The first building to be called "The Cinema" at Marlow is an unexpected one. It was neither purpose built nor devoted just to the showing of "moving pictures". I wondered why I kept coming across references to a "cinema" in Marlow before the first "proper" one opened in Spittal Street in 1913. I then managed to find the forerunners address, and it was none other than the Public Hall in St Peters Street, now the Masonic Centre and previously known as the Music Room or Lecture Hall. The term cinema was used to refer to other part time "picture palaces" locally, so it was obviously more loosely applied than now.
The first showings I can find evidence of at this first part time cinema were made in November 1911 but this doesn't mean there were not earlier shows. They were courtesy of the Marlow Animated Picture Syndicate, later just called the Marlow Pictures Syndicate. The manager was Mr H Lacey of Station Rd, Marlow. I believe this is Horace Lacey, more familiar in his day job as a haulage contractor and removals man. The Syndicate promised the latest pictures both dramatic and comedic. They screened films or "Cinematograph entertainments" every Friday and Saturday evening at 8, with a 2.30pm Saturday Matinee aimed specifically at children.
The Music Room, above. Image ©Colin Groves and used with permission.
Some of the film's shown in 1912/13 were "The Awakening of Jones" (a comedy that apparently kept the audience laughing continuously) and dramas "The Moonshiner's Daughter" and "The Cylinders Secret" - a melodrama about a man wrongfully accused of murder who is saved from the gallows by a phonograph recording, the cylinder of the title. One of the best recieved shows was "The Relief of Lucknow" which was praised for it's dramatic battle scenes involving large numbers of real soldiers and it's "faithfully reproduced" version of events. These were of course silent films so the action was accompanied by a pianist in the hall, Miss A Hutt doing the honours on more than one occasion. In 1915 a young lady and talented pianist of Maisonette, New Town, Marlow posted an advertisement in a film industry newspaper seeking a place in a "small picture hall" as the musical accompanist. She would take a small wage in exchange for the opportunity to gain experience. Let's hope she found a good position.
They changed the programme mid week, mostly offering 2 comedies and one drama. The film's were showing to packed audiences, with patrons sometimes turned away from the full to bursting venue. The Syndicate also ran the Beaconsfield Cinema (actually the town hall in this instance) on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
The Cinema was refered to as Marlow's permanent place of "kinema" amusement so it seems the optimistic Syndicate members hoped to be hosting entertainments there for many years to come. Unfortunately for them, others had the idea of providing for Marlow's love of moving pictures at a different venue. The Public Hall cinema was still in use the following year but then...
The Marlow Picture Palace Co Ltd Arrives
The Bucks Herald sent a reporter to the Marlow Public Hall cinema in March 1913 after hearing glowing accounts of the picture shows there. He described the hall as packed with youngsters "bent upon getting full value for their penny." The evening show was similarly full. The films showed extremely pretty and life like scenes he thought. But given this obvious success of film shows in Marlow it could only be a matter of time before a rival venture came along. He reported rumours that a cinema was to open in the High Street if a suitable place could be found. In the end a different location won.
On the 25th June 1913 The Marlow Picture Palace Company was registered. They were going to carry on the business of "an electric picture palace and kinematograph entertainment" under a board of 3-5 directors. As we don't know the names of all those involved in the Syndicate, it is therefore possible that some may have been involved in the new venture, however the latter were not Marlow men and the Syndicate feels more local. It had £3,000 capital in £1 shares. They opened the Marlow Picture Palace in a purpose built mock Tudor building roughly where the Arlo and Jacob furniture store is now in Spittal Street. It is believed the first films were shown there by the end of 1913, although it may have been early 1914 if the Kinematograph Weekly, reporting on the progress of this and other new cinemas is correct as it says negotiations are still ongoing to erect a building in December 1913.
The first few years of the Marlow Picture Palaces life was fraught with squabbles between the various directors and shareholders, which resulted in court cases, injunctions, claims and counter claims. The first two directors announced were John Black of the Tavistock Hotel, Covent Garden, and Mr Clark of Dorset. They were shortly afterwards joined by Mr Tinker of Maidenhead. Some of the arguements seem to be about money owed for land purchased (not necessarily at Marlow). John Black was taken to Chancery by the other directors who accused him of paying into his own bank account the takings of the Picture Palace instead of placing them into the business account. They also claimed he had taken away the Picture Palace Company books, accounts and paperwork and refused to hand them back. John did not appear at this hearing so we don't hear his defence. It seems he may have been witholding what money he considered rightly or wrongly to be owed to him. He was ordered to return the cash and all the paperwork. John subsequently took out an injunction to prevent two new directors acting in this role. The disputes seem to rumble on but as the company continued, they were presumably able to make some practical arrangements in terms of funding. They certainly took out more than one mortgage on the Picture Palace, including two within 6 months of each other.
Whatever problems there were behind the scenes, the Picture Palace was a big success. Poor Mr Lacey could not compete with the more spacious purpose built cinema with the facilities to screen the latest films, and so in November 1913 we find him offering his complete Bioscope and other film showing equipment up for sale. This does not mean the Picture Palace was luxurious. The first screen was apparently painted onto a wall.
Just how many film goers could squeeze into the Marlow Picture Palace is uncertain. Before the cinema opened, the film trade press said that it would cater for 500 or 550 patrons. In June 1914, the directors announced a plan to double the size of the venue with rear extensions. They aimed to cater for 1000 film goers and have room for a newly erected "stage capable of being used for dramatic plays and musical comedy". This seems an awful lot of people to fit in, considering that by the time the cinema was converted to being capable of showing "talkies" (by 1930) it was said consistently to have seating for 324 persons. The Picture Palace did offer boxes as well as bench style seating, the latter of which probably did allow for quite a few people to fit in a small space. In 1916 the manager stated in a letter to a trade newspaper that he could accommodate 500 persons. Ticket prices started at 3d in 1921. Sometimes someone sponsored a free showing for children - for example John Langley of Bridge House paid for 374 children to attend the Picture Palace as a treat in November 1914.
The Marlow Picture Palace became the King George Cinema in 1926, after closing for a few weeks for modernisation works. (These included a new screen and "proper" seating. The first film screened under the new name was Rudolph Valentino's The Sheikh.) It was fitted out for showing "talkies" by September 1930, at one time the smallest cinema in the world to be capable of screening such films, according to the manager H F Bailey. Western Electric did the honours and it seems the investment paid off as the picture house was said to be full to capacity, including people standing. Standing room gets mentioned several times in fact.
During the First World War
During the First World War, Manager W J Deller (Dellar) was working 18 hour days. In 1916, he opened the cinema from 6-10pm Mondays - Saturdays and earlier for the Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Then from 11pm - 6am he was engaged in war work at a local munitions depot, also working there for 12 hours on a Sunday when the cinema was closed. He was keen to show that cinema staff were not shirkers in the war effort. (In the same year they advertised for a pianist to work a 30 hour week.) In October 1914, all the takings from the Friday screenings one week were donated to the Marlow War Relief Fund. Deller's days had got longer since the outbreak of war as he had struggled to find staff who were not required for military service. His staff in 1916 consisted of just 3 - a "pianiste", cashier, and a lad. Among the tasks he had taken on were bill posting (sticking up the film advertisements and show time posters) and maintaining the gas engine.
Marlow on screen
Marlow also saw the arrival of the occasional silent picture film crew, as well as visits by those involved in the "kinematograph trade" who made several river outings to Marlow as a group. Intended as a pleasure trip, the "antics" of the group were also filmed by one of those attending. How lovely it would be if this footage (from 1911- 1920's) had survived. Some of the films shot partially in Marlow include "Sorrel and Son" 1927 (river scenes and a wedding at the Compleat Angler) and in 1921 "The Experiment" for Sinclair Hill (more river scenes).
Afterwards
This blog deals with the period pre 1920's but I'll just give a quick mention of the Cinema's life after this point so you can seek for more information if the later periods are more interesting to you. The County Cinema opened on a new site in Station Road in January 1938. It was originally planned to partly demolish and rebuild the old Cinema in Spittal Street but the size of that site obviously limited the improvements they could make so in the end this project was abandoned in favour of a new location, with the old building remaining in place for other uses. The style of the cinema was supposed to be Georgian to make it in keeping with the surrounding buildings (Architect David E Nye, builder Lovells of Marlow). At the time it was regarded as "beautiful" at least by the actress Edith Stamp Taylor who declared it open and others describing their first impressions. Nowadays the buildings are looked back on as not the most attractive and both they and the Spittal Street cinema have been demolished.
Horace Lacey and co in the day job as "van proprietor" and "cartage agent" 1905 Station Road.
The Public Hall, St Peters Street as it then was known, now the Masonic Centre and site of Marlow film screenings before the Picture Palace opened.
NOTE
The Music hosted an animated picture show or cinematographe exhibition in 1897, organised by the Marlow Institute. "The wonder of the age!" Admission 6d, 1s or 6d, half price for Institute members who could also stand for free at the back of the hall, space permitting.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
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©Marlow Ancestors
Sources.
The Kinematograph Annual Yearbook 1937 & 1939 (Kinematograph Publications 1937/1939)
The Bioscope 3 July 1913, 18 December 1913, March-June 1914, 12 November 1930.
South Bucks Standard 14 November 1912, 30 January 1913. British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA.
Bucks Herald 15 March 1913. As above.
Kinematograph Weekly, 18 December 1913. 27 January 1916. Thanks to Marcus Endwright for access to these.
Marlow Guide 1905
Kelly's Post Office Directory 1911, 1915, 1939.
Carter, Huntley. The New Spirit in the Cinema: An Analysis and interpretation of the Parallel Paths of the Cinema. (H Shaylor 1930)
Tapsell, Martin. Memories of Buckinghamshire Picture Palaces. (Mercian Cinema Society, 1984)