Odeon Theatre Dalston

About fifteen years ago I came across a batch of old cinema programmes in a now-gone junk shop on the Brecknock Road in London N7. Among the treasures was this one - a 16 pager for the Dalston Odeon dating from August 1939, just a few months after it had opened to the public.

This cinema was set back off the Kingsland Road, on the junction of Tottenham and Stamford Roads, on the other side of the road from Saturday's street market (for more on the Kingsland Waste market - and with another old film spin - please see my post in May 2013: Vaudeville). 

The 18.5 x 24.5 cms sized programme is entirely printed in brown on white, with a lavish collection of photos and illustrations highlighting future presentations, plus there are seven advertisements for local businesses.

the illustration on the cover is NOT the Dalston Odeon (it's actually the flagship Odeon in Leicester Square)

This WAS the Dalston Odeon

It could pack in some 2,000 people on a busy night, and in the programme notes the cinema proudly boasted "a spacious Car Park adjoining the theatre" which was free to its patrons, Deaf Aids "for those patrons whose hearing is impaired" (again free of charge), and continuous performances everyday from 1.45pm (5.30pm on Sundays).

cinema viewing in August 1939, the last month of peace before the outbreak of WW2

"we shall be pleased to mail you a copy of this programme each month upon receipt of your name and address at the Box Office"

The Dalston Odeon screened 40 years worth of films until closing down in 1979. It was demolished five years later - making space for flats.

The building and this business, whose full-page advert appeared on the inside cover of the programme, are now both long gone too

Vaudeville

AKA 'Variety', 'Jealousy'.

Many years ago, during my frequent Saturday morning rummaging sessions at the 'Kingsland Waste' market, in Dalston, East London,  I often came across good stuff, and usually for a pretty fair deal too. The market makes use of the wide width of pavement between shopfronts and a busy road, and it stretches for about twenty stalls in length - mostly specializing in old tools and hardware, pots and pans, and several tables of house clearance items.

On one particular visit to Kingsland Waste, I spotted this four page advertising flyer for a 1925 German film in a trodden-on condition, languishing in the road by the kerb. It had obviously flown off the house clearance table and when I showed it to the stall holder, he just said "keep it mate". I have done just that for over twenty years now.

I've never seen 'Vaudeville'. This is the title the film was given for its UK release in 1926. The original German title is 'Variety', and in other countries the film is also known as 'Jealousy'. The flyer is 12 cms x 18 cms and a four-pager - basically one sheet folded in half.

What makes this piece so special - and perhaps almost unique - is that it's an advertising flyer for The 'Super Cinema' in Ilford, that had once been standing just seven or so miles north east from where I'd discovered it. The Super had opened in 1922, and judging by the photo below, it certainly looked the part.

But it would only be in business for just twenty three years. In early February 1945, a few months before the end of WW2, the cinema was partially destroyed by a V2 rocket. According to testimonies sent in to the BBC many decades later:

"fourteen people were killed, including two usherettes at the cinema, seven who worked at the clothing factory opposite the cinema, one NFS fireman, and four local residents."

"the bombed-out ruins of the Super Cinema was both a brilliant and a dangerous place for us schoolkids to play in, until it got knocked down at the end of the 1950s"

Today on the site of the Super Cinema, there's a chain store that sells household, kitchenware, garden and toiletry items 'at discounted prices'. But for better value, and a more entertaining shopping experience, there is still Kingsland Waste market...




front of flyer for Vaudeville





interior pages of flyer



back of flyer showing the advert for Ilford's Super Cinema





postcard showing the Super Cinema around the time of its opening in 1922



deaths head on the woman's dress on cover of Vaudeville flyer:
according to Ilford legend, after the V2 rocket blast, a motorbike rider together with his bike were later found in the water tank in the roof area of the Super Cinema