Cinema (4)

The marvellous Art Deco front of the Regal Cinema, which replaced the neighbouring Picture House at 6 King Street.

Interviewer: Now then, how long did you stay at the Picture House?

Mr Brownlow: 19.. be about 1931 wouldn’t it? Yes, about 1931, then they went over to talkies. ’30 to ‘31.

Interviewer: So, can you remember what the first talkie film was?

Mr Brownlow: It was either, I can’t remember, it was one of two, it was either The Jazz Singer or The Singing Fool, I can’t remember which. I remember quite well I went the first night to see it as a member of the audience. In those days it wasn’t sound on film, it was sound on disc. It was very unsatisfactory, it didn’t last very long that idea didn’t, because if the film happened to break and you mended it again, you see, which they had to do, it was out of focus with the disc so there’d be mouths going and nothing coming out, all that sort of thing, you see. That’s what happened in the first instance. Then they went onto sound on film, well that was okay, that worked alright.

Interviewer: When people first saw the sound film, the sound on disc film, what was their response to it?

Mr Brownlow: Oh it’ll never last! No, it’ll never last, no, people won’t have this! And then really people did think, you know, it wouldn’t last but of course it did, and lasted jolly well too.

Interviewer: The Picture House had to be rewired or wired up I suppose?

Mr Brownlow: Oh yes, quite a big job, went on for months that did, before we actually went on to the talkies. ‘Cos I knew then that my time was limited, naturally. A lot of my friends, people in the same business, had already lost their jobs you see.

Interviewer: You perceived it as a threat, the coming of the talkies?

Mr Brownlow: Oh absolutely yes, we knew it had got to come.

Interviewer: So there we are, Al Jolson’s put you out of a job at the Picture House – what a swine he was!

©EMOHA