The story of one house in Peckham over a century and a half, and of one family who lived there in the 1950s.*
You never quite forget that mix of noise and anticipation which was Saturday Morning Pictures.
It started when the manager asked if everyone was happy, continued into the competitions and lasted through most of the morning.
It is easy to over romanticise what was just another way the cinema chain could create more revenue while introducing a young audience to the magic of the big screen.
And once you were hooked you were hooked for life. The cycle might begin with Saturday Morning
Pictures but quickly moved on to the “date” on the back row and in the fullness of time to visits with your children to Disney and of course to Saturday mornings all over again this time dropping off and collecting a new generation of Saturday children.
But you can also be over cynical even given that what you saw was pretty dire.
I can’t say I ever enjoyed those stories of daring do by young children or the equally improbable tales of faithful dogs and intelligent dolphins saving the day.
I do remember a series which mixed the theme of Ancient Rome, alien invaders and a particularly nasty dictator.
On reflection it was probably shot on a back lot using B actors and involved lots of oddly dressed men riding on horseback across dusty plains.
You knew it was cheap because the plot didn’t follow a logical path and events often passed from bright daylight to late afternoon and back again in the course of one horse race.
All that said they were fun.
There were the cartoons and films, along with live events ranging from talent competitions and fancy dress to the appearance of a well known celebrity and it was always someone’s birthday which was met with a loud shout.
I am not sure whether it would still work today but from the 1940s into the 60s they were a way of life for many children with that added advantage that it freed up time for the adults.
In the 1950’s the average weekly attendance at children’s cinema matinees was over 1,016,000 with 1735 cinemas holding cinema matinees for children.
The ABC chain began a special club in the 1940s for their ABC Minors complete with badge and song and birthday cards.
We on the other hand went to the Gaumont which I am sure also had a song a badge and much more, the trouble is I just don’t remember.
Later when I was that tad bit older for reasons I can’t explain I ended up at the ABC Regal on the Old Kent Road sandwiched between Leo Street and Gervase Street.**
It had opened in 1937 as The Regal and was the largest of ABC’s London surburban cinemas, but was smaller than the Astoria nearby.
And it was there that I saw those epic sword and sandal films which seemed to always feature Steve Reeves with a clutch load of feeble plots but full of action and dignified young woman in classical dress.
Of course the cinema has gone as has the Astoria, and the Gaumont. The first was the Astoria which closed in 1968 followed by the ABC and the Gaumont.
By then my Saturday Morning Cinema days were over. But within a few years I was back this time as a dad fulfilling that cycle of the cinema goer but in the meantime the grand palaces of make believe had given over to the functional but ugly multi complex and somewhere along the way a little of the old magic was lost.
And for those who want to judge for themselves, just follow the link to what you could have enjoyed.***
Pictures, ABC Minors Badge, ABC Minors children’s cinema postcard Happy Birthday, 1948, BD084660, University of Essex, http://collections.ex.ac.uk/repository/handle/10472/3222?show=full and Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/video/abc-minors-matinee
*The story of one house in Lausanne Road, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20one%20house%20in%20Lausanne%20Road
**ABC Old Kent Road, Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/31124#
*** Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/video/abc-minors-matinee
 |
| Saturday Morning Badge |
It started when the manager asked if everyone was happy, continued into the competitions and lasted through most of the morning.
It is easy to over romanticise what was just another way the cinema chain could create more revenue while introducing a young audience to the magic of the big screen.
And once you were hooked you were hooked for life. The cycle might begin with Saturday Morning
Pictures but quickly moved on to the “date” on the back row and in the fullness of time to visits with your children to Disney and of course to Saturday mornings all over again this time dropping off and collecting a new generation of Saturday children.
But you can also be over cynical even given that what you saw was pretty dire.
I can’t say I ever enjoyed those stories of daring do by young children or the equally improbable tales of faithful dogs and intelligent dolphins saving the day.
 |
| The Thunder Guard, from the Phantom Empire, 1935 |
On reflection it was probably shot on a back lot using B actors and involved lots of oddly dressed men riding on horseback across dusty plains.
You knew it was cheap because the plot didn’t follow a logical path and events often passed from bright daylight to late afternoon and back again in the course of one horse race.
All that said they were fun.
There were the cartoons and films, along with live events ranging from talent competitions and fancy dress to the appearance of a well known celebrity and it was always someone’s birthday which was met with a loud shout.
I am not sure whether it would still work today but from the 1940s into the 60s they were a way of life for many children with that added advantage that it freed up time for the adults.
In the 1950’s the average weekly attendance at children’s cinema matinees was over 1,016,000 with 1735 cinemas holding cinema matinees for children.
The ABC chain began a special club in the 1940s for their ABC Minors complete with badge and song and birthday cards.
We on the other hand went to the Gaumont which I am sure also had a song a badge and much more, the trouble is I just don’t remember.
 |
| ABC Minors happy Birthday |
It had opened in 1937 as The Regal and was the largest of ABC’s London surburban cinemas, but was smaller than the Astoria nearby.
And it was there that I saw those epic sword and sandal films which seemed to always feature Steve Reeves with a clutch load of feeble plots but full of action and dignified young woman in classical dress.
Of course the cinema has gone as has the Astoria, and the Gaumont. The first was the Astoria which closed in 1968 followed by the ABC and the Gaumont.
By then my Saturday Morning Cinema days were over. But within a few years I was back this time as a dad fulfilling that cycle of the cinema goer but in the meantime the grand palaces of make believe had given over to the functional but ugly multi complex and somewhere along the way a little of the old magic was lost.
And for those who want to judge for themselves, just follow the link to what you could have enjoyed.***
Pictures, ABC Minors Badge, ABC Minors children’s cinema postcard Happy Birthday, 1948, BD084660, University of Essex, http://collections.ex.ac.uk/repository/handle/10472/3222?show=full and Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/video/abc-minors-matinee
*The story of one house in Lausanne Road, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20one%20house%20in%20Lausanne%20Road
**ABC Old Kent Road, Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/31124#
*** Cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/video/abc-minors-matinee
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