PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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PLYMOUTH CINEMAS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
THE WAR CLOUDS GATHER The curtain was about to go up on something far more spectacular, far more horrendous, than anything Hollywood could produce. War clouds were gathering over Europe. The last year of peace had opened with Plymothians being entertained in 12 cinemas, discounting the Tivoli which had apparently closed, and 2 theatres. At Mutley was the Belgrave and in Saint Levan Road was the Ford Palladium while the central area was covered by the Cinedrome and Palladium in Ebrington Street, the Criterion in Cornwall Street, plus the Grand, the Gaumont Palace, the Plaza, the Regent, the Savoy, the Empire and the newly built Royal. In Devonport there were the Electric, the Hippodrome and of course the Tivoli was about to be replaced by the Forum. Of the theatres in the area, the main ones were the Palace in Union Street and the Alhambra in Devonport, which had by now reverted to variety shows. Meanwhile events were gathering momentum. On April 27th conscription had been introduced. On July 10th Prime Minister Chamberlain reaffirmed the British pledge to defend Poland. Then on August 31st the British fleet was mobilised. The following day Germany invaded Poland and Britain's land and air forces were mobilised and on September 2nd compulsory military service was introduced for men between 18 and 41 years of age. 'WE ARE AT WAR!' At 11am on Sunday September 3rd 1939 came the announcement that Britain had declared war on Germany. There was a Special Edition of the Western Evening Herald that day. Perhaps surprisingly in the circumstances, it contained the cinema adverts as usual, alongside one for 'Curtains for Screening Windows dyed regulation shades as required by ARP'. The Gaumont was offering Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim in "Inspector Hornleigh" supported by Jane Withers as "Miss Fix It". Just down the road, the Savoy was showing Syd Walker and Ben Lyon in "Killed the Count" and Robert Livingston and June Travis in "The Night Hawk". Alongside Bonita Granville as "Nancy Drew, Reporter", the Royal was showing 'A Miracle of Entertainment' of local interest, "Jamaica Inn". Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it starred Charles Laughton along with Emlyn Williams, Robert Newton and Leslie Banks and was responsible for introducing Maureen O'Hara to the screen.
The Regent
along with the Hippodrome at Devonport were showing "Idiot's Delight" starring
Norma Shearer, Clark Gable and Edward Arnold. It was supported by "Magnificent
Outcast" with James Ellison, Helen Wood and 'Ace' the Wonder Dog. At the
Plaza
the main feature was "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" while Jane Withers starred
alongside Arthur Treacher in the supporting "Always in Trouble" Excellent value was provided by the Palladium where the programme comprised Episode 2 of "The Oregon Trail" (only 13 more episodes to go), "Everybody's Baby" with the Jones family, followed by Shirley Temple in "The Little Princess". Further along Ebrington Street, the Cinedrome was showing Gary Cooper, Richard Cromwell and Franchot Tone in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" and Maureen O'Sullivan in "Spring Madness". In Devonport, the Electric was advertising "Sword of Honour" (Geoffrey Toone and Sally Gray) and Dorothy Lamour and Lloyd Nolan in "St Louis Blues" while 'Devonport's New Luxury Theatre', the Forum, offered "Wings of the Navy" (George Brent & Olivia de Havilland) supported by "Torchy Gets her Man" starring Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane, girl reporter. WAR-TIME DESTRUCTION On Thursday March 20th 1941 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the City. After touring the damage so far done, they went to Elliot Terrace to take tea with Lord and Lady Astor. While they were doing so there was an air raid alert but no enemy plane was sighted so no special significance was attached to it. Unfortunately it was the prelude to two nights of sheer hell. The King and Queen left Plymouth at around 5.45pm. At 8.39pm the alert was sounded and two minutes later the first enemy planes arrived over the City. First came the incendiary bombs, then the flares to light the way. They were followed by wave after wave of heavy bombers. The heart was being torn out of Plymouth. The following night the horror was repeated and those areas of the city centre not destroyed the previous night were likewise laid to ruin. Also damaged or destroyed during these two nights in 1941 were the Cinedrome and Palladium in Ebrington Street, the old Criterion building in Cornwall Street (although it was not demolished until January 1945), the Empire Electric in Union Street and the Grand Theatre in East Stonehouse which was being used as a cinema at the time. The Savoy in Union Street also perished. Only the newer buildings survived, the ABC Royal, the Plaza, the Gaumont and the Odeon. That the Palace Theatre was not destroyed was a miracle. Devonport's turn came on April 23rd 1941. Between 9.30pm and 3.30 the following morning death and destruction once again rained from the heavens. Luckily, Plymouth had decided that places of entertainment should be closed at 8.30pm otherwise the death toll would have been horrendous. As it was, the Alhambra in Tavistock Street, the Electric and the old Tivoli building in Fore Street and the Hippodrome in Princes Street all disappeared and the Forum was badly damaged. Surprisingly, the Hippodrome's cinema licence was renewed in the June. Even those cinemas that had survived remained shut for some time after the Blitz. The Odeon, for instance, did not reopen until Monday May 5th when the film "Men Against the Sky" was shown only between Noon and 8pm. The Gaumont also reopened on that day showing "The Son of Monte Cristo" during the same hours while the ABC Royal was showing "Down Argentina Way". The Ford Palladium reopened on the following Thursday. Wartime brought extra duties for Mr Maurice Leacey, Chief Projectionist at the Gaumont Palace. On several occasions he had to contend with incendiary bombs and twice received letters of commendation from the directors. The first came after the raids of March 1941 and said that his action had 'undoubtedly saved the cinema from complete destruction' and the second, after the April raids, acknowledged his 'utmost courage and endurance in the terrible ordeal'. When the other Gaumont British cinema, the Savoy, was destroyed the uniformed staff were transferred to the Gaumont Palace. One of them was Mr Jack Spencer who was later to be put in charge of boiler maintenance. Later still in the War, on Friday May 26th 1944, General (later Field-Marshall) Sir Bernard Montgomery, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Invasion Army, used the Odeon Cinema as the venue for briefing his officers prior to the D-day landings of June 6th that year. By the end of the War the number of cinemas had been greatly reduced. In the centre were the ABC Royal and the Odeon (ex-Regent). Union Street had lost all but the Gaumont Palace. In Exeter Street was the Plaza and out at Mutley was the Belgrave. In Devonport only the Forum was back in business but filmgoers could travel to the Ford Palladium or the State at Saint Budeaux if they so wished. Sources:
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