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The Clifton in Bilston Street which had been so accommodating
to the Savoy during the building of the super cinema was one of the
cinemas which was most affected by the emergence of the super cinemas.
It became increasingly difficult for the cinema to find economically
viable film programmes. As a result, the Clifton followed a very similar
pattern to another town centre flea pit, the Olympia, and began
showing Continental, X Rated, revivals and rejects. Some of the master
pieces of the French and Italian cinema were shown alongside very poor
quality B horror films. In February 1966 the Clifton showed its last
film programme with 'Curse of the Fly' starring
Brian Donlevy and 'Duel of the Space Monsters'
starring James Karen.
The premises were converted into a Bingo Hall within one month. It
remained as a Bingo venue for ten years until in 1978 the building was
declared unsafe. It was demolished in 1981 to make room for the Ring
Road. The site is currently part of the central reservation in front of
the town's new Police Station and will soon become part of the Midland
Metro line.
The Rex had opened in 1947 but by 1953 it was
up for sale and due to be auctioned in London. However, the reserve
price was not reached and the owner, Fred Leatham, continued to
operate the cinema until it closed again early in 1956. There was one
more effort to re-open on June 30th 1956, this time with the addition of
Cinemascope. The film chosen to show for this re-opening
was 'The Student Prince' starring
Edmund Purdom but the re-opening was relatively short lived and finally,
in December 1956, the cinema closed. The building was demolished as part
of the redevelopment of the Whitmore Reans area and the building of the
Avion Centre. This has meant that it is now very difficult, if
not impossible, for people to exactly locate the original site of the
Strand or West End or Park or Rex cinema!
The Odeon, Dunstall after its closure as a
cinema. |
The Dunstall had become part of the
Odeon circuit which, during the 1950's, was part of the Rank
Organisation. The executives of Rank had started a rationalisation
programme and it became increasingly clear that the future for some
of their smaller cinemas was not very bright. Both the Queen's and
Scala had been closed by Rank so it was not too surprising when it
was announced that the Odeon Dunstall was to close on November 5th
1960. The last two films shown at the Odeon Dunstall were
'Savage
lnnocents' starring Anthony Quinn and 'Dead
Lucky'. Thus, the history of the Dunstall or Odeon Dunstall
as a cinema came to a very tame end after just twenty six
years of operation. |
The Penn received more post war
investment than most of the local cinemas, especially from its principal
owner B.T. Davis, the Birmingham accountant. The auditorium of
the cinema was refurbished and new projectors were introduced (the Penn
was the first cinema in the country to install a Phillips sound system
and Phillips F.P.7 projectors). The cinema also had Cinemascope
installed and a new heating system. The patrons of the Penn were
extremely loyal and many of them saw the Penn as the one cinema which
provided them with the opportunity of seeing some of the most
outstanding of films, in a comfortable and relaxed environment (the Penn
was one of the first local cinemas to provide coffee or tea for its
patrons). The parking facilities at the cinema were exceptionally good.
Towards the end of the 60's rumours began to regularly
circulate that the Penn was about to close and local people organised a
pressure group to keep the Penn open! In March 1972 the group met and as
a result attendances showed an increase. However, there were already
moves afoot to sell and redevelop the site. In 1973 the redevelopment
plans were accepted and on March 24th 1973 the last film show took
place. The last film was 'Ooh, You Are Awful'
starring Dick Emery.
The site was redeveloped and
the MacMarket Supermarket was built. The supermarket was to
become International then Gateway, followed by Somerfield.
now a Co-Op.
| The Clifton at Fallings Park had
enjoyed quite a successful war but the 50's were in no way as
successful for the cinema with decreasing attendances and a failure
to capture the most popular of films. In 1959 the Clifton celebrated
its 21st Birthday with the showing of 'Carry on Teacher'
which had the additional feature of a personal appearance by
Charles Hawtry, one of the film's stars. |
The Clifton Cinema, Fallings Park. |
Two years after the celebrations the cinema
closed. The last film was 'Can Can' starring
Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine. The last show was on November 4th
1961. Shortly after the closure the building was demolished. A new
Fine Fare was built on the site. It is now a Somerfield
Supermarket.
The story of the local cinema's demise in
Wolverhampton was also reflected in the surrounding areas of Wednesfield
and Bilston.
The Clifton, Fallings Park, being demolished . |
The Ideal in Wednesfield
had managed to compete with its much larger neighbour, the Regal,
quite successfully during the years immediately after the war, but
as the 50's wore on the competition became that much more difficult.
In 1957 it would seem that the ideal ceased to effectively function
as a cinema. There were some attempts by its owner, William Severn,
to revive the cinema but the falling attendances and the vandalism
that the cinema suffered put an end to any revival. |
There were attempts to re-open the
premises as a dance hall but this also failed. The building still stands
and is now the Royal Carpets showroom.
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