. The pendant carved screen over the proscenium is singularly beautiful and effective. Unusually Roomy Seating Functionally, the theatre has many points of interest. It has only one balcony, divided into an upper cinTe and a dress circle by a huge gangway. The balcony, incidentally, exceeds by several feet the previous largest in London, and has a span of 123 feet. The sight lines are admirable. The seating is uniform throughout, and is unusually roomy, having 2 ft. 9 in. legroom, or 5 in. more than any other cinema in the country. The ventilating arrangements are particularly efficient, and the boiler room in the basement under the foyer is one of the finest and largest in the country. The Plenum chamber is capable of pumping 3,000,000 cubic feet of cooled or heated air into the theatre hourly, dust and impure air being withdrawn from under the seats all over the auditorium. The stage has a 58-ft. opening, is fully equipped and about 30 ft. deep. Special praise must be given for the way in which natural lighting has been made use of. The staircases, for instance, do not call for artificial light during daylight hours ; the dressing-rooms, which are ingeniously accommodated beneath the stage, have also natural lighting. Reference should also be made to the clever window effects in the auditorium itself, which, by means of lighting, create the illusion of stained-glass windows looking into the open-air. Another notable feature is that, as a result of careful study of his acoustic problems, Mr. Masey has succeeded in building an auditorium with really excellent acoustic properties, without the use of acoustic materials at any point. There is a car park capable of accommodating 250 cars, and another service feature which will be appreciated by Tooting mothers is a spacious pram park. All-Electric Cafe The cafe is something entirely new to the cinema world, the kitchens being run solely by electricity, which ensures perfect and speedy cooking. The decorative scheme here is very cheerful and will give the effect of sunlight on the dreariest of days. At the snack-bar anything from a sandwich to a grilled steak (which can be served in three minutes) can be secured with the utmost speed and served in the daintiest manner. The projection box contains three Ross projectors, a Master Brenograph and two Brenkert spots. The sound system installed is Western Electric. The classical exterior of the house is in the Italian Renaissance, and splendid use has been made of Shaws Faience, the facade being broken up by original columns with bronze capitals. The Granada will run an all " talkie” programme with musical interludes, but no variety, and the prices of the seats will change according to the time of day at 1 p.m^and 3 p.m. Two prices only will prevail The Mascot, London Road, Westcliff-onSea, which is controlled by L. H. Jackson, is closing down shortly for complete reconstruction. The theatre will be almost entirely rebuilt, and will have a seating capacity of about 1,800. * * * Further sub-contracts have now been let for the Carlton, Green Lane, Liverpool, now under construction by C. J. Doyle, of Victoria Street, Liverpool. They comprise plumbing, painting and plastering, while the steelwork was recently placed with Bannister, Walton & Co. The architect for the scheme is A. Ernest Shennan, F.R.I.B.A., of Liverpool, the cost being placed at £50,000. * * * Nuneaton Corporation has passed plans of the cinema in Lister Street, Attleborough, to the plans of H. Mayo & Co., which F. Roberts & Son, a local furnishing house, are to build. The main contract has already been placed with Wykes & Trussell, of Nuneaton, and it is anticipated that the theatre will be finished in the early New Year. * * * It is understood that further interesting developments will shortly be seen at Camberley, Surrey, in connection with the erection of possibly two new cinemas in that town. Plans have already been passed by the local authority for the erection of the Regal, which will be situated in the Frimley Road, nearly opposite the Royal Military College, and now it is understood that a large site in the London Road is being cleared preparatory to the erection of an additional new cinema. * * * A selected list of builders has been approached to prepare estimates for reconstruction of the old Elephant and Castle Theatre, London, S.E., for A.B.C. The plans, prepared by W. R. Glen, F.S.I., the company’s architect, provide for an auditorium to seat 2,760 patrons, while adjoining properties are to be taken in to allow a more imposing frontage. * * * Demolition is in hand on the site of the Pond Cinema, Thornton Heath, which is to be next in the series of theatres operated by A. C. Matthews, of the Rialto and Albany, Upper Norwood, and the recently opened State, Sydenham. The Pond, for which Mr. Matthews has drawn his own plans, will have a seating capacity of between 2,000 and 2,500. * ♦ * t Hull Watch Committee has approved plans for the erection of a projector box at the New Tivoli Theatre, Hull. The architects are Allderidge & Clark. * * * With the name of “ Majestic,” a cinema with seating capacity of 1,700 is to be built in Bondgate, Darlington, by a newly-formed company of local business men. Plans drawn by Joshua Clayton, of Darlington, show the auditorium to be of the stadium type, with no seats beneath the balcony. It is expected to put the work in hand in November, so that the theatre shall be ready for opening not later than the autumn of 1932. * * * Town Planning Committee of the Manchester Corporation has sanctioned a proposal for the erection of a cinema on land adjoining the Newton Heath housing estate.