Personal testimonies
Introduction
Extracts from Screen Dreams' Interviews
"It started off with us at our age with the Mickey Mouse clubs on Saturday mornings that started it all. That was in the 30s. Most of the cinemas did it. The ODEONs more than anything. Threepence to get in and you'd get a bag of sweets for a penny, and an orange to go in with. We saw serials – Tom Mix, mainly cowboys, and Flash Gordon."
Cinemas as early as the 1920s and 30s created children's clubs that operated on Saturday mornings or afternoons. They were extremely popular with children queuing around the corners of cinemas all across the country. A children's club was more than a chance to see a film. It was a place to meet friends. There were songs and competitions, often run by the cinema manager with prizes and special treats. Sometimes even some of the film stars visited the children's clubs, perhaps most famously in England John Wayne, hero of the westerns, came to Acton in West London and autographed a Stetson hat for the Club Members of the Year.
You can find out more information on early children's cinema going from All Pals Together, The Story of Children's Cinema, written by Terry Staples (1997).
All quotes here are taken from the research interviews carried out in preparation for the Screen Dreams: Cinema-going in South East London 1920-60 exhibition curated by bfi Education and Age Exchange and held at the Age Exchange Reminiscence Centre during September-December 2003. Around 25 interviews have so far been conducted, mainly but not exclusively in the London area, for the Screen Dreams project. The result is a wealth of experiences and memories that hold valuable information about how cinema-going has changed since the 1920s. They tell us about local cinemas in South East London, many of which no longer exist, provide a glimpse into the memories of people who enjoyed those cinemas, the best-remembered and favourite stars and films dating back to the silent era. They reflect similar experiences across the uk.
bfi Education would be interested to receive personal memories and testimonies from across the UK that could feed into the Screen Dreams project. For further information or to donate memories, email Screen dreams.
