Old Sheffield Picture Palaces

[Nigel Womersle]

No one has mentioned the "Ranch House " on Union st,so called because they allways had Cowboy films They used to say "dont sit too near the front or you will get covered in dust" The Norfolk palace was in Duke st then there was the Picture at the bottom of South St How about the DON picture palace on West Bar, the "SCALA onthe end of Winter St,The "REX" at iIntake .How about the "UNION PALACE"on UnionST FOUNSANS of em ?? Milted

 

 

Hiya Ted

 

The cinema on South Street was The Park Cinema, really just where the park roundabout is now.

[sweetdexter]

I think it was the Roscoe that had the low balcony.

The DON by the way was situated on WEST Bar in the building that now appears to store files and documents. Just before you get to the roundabout at the top of Corporation St

 

 

It seems I have the correct Cinema but in the wrong location.

Being absent 40 years makes it difficult to envisage how things were

[willybite]

old cinemas 1940/60s

 

star cinema ecclesall rd

greystones ecclesall rd

abbeydale abbeydale rd

heeley coliseum heeley bottom

heeley palace chesterfield rd

heeley green gleadless rd

woodseats palace chesterfield rd

chantrey woodseats chesterfield rd

carleton arborthorne

park palace south street

norfolk duke street

manor

rex intake

news theatre fitzallen square

wicker

adelphi attercliffe

globe attercliffe

darnall cinema

lyric main rd darnall

balfour main rd darnall

plaza hansworth

forum

hillsborough cinema

hillsborough kinema

hillsborough pheonix

hillsborough park cinema

sunbeam barsley rd

coliseum spital hill

victory upwell st

crookes palace

walkley paladium south rd

scala brookhill

weston st philips rd

don west bar

roscoe infirmary rd

roxy page hall

oxford oxford st

globe attercliffe

cinema house barkers pool

gaumont barkers pool

hippodrome cambridge st

palace union st

essoldo lane top

ritz parsons cross

Edited May 3, 2009 by willybite

[Bushbaby]

Saturday morning cinema was the highlight of the week. Every week we would set off, along with loads of other kids, for a weekly dose of cartoons, films, and action packed serials, at the “Ritz” cinema on Wordsworth.

This lovely Art-Deco (ish) building normally showed two films a week (‘A’ and ‘B’ features). On any given evening, the films were constantly played on loop, so you could come in half way through, and sit there until it played around to the same point, at which you left. Sounds daft now, but that’s what happened. Most grown-ups would sensibly time there arrival to coincide with the start of the programme, ‘B’ feature first, then ‘A’, but as kids we just turned up whenever. If it was a good film, you could watch it one-and-a-half times.

Saturday mornings though, were adult free zones. The “Flicks” would be packed to the rafters with screaming kids ready for their weekly dose. The formats varied a little, but were usually something like:

A Warner Brothers Cartoon.

A public Information Film.

A comedy short (Three Stooges, Alfalfa, that kind of thing)

A short break (Birthday dedications, yo-yo competitions)

A CFF film (Usually starring Michael Crawford, Sally Thomsett or Keith Chegwin)

A final cartoon.

Then (Da-DaaaH!!) The Serial

 

The Serial was very much a boy’s thing. The most famous example was “Flash Gordon” but there were lots of others – Captain Video and Captain Marvel are two that spring.

The format was similar in each case. A futuristsic Sci-Fi set up, with a mature hero (in his thirties?) and an immature sidekick (seemed about twelve but was probably 17), a glamorous leading lady who didn’t get to say or do much, and of course, a Baddie.

The Baddie had to be an ugly alien (often with oriental features I recall) and plans to conquer the universe. The hero and his teenage companion would naturally try to prevent this, in seven 30 minute episodes, each of which had a real cliffhanger ending, just to make sure you came back next week.

 

“Bushy, As tha brung thi yoyo?”

“Ahr I ‘ave. I’ve nicked ar John’s – it’s a luny 99”

I proudly displayed the black shiny yo-yo for all to see, and mimicked it moving majestically up and down at my command before dropping it and chasing it under a privet hedge.

“E’ll kill thee if ‘e finds art – I saw ‘im a bit back artside Baldwins”

“OO worree wee, worree wee izsen?”

“Nayew, ‘e wor talkin’ to BeeBee an Barbra”

“Yor John likes lasses dunnee?” This from Senna, who spoke little but was profound when he did

“Norraif ‘e dunt”

He was also the local yo-yo champ, and his Black Lunar 99 was a prize possession. I was skating on thin ice, but figured that this skill must be in the genes, and that I therefore, would soon be a yo-yo master.

It isn’t and I wasn’t.

On the way down we constanly flicked small stones at each other, played “tiggy”, fenced with imaginary swords, and generally acted out the most recent episode of Robin Hood/William Tell/Fireball XL5 (perm any one from three). To break the monotony of the long walk we walked up one side of Wordsworth Cres and down the other. I was looking out for Sharon who lived on the Crescent, and who had recently left our school to go Southey, but I didn’t see her.

As we got to the “Buggut” (Bug Hut) the doors were still closed (“Wriggo, I thought tha said wid be late??) and there was about 4 thousand kids (ok, 80 kids, but it seemed a lot more at the time) waiting to get in

“Eh up Bushy!!”

It was Richard from school. He lived on Launce Rd

“Eh up Richard. Are thy on thi own?”

“Nayew, I’m wi ar Veronica”

“Tha ca knockabart wi us if tha wants”

“O-reight! See yer Vron” We were now a foursome

We made our way down to the front of the auditorium, picking out 4 seats together in the third row. As kids, sitting at the front was the best. A hierarchy which was reversed when you became a teenager.

“Duz tha wanna poppet?” Sitting with Richard payed dividends

For the next ten minutes we jumped over seatbacks, shouted at friends in the balcony, pulled girls’ hair, whistled very loud, and made nuisances of ourselves until……the lights went down

 

“Wahoooo, Yeaahhhh, Hooraayyyy” The chorus was deafening, then – ‘The Warner Brothers’ Theme’

“Da-da-dat dat-da-da-da-da da-dat-dat-daaaa….“ And we were off on a magical journey. Captured by the allure of the big screen and all its magic.

The film that day was “Go-Kart-GO” starring Dennis Waterman, about a kid with a go-Kart (surprisingly) who overcomes many obstacles to become the local champion. Maybe a touch formulaic.

When I got home I was gonna make a trolley (as we called them) and nothing would stop me becoming the local champion, except maybe the fact that we didn’t have a local championship.

As we ran out at the end, we leapt, dived, fenced, Bow’n’arrowed, flew, lazered and copied every other piece of action we’d seen on the screen that morning. I drove up Wordsworth in a pretend trolley, swerving to avoid obstacles and expertly adjusting my crash helmet and goggles. The bollards outside the doctors became a chicane, and I spent my last penny on a cane which would be my sword.

“Mam, it wor great.This kid ‘ad this trolley, an thi wor these burglers, an ‘e found the di-monds but ‘is trolley got smashed up, but it warn’t a trolley, it wor a Go-Kart…”

Mum did me a cup of tea and listened intently as I poured out the morning’s itinerary, in-between slurps, running the whole gamut from Elmer Fudd through to “Satan’s Sattelites” and asking the occasional pointed question (“Isn't that the boy who plays William on the TV?”) to show she was paying attention.

Afterwards we met up on the field and re-enacted as many battles as we could remember, but memory is fickle, and we were soon back to being the TV heroes of the day. I was Mike Mercury. Senna was Steve Zodiac. Kenny was Troy Tempest and Wriggo was Torchy.

[sharrovian]

Hello Bluebird 62, the Hippodrome was further down Cambridge St. and below Wellington St., there was Nell's Bar and then the Hippodrome.

[Texas]

An impressive list willybite, but where is the Coliseum, Spital Hill? I remember the list of cinemas over the front page of the 'Star', and what they were showing, back in the '40's. The 'Weston' was never listed, don't know why. And the 'Victory' on Upwell Street, I'd forgotten about that one.

[hillsbro]

I was at the Hippodrome on its last night, 2 March 1963. Rather appropriately, they showed "Gone With the Wind". There were some people in the audience who had been there when it opened as a music hall in 1907. At the end of the film, everyone joined in a rendering of Auld Lang Syne before leaving.

 

Willybite’s long list brought back some happy memories. One picture palace not listed there that I remember was the Unity, on Langsett Road just below the junction with Wood Street - you went in at the front and left at the side into Gertrude Street. The whole area is now more-or-less in the Mecca Bingo car park.

[shanes teeth]

An old guy at work used to tell us about a cinema called the Ranch House.I don't know if this was a nickname,as apparently they only used to show westerns.He said they used to have a row of "horses" with saddles for kids to sit on w

hile they watched the film.Can anyone shed any light on this?

I've just noticed #103 which mentions part of this (oops!) That'll teach me not to read the whole thread!

Edited March 22, 2009 by shanes teeth

[Gravydownshi]

I remember when I was about 9 or 10 going to the Forum, Shirecliffe.

I lived on Deerlands Avenue and made my way there on foot and had to ask someone(an adult) if the would "take me in" because the film was an "A". In those days we would just stand outside asking this of anyone entering. These days it would be a risky practice.

Once inside, after an appropriate amount of time, I would leave my benefactors and go and sit somewhere else.

I remember the film was called "Naked as Nature Intended" which I figured would be well worth the 3 mile walk. It was all about nudists but I was a bit miffed because they kept walking behind walls and branches so I really didn't see anything.

I think there was an Edgar Wallace Mystery on with it as a "b" movie.

In those days you could stay in the cinema as lon as you liked and watch the main film over again.

Hence the saying "this is where I came in"

[BLITZER]

I can remember before the war,going with my school class (Sharrow Lane)to the Abbeydale cinema to see a 3d film. We were issued with special glasses to view the film. All those years ago,and they still have'nt produced 3d films as a norm. The Regent cinema in Barkers pool,was,in those days,the premier cinema in town,with an organ,that rose up from the depths and popular tunes of the time were played by the organist. The words of the songs were displayed on the screen,and a moving ping pong type ball lit apon the words as the song played out. Great value for money in those long gone days. A travelogue film,cartoon,Maybe the 3 Stooges,newsreel,B film,and then the main feature film. All for 1/3d (6p) For new popular films (Gone with the wind) type,huge queues would form outside,and people would wait ages to get in. How times change.