April 1966 - He's got the Jack!

Believe it or not it will be 40 years next year since the opening of Scotland’s first multiplex, the 10-screen AMC at Clydebank. This would usher in a new era of multi-screen entertainment and turn cinemas into entertainment destinations. Or so we thought.

The last time I passed the place it was only open a few days a week and any crowds seemed to be bound for ASDA next door. The multiplex was supposed to increase customer choice; if there were more screens there would be more films. It didn’t work out that way. Instead of more films we ended up with fewer films playing on more screens each.                        

As an example, the multiplex near me is also a ten screener and last month it showed eight new films. By contrast the ABC Princes, the subject of this blog, screened thirteen new films on a single screen in April 1966. Not bad when it comes to consumer choice.

Obviously double features, which we looked at last month, helped. But there was another key factor, the midweek change of programme. Instead of the current method of films playing until the crack of doom, suburban cinemas frequently changed their offer mid-week, one programme played from Monday to Wednesday, then a fresh programme played Thursday to Saturday. The Princes in April 1966 is a model example.

The month begins on Monday, April 4 with a double bill of Ten Little Indians (A) and Captive City (A). The first was another remake of Agatha Christie’s classic thriller with American stars Hugh O’Brian and teen sensation Fabian, to add box office appeal. It also added a 60-second fright break before the end to give you the chance to guess the killer’s identity. The supporting film, also known as Conquered City, starred David Niven in a wartime drama as a spy trying to prevent a cache of weapons falling into enemy hands. Dad wasn’t a Christie fan so we gave it a swerve, fright break or not.

On Thursday,  April 7 the programme changed and brought one of the highlights of my cinematic childhood, Dr Who and the Daleks (U). I had been a fan since the first episode in 1963 but this was different, it was on the big screen, and it was in colour. Who knew there were red Daleks? Be still my foolish heart. Dad must have hated every minute of it, bless him. He may have derived some satisfaction from the support feature Coast of Skeletons (U), a diamond heist set in Africa starring Richard Todd and Dale Robertson but I doubt it. I don’t recall a single thing about it.

It’s hard for modern audiences to recall that as well as being the world’s biggest pop star, Elvis Presley was one of the world's biggest movie stars. He starred in a series of interchangeable roles in films so successful that one studio boss said they should just number them instead of titling them.

In fact his latest movie got two titles.  In the US it was known as Harum Scarum but in the rest of the English-speaking world – including Springburn – it was Harem Holiday (U). It played for a week at the Princes from April 11, supported by an Italian peplum movie The Spartan Gladiators (U).

From April 18 for three days we had The Glory Guys (U), a handsomely mounted cavalry movie which should have been meat and drink to Dad and me. Unfortunately it was paired with Hammer’s 1959 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (A), deemed too strong for my not yet ten-year-old sensibilities. Ironically I’ve been searching for The Glory Guys since I discovered it was written by Sam Peckinpah; I live in hope.

The week rounded off with a taste of what was to come in the shape of The Cincinnati Kid (A), a clear forerunner of the new Hollywood of the Seventies. Directed by Norman Jewison, written by Terry Southern, and edited by Hal Ashby it stars Steve McQueen in the title role as a hustling poker player ready to take on the main man, played by the great Edward G.Robinson. I was too young to appreciate it as a child but when I finally saw it a few years later it blew me away, especially the turn of a card ending.

The supporting feature was Quick, before it Melts (A) an unmemorable spy thriller set in Antarctica.

The month of April 1966 finishes with another split week. From April 25 there was the romantic thriller Do Not Disturb (A) starring Doris Day and Rod Taylor, teamed with a routine war film Up from the Beach (U).

The last film of the month was King Rat (A) from April 28. This powerful POW drama starred George Segal and with a running time of almost three hours there was no supporting feature.

So there you have it; one screen, four weeks, thirteen films including at least one classic. Did we really need multiplexes just to sell us snacks?