Last Reel at the Royalty

The Royalty cinema, Gosforth,
Newcastle upon Tyne

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A preview version of the film is now available on DVD. You can post your memories of the Royalty. Also check out the news page.

The Royalty cinema closed on 30th December 1981 - almost thirty years ago.

Now you can meet some of the staff and visit the cinema during its final days, in a brand-new version of the video documentary Last Reel at the Royalty.

Watch the full video (free)

The video runs for 27 minutes. It is split into four parts here. You will need broadband to view it.

Part 1: introduction		Part 3: in the projection room
	Introduction and brief history. The doors open and manageress Henrietta Eastlake explains why the cinema is closing.		The final film begins. Projectionist John Tessa talks about 52 years working in cinemas and theatres. Mabel in the ticket office.
Part 2: meet the staff		Part 4: customers
	Meet the staff. Cashier Mabel Chappelhowe recalls 25 years of working at the Royalty. The interval (time for a hot-dog!).		The film comes to an end and some of the customers give their views. What happened to the Royalty next?

About the video & DVD

The original VHS master footage was transferred to a digital video format. For the first time it could be edited without any loss of quality. Professional tools were used to clean up and colour correct the shots and mix the sound. The film has never looked better and includes some shots that haven't been seen before.

You can watch online free right now. If you would like a copy that you can view on TV and keep, a DVD with many extras will be available in 2011 for the 30th anniversary of the closure.

But if you don't want to wait until then, a preview version which includes the film only is available to buy for £10 right now.

In context

The beginning of the 1980's was a bleak time for Britain's cinemas and its film industry.

Cinema admissions had been in decline for a couple of decades (eventually they hit an all-time low in 1984) and the oil crisis of the 1970's had pushed up running costs. The home video-recorder was big news and no one knew what impact it would have on cinemas in the future.

In 1981, the British film industry made only 24 movies -- the lowest figure since 1914 and one quarter of the number that had been made just two years earlier.

So, it was against this background that many cinemas like the Royalty pondered their future and looked for possible alternatives.

Other websites

Cinema World - a gallery of 433 images of cinemas on the photo-sharing site Flickr.

Kencta's Photos - more than 700 photos of cinemas around the world on the photo-sharing site Flickr.

The Smallest Show On Earth - watch the classic film for free online or download. Bill Travers and Virgina McKenna inherit an old cinema -- The Bijou. Also starring Margaret Rutherford and Peter Sellers. It seems that this film is in the public domain in the USA. So freely available there.

The Jesmond Picture House in 1981. In later years it was known as the Jesmond Cinema

The much-loved Jesmond Picture House was demolished in Autumn 2009

It opened during the era of 'silent' films in 1921 and was still doing good business during the 1970's and 1980's. This was due to the large student population in the area and the West Jesmond Metro station being right on the cinema's doorstep.

Few alterations were made to the Jesmond Picture House over the years, other than the conversion to sound and then later Cinemascope. In 1981 the entrance still had a 1920's feel to it.

But a new multiplex sealed its fate. It closed in 1993 and was left to deteriorate until part of the roof fell in and it became home to pigeons rather than pictures.

Another victim of our failure to value and protect these wonderful buildings (there is only one grade 1 listed cinema in the whole of England). With the destruction of the Picture House, Jesmond has lost a little bit of its history and character.

The photos above show the Picture House in happier days, back in spring 1981,when it was screening Airplane and Foul Play, with Stir Crazy advertised for the following week.