January 1966 - A Jolly Holiday with Mary

Cinema exhibition in 1966 was very different from 2026. Smoking, for example, was permitted in cinemas and, judging from the amount of money spent on cigarette ads, actively encouraged. Eating was not, apart from the odd sweetie wrapper from Birrell’s which seemed to have a branch only yards from each cinema. If memory serves Birrell’s had a shop just round the corner from the Princes.

Programmes were continuous from about two in the afternoon until ten-thirtyish at night. You came in when it suited you – ideally during the ‘wee picture’ – sat through the support and the main feature – the ‘big picture’ – and left at the point you’d come in. My generation were experts at fractured narrative before Quentin was a twinkle in Mr. Tarantino’s eye.

Films opened on a Monday, except for the London West End elite venues, which launched on weekends. Monday openings stem from the cine-variety days when a new bill was unveiled at the start of the week. By the mid-Sixties most films were booked for a week although there was still the occasional Monday – Wednesday/Thursday – Saturday change. Even so, there was still a difference between a cinema manager knowing he was due to book a film for a week, and which particular week he would book it. This is because of the way films were distributed.

Now, we are used to a relative handful of films being sent digitally, in their complete form, to tens of thousands of cinemas every week. In the sixties, every film had its own physical print comprising ten to 12 reels, plus another seven or eight for the supporting programme. These had to be sent, often on a daily basis, involving supply depots, fleets of trucks, and physical labour at both ends of the chain.

It was a top down pyramid. Films were released in the elite West End cinemas, then major London theatres, followed by other London and regional first run theatres, followed by second run halls prior to general release at the proverbial cinema near you.

It was impossible to say how long this would take. In London and the regional first run halls such as the Odeon, the Gaumont, and the Regal/ABC in Glasgow films were often booked ‘for a season’ i.e. until demand had been reached. Also there were barring clauses in the contract preventing the film being booked anywhere else locally.

Indefinite booking, barring and blocking, and general supply chain shortages caused frustration for cinema owners and cinema goers. As an example The Sound of Music (1965) played for three years at the Gaumont and Paint Your Wagon (1969) was at the ABC2 for more than a year. In addition, an industry study revealed that films screening in the north of England could be up to two years older than those in the south east.

All of this created gaps in the system which had to be filled by re-releasing popular films or by enterprising bookers putting together eye-catching double bills like Tom Thumb (1958) and The Wizard of Oz (1939), a popular booking in Glasgow.

It was with a re-release of Mary Poppins (U) that the Princes began its cinematic year on Monday, January 3, 1965. I didn’t see it that week because I had seen it the previous year but it remains one of the great cinematic memories of my life. The mix of live-action and animation made my jaw drop, and thanks to Jane Darwell as The Bird Lady I cried at the cinema for the first time, but not the last.

Operation Crossbow (A), the following week was my first visit to the cinema that year. What a film this was for a 9-year-old raised on Hotspur and Victor comics with heroes like Battler Britton and Braddock of the RAF. Nobody told me they had fired rockets and missiles against us. I was gripped and remain so to the point that I will cheerfully watch it whenever it pops up on the schedule.

I remember so much about this film. George Peppard was new to me but made a ruthless leading man, Sophia Loren I remembered from El Cid (1963), and the poignant heroism of Tom Courtenay stayed with me for a long time.

And there were sweets and comics too! Dad was a postman and did a lot of overtime at Xmas so he was feeling flush which meant a visit to Alec Thomson’s bookshop and a rummage through the DC pile. A genuine ‘A’ class memory by Kuhn’s standard.

After family fare at Xmas, cinemas liked to make a strong start to the New Year which explains why they followed Operation Crossbow with a one-week run of Cleopatra (U), which was a bit old for me. I can’t imagine they did well with it, since at 243 minutes long, they would only get two shows a day.

The Princes’ theoretical strong start continued on January 24 with a Man from UNCLE film The Helicopter Spies (U), twinned with Son of a Gunfighter (U) starring Russ Tamblyn. Dad didn’t have many red lines but the TV spy show was one of them so, the listings tell me, that was the week I went to the ABC George at Charing Cross for the first time to see The Sons of Katie Elder (U).

I thought it was great, still do. Already a big John Wayne fan, the addition of Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, and Michael Anderson Jr. did no harm. I remember a cracking punch-up which may be the only fight started by grammar when Holliman takes exception to Anderson boasting that he ‘clumb’ (sic) Pike’s Peak.

Back in Springburn the month ended with The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (X) which was officially too old for me so my Saturday was probably spent with Doctor Who.