The Wonder Cinema
Take a trip from The Wizard of Oz to Reservoir Dogs in the Wonder Cinema of Ireland, the Ritz, Belfast. Join hosts, filmmaker Brian Henry Martin and cinema historian Dr. Sam Manning in a new six-part series exploring the remarkable story of a long lost super cinema.
The Wonder Cinema
Ep 6: The Ritz, Belfast - 1990s End Game, The Vanishing and Spielberg's Fax
In the sixth episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast, we look at how the ABC reimagined and reinvented itself in the 1980s, before eventually shutting its doors for the final time in 1993.
Following the 1977 firebomb, the ABC remained closed until 1980, when the original auditorium was subdivided into four screens and the exterior saw substantial renovation. The glitz and glamour of the 1930s was now long gone, giving way to a more functional space at a time when cinema exhibitors struggled to attract audiences away from the lure of home video. Later in the decade, the cinema became part of the Cannon chain and rumours emerged that it would be replaced by a new multiplex cinema. The Cannon lasted until 1993, with one of its final films, The Vanishing, representing the eventual demolition of the building. The new MGM cinema celebrated its opening screening of Jurassic Park with a fax from Steven Spielberg, but how did that compare the to the grand opening of 1936?
Links:
Flickr - exterior of ABC, 1980
Belfast 35mm - exterior of ABC, 1986
Belfast 35mm - Great Victoria Street, 1992
Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com
BHM
Welcome to the Wonder cinema podcast,
Dr Sam
where we wonder about cinema.
BHM
I'm filmmaker and film critic Brian Henry Martin,
Dr Sam
and I'm cinema historian and author, Dr Sam Manning.
BHM
We're going to tell the remarkable story of one cinema, but not just any cinema, the wonder cinema of Ireland,
Dr Sam
A picture Palace from the Golden Age, which showed the greatest films and hosted the biggest movie stars
BHM
For more than 50 years, it entertained 1000s of people a night, but then floods and flames would end its reign,
Dr Sam
and where is it now?
BHM
So join us on a trip which takes us from the Wizard of Oz
Dr Sam
to Reservoir Dogs
BHM
to the Wonder cinema of Ireland,
BOTH
the Ritz, Belfast.
BHM
1980 the year of the Rubik's Cube Pac Man, and in June, the return of cinema to fisherwick, place in Belfast. Welcome to episode six of the Wonder cinema. Out of the ashes of 1977 and standing as a wreck for several years came the ABC Film Center, but beauty had been replaced by a beast. Dr Sam,
Dr Sam
Yeah. So as you said, the cinema was bombed in 1977 and had to close at that time. There was lots of speculation about what would happen next. Even as far back as the early 1970s lots of people had speculated that the cinema might be divided into several different screens...
BHM
...multiplex
Dr Sam
This has happened to lots of older cinemas in other parts of the UK, they had been subdivided into several screens, which enabled them to show more films offer more choice. So this was generally the way that things were going. This speculation re arose after the cinema was was bombed, and at that point it seemed fairly inevitable that this would, this would happen. And that is exactly what happens in 1980 the ABC Film Center opens, but with four screens instead of one. So we used to have this big, grand auditorium seating over 2000 people. We now have four screens, two in what was formerly the balcony and two downstairs, which obviously, firstly, a lot smaller. And because of this smaller size, you're not able to host any different types of events. Now it's purely a cinema venue.
BHM
Now is it remarkable that the cinema came back at all? You know, there are so many cinemas in Belfast that during this period that were damaged or bombed during the troubles, died and never returned. But like a phoenix from the flames, it does come back. I mean, that has to be remarkable in itself. I think it is remarkable.
Dr Sam
And I think it's impressive on the part of the exhibitors, that they still have confidence to reopen a cinema in spite of everything that's happened, not just the fact that attendances are declining and they would continue to decline until 1983 84 which was the real nadir of cinema attendance, but also the fact that the cinema had been bombed, basically for them to come back, yeah, I think is pretty remarkable.
BHM
And it's not as if the political situation looked brighter. It did not 1980 and then certainly into 1981 the hunger strikes. I mean, I remember that period that was a really dark time, but it feels like every year was a dark time, but incredible that it comes back at all now, the Multiplex, multiplex. Tell me about the multiplex. I mean, the impact of that across cinema in general. What was the point of that? What did that do? How did that change the cinema experience?
Dr Sam
Yeah, so I think what's happening here is really a bit of a precursor to the multiplex. So the first purpose built multiplex cinema open in Milton Keynes in 1985...
BHM
No, no, wait, we have a multiplex here in Belfast in 1980 Sam, well, this is the first purpose built multiplex.
Dr Sam
I would argue that this is slightly different as a conversion of an existing cinema, but I suppose you could make an argument that this was destroyed and a new cinema is created in its place. Yeah, I guess Belfast needs all it can get at this point. So we can claim it as the as the first multiplex. The reason why these kind of cinemas are opened is, I alluded to this before, because they want to be able to offer more choice, greater screens, able to get more film.Simultaneously, yeah, and all this is in the hope of maximizing profit. Obviously, it's just not feasible to fill a 2000 seater cinema on a regular basis. So a better financial option is to split it into into smaller screens.
BHM
So the Wonder cinema returns as a film center, but the largest screen here Sam is 551 seats. Now that is a quarter of what the Ritz used to be. It's a completely different viewing experience. And there's a screen here that's only 215 seats. You'd fit more in the cafe. I mean, this feels slightly sad to me.
Dr Sam
It feels sad to me as well when you think of the fact that at one point, Belfast had you know, 40 or 50 of these single screen theater type buildings to then see this kind of Frankenstein of what previously was, was there. You know, we'd love to have been able to see in this return to its former glory, but I don't think that is a realistic option at this at this point. I mean, why would you invest a lot of money in a building that could potentially be bond again?
BHM
Now, in terms of Frankenstein, in terms of the slicing of the cinema here, do we have any sense of, was it the balcony was cut into, or the stalls or or how this was actually subdivided?
Dr Sam
So as I understand it, the former balcony was split into two screens, and then there was two screens downstairs as well. There was no Cafe anymore.
BHM
What?
Dr Sam
Unfortunately, not. No, yeah, no rotating buffet for you to to get your lunch at. This was just a waiting area area now. So it's a very kind of pared back version of what was, what was there before.
BHM
Okay. But hey, look, we're being positive. Okay, the cinema has returned. There are films being shown inside. We're going to talk about some of those films. But outside, Sam, surely that gigantic structure remains intact.
Dr Sam
Well, there's good news and bad news here. So the good news is that broadly, the structure is still kind of as it was. And if you look at the steps at the front of the building and the tiles immediately surrounding those stairs, they pretty much look the same as they always have, okay? And just stop them. Don't look anywhere else. Yeah, everywhere else, unfortunately, has changed quite a bit. So think back to the first episode, and we described the big tower rising up at the corner of the building...
BHM
... a giant Art Deco tar luminous like a lighthouse of neon that's shone across the city with the name Ritz emblazoned upon it.
Dr Sam
Yeah, you've put it more eloquently than I ever could, unfortunately that has that's gone. What that's gone? The roof has been reconstructed, and it looks like, to accommodate the new roof, they've had to get rid of of that. The windows on the front of the building are still there. The original tiles, it looks like are still there, but they've been painted over. It looks like they've been painted over in this kind of strange orangey beige color, which you probably couldn't pick a less appealing color if you if you'd have tried. So the shell of it is, is there, and there are elements that remind you of those glory days, but it has also fundamentally changed in quite a lot of ways.
BHM
It looks to me like a Soviet carpet factory. I mean, it's a bomb proof Carbuncle. I mean, if Gracie Fields, or Cary Grant turned up, they wouldn't recognize the place sound, that's for sure, but you can understand it to a certain degree. The city center was continuing to be bombed and parts of it destroyed, so they were not going to spend money on an exterior decoration. There was no finance for decoration at this point, that's for sure. Building was very mean. We talk about brutalism. I mean, this was vertical architecture right here. Another feature that has also gone is the the old canopy.
Dr Sam
Yeah, that that's been removed. It was there up until the late 70s. But that has also has also gone. Maybe that's because they don't think they'll be getting the cues that they had in the in the past. Maybe it's a safety issue there, but certainly not because there's no rain. No, that's one thing for sure. Certainly the queues have gone as well.
BHM
Okay, Sam, so beauty has turned into a beast, but cinema wise, we have films. It's a film center. So if we were Patriot. Back in June of 1980 what films could we have went and seen?
Dr Sam
Well, when the ABC reopened in June 1980 there were four films showing they were Apocalypse Now, which I think is interesting when we we think back to the last episode, and we talked about the rise of all these new American directors and the popularity in that sense, it picks up where it's where it's left off from.
BHM
That's what I'm talking about. That's the wonder cinema right there. It opens with Apocalypse. Come on.
Dr Sam
Then we have 10.
BHM
Dudley Moore, yep. Bo Derek with dreadlocks, running around the beach, if I remember.
Dr Sam
We have Electric Horseman,
BHM
Robert Redford, Jane Fonda,
Dr Sam
yeah. And we have mission Galactica, the Cylon attack.
BHM
See, that's a that's great lineup, isn't it?
Dr Sam
And I think this is the whole point of subdividing into screens, is that you can offer choice. So these are four films that are quite different from from one another. So yeah, people can come. They may not necessarily come with a film in mind, even they might come and see which film they they want to see. So it's a little, it's a it's a slightly different concept in terms of how people go to the cinema and their attitude towards what they go to see.
BHM
But now Sam, beyond the bombers and the architects, there was a bigger threat to cinema in the 1980s and that was home video. So tell us what impact VHS, Betamax, all of that had upon the cinema going experience?
Dr Sam
Yeah, well, there's, there's a home video boom in the in the early 80s. I'm sure we all know the story of how VHS beats Betamax to the home video crown. Initially it's very expensive, but as prices come down, it kind of spreads across the province, and home video, or as many reports suggest, becomes especially popular in Northern Ireland, and I think a lot of that is to do with what's happening at the time. People aren't necessarily willing to go out to the cinema, so home video is particularly appealing. There's also lots of challenges, because people aren't necessarily buying the legal versions of the films that they're watching at home. Yeah, pirating is, you know, rampant, which is obviously an issue for for exhibitors, because lots of films are released not not released legally, but they are available on video before they were even shown at the cinema. So there were loads and loads of reports about copies of ET circulating even before it's released in cinemas in Northern Ireland, we spoke about Steven Spielberg in the last episode with Jaws and now et plays a significant part in this cinema. There was a special screening of ET at the ABC Film Center, which was special for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was on a Sunday.
BHM
What?
Dr Sam
Before the bomb, the Ritz, the ABC never screened films on Sunday. So especially in that respect, it's also a Northern Ireland premiere, and they have special guests. So we've had Gracie Fields, we've had Cary Grant, and now we have BBC Radio One DJ Peter Powell. Now I'm not knocking Peter Powell, but it is maybe a bit of a step down from some of the people in the in the past, but he does make it a memorable event. So while the screening is playing, he steps out of the auditorium and calls Noel Edmonds live on air to tell him about this, this charity screening that is taking place, and it's all part of a radio one fundraiser. So this is a big event. ET is the film of the moment, and given what I just said about et being pirated so much, an obvious question from the press is, are you worried about the rise of pirate video? Basically what the manager says is, no, because we still think cinema has a social function. People will still want to see the film, because they still want to come out to be with people. He still believes that cinema still has an important role in terms of courtship and couples going going out. Now, this might just be wishful thinking and kind of boosterism, but yeah, it is kind of interesting, that kind of tension between et being on home video, and then it playing at the cinema as well.
BHM
So the ABC Film Center, despite all of this flourishes in the early 80s. So cinema begins to take an upturn, certainly with blockbuster films that were on offer. But once again, it changes ownership and changes name. So it changes from the ABC Film Center to the Canon.
Dr Sam
So Canon was an Israeli company, which made some quite questionable films during the during the 1980s and also ventured into into exhibition. So they bought the chain from thorn EMI in 1986 and then the ABC then changed his name to the to the canon in 1987 so that's a big shift, isn't it, because it had been the ABC since the late 1930s so this is a major movement...
BHM
and the Canon four screen center, that's what I remember. And I would have come to this cinema. This was my introduction to this cinema around 1986 1987 and the cinema itself was winning awards. Sam at the very moment that I entered into the story.
Dr Sam
Absolutely, in 1987 the Canon Film Center won fourth prize in the Schweppes cinema of the year. So I don't want to knock this too much. I'm sure it was a great achievement at the time, but it definitely feels, you know, step down, or many steps down from the 1930s when this is being promoted as the Wonder cinema of Ireland to becoming fourth place in Schweppes cinema of the of the year.
BHM
Now, despite the fact that it has turned into a Film Center, an early version of the multiplex. There is talk Sam in the late 80s, that it may be moving location. There are whispers of this happening. I mean, what's the kind of early thinking around that?
Dr Sam
You start to see reports from the late 1980s that the days of the Canon might be over. They might be moving to a new site, a purpose built cinema, perhaps more kind of fitting for this this age. And that's partly in response to the fact that these new purpose built multiplexes are being built in parts of Britain. They are very successful. They're kind of a new seen as a new concept in cinema going lots of these are built in out of town locations, in places like shopping centers where there is lots of parking because people's your habits are are changing. They might prefer to go to an out of town shopping center where they can easily get a parking space, rather than these inner city locations from the late 1980s into the early 90s, you get some of these purpose built multiplexes in Belfast. So there's one on Kennedy way, and there is another one at York gate. They happen a bit later in Belfast than other parts of the UK, because, you know, exhibitors have to be confident that their investment will be worthwhile. And if the troubles are still ongoing, then there's still a fear that, you know, they might be threatened by by that. But once things start to subside a little, they have the confidence to invest in the area. So it's about that time that you get these rumors that the canon is going to close and a new cinema will be opened in its place.
BHM
So within a few years, we've gone from one screen to four screens to now potentially 9 / 10, screens, and that's what audiences are kind of demanding. And as you say the car, the car becomes a significant factor in the future of cinema here. I mean, if we look at the early photographs of the Ritz, there is car parking at the side of the building for maybe 10 cars. And who's that for? Like the cinema manager, Cary Grant chauffeur. I mean, who's parking? People are coming by public transport, and these cinemas are built around public transport, but no longer Sam the car is going to dictate where cinemas are.
Dr Sam
Yeah. And when there was an announcement made in 1990 that this new cinema will open. Part of the kind of package that they are presenting is that there will be a car park at the rear, at the rear of the cinema, which, yeah, you don't sound very thrilled by but I actually think people hearing that in 1990 would have. In something that you know, they would have found appealing, because, yeah, it enables them to easily get to and from the cinema.
BHM
But with Sam, there's going to be a last dance for the Canon four screen when, in 1991 a charity event featuring the new Lawrence Olivier and Vivian Lee Ken and EM Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson with the film dead again, a UK Premier. Surely the glory days of the Ritz are back at the Canon four screen.
Dr Sam
I think this is more of a last hurrah than a revisiting of the of the glory days. But it's definitely a coup to to get Kenneth banner over. He he has been in Belfast before promoting films, so he would have previously been at the Queen's film theater promoting Henry the Fifth when, when that came out. But, uh, he's definitely staying true to his Belfast roots, and he always returns whenever he he can. And that's obviously a big boon to people in Belfast to see this one of their own appearing on the on the big screen. One of the things that he does while he's over the here is go to visit his his grandmother, Elizabeth Branagh, on York Street. So yeah, maybe that's his reason for coming, just to see family and appearing at the canon is just part of that.
BHM
So dead again, obviously a kind of over the top Hitchcock thriller, Ken and M in duel rolls. and the Canon cinema would be dead again pretty soon here, Sam, so there has to be something in that. So after all the speculation, Sam it is announced that the cinema will close on the first of July, 1993 and a new cinema will open.
But in those last few months, some key films play Reservoir Dogs in May 1993 plays at the Canon cinema. And to me, this is quite significant when you look at the journey that we have been on and the history of cinema in itself.
Dr Sam
Yes, so in the Second World War, we have the Wizard of Oz, and in 1993 we have Reservoir Dogs, which is about 50 years apart, but it almost feels longer than that. It just is two completely different, separate worlds in which these two films exist. You know, they're playing at the the same venue, but, you know, half a century apart, and it's just yeah, the kind of the structure of the building might be in place, but everything else around it has completely shifted
BHM
Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Sam, I'm stuck in the middle with you. So the cinema is the close. And I mean, we talked about dead again being prophetic in some way, but the films that are playing when this cinema closes, I mean, this is extraordinary.
Dr Sam
So we have The Vanishing representing the cinema that would very shortly vanish forever. We have Falling Down for the cinema that would giving where spoiler here would soon be demolished. It would fall down, and we have Indecent Proposal. So it's the the indecent proposal of the former wonder cinema going in place of this new shiny multiplex to lure people back to the cinema.
BHM
Isn't that incredible? So the cinema closes on the first of July, 1993 no more films at Fisherwick Place. But what is to replace it? Sam? Where is the new wonder cinema?
Dr Sam
It's moved to Dublin road. So moved away from Fisherwick Place, which we spoke so much about being this hub of entertainment throughout the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. But with the closure of the cannon in 1993 that really, that really goes the opera house is still there, but previously, it's been renovated and and reopened. The New Vic closed as a cinema in 1987 and kind of struggled along as a bingo venue for a few years. But this whole site is no longer the center entertainment that it that it once was, and when the new cinema opens, it moves location which is only a very short distance, but I think it's more of a cultural shift to the Dublin road. Well, maybe you could say a bit about what that the area was like in the early 1990s
BHM
Well, it it moved to a car park, but the Dublin road itself, I mean, it's more South Belfast. It's more cultural. There was a there was an art gallery on the on the Dublin road, you're between QFT, the kind of cultural cinema and the BBC. So it kind of feels like it's taken itself out of the city center and into a more cultural quarter. I think is a is a way to look at it. So the new wonder cinema. Then, Sam, tell me about this new what. What is the new wonder cinema?
Dr Sam
Well, there are a few other things that have happened. So firstly, the company has been bought over by MGM. So when the cinema reopens, or is rebuilt, it reopens as the MGM, wow, which I think has a lot more glamor to it than the than the Canon. It kind of evokes those glory days of Hollywood, doesn't it? And see that kind of the image of the lion over the entrance of the of the cinema.
BHM
I'm seeing Ben Hur again. I'm seeing chariot race,
Dr Sam
But the the opening film is Jurassic Park, which, again, is a big event. You know, this is a real big blockbuster of that time. And in lots of ways, you think it's almost trying to replicate what happened on the opening night in 1936 but everything is really kind of watered down. Everything is watered down slightly. So for instance, I have a quote here which says it is widely considered by the management that celebrities will be unnecessary as the multiplex will be the celebrity itself, yeah, which I think is wishful thinking, but, uh, I'd say having the film and a big celebrity like Gracie Fields or Cary Grant is a much bigger deal than not having the celebrity.
BHM
That's incredible. So it moves to the MGM 10 screen Sam, so that is pretty epic, brand new cinema. How exciting for Belfast and it bills itself as the ultimate cinema experience. I mean, that's kind of wonder cinema language right there. And as you say, Jurassic Park the same night as the London premiere, and Steven Spielberg sends a fax and the staff of the MGM gather around the fax machine, and the fax comes through, and Spielberg, on the 15th of July 1993 his fax says, Good evening, Belfast, sit back and Have fun as the dinosaur to come to life. I I mean, this is pretty exciting. I went to see Jurassic Park in the MGM, and I was excited at that moment. But little did I realize that we had left behind the Ritz, the ABC, the wonder cinema.
Dr Sam
There's definitely a kind of myopia here what they're trying to sell this as the new wonder cinema, almost without any realization of what had gone before. And a lot of the things they're trying to promote are things that existed previously but were then left behind. So they say it has this kind of new area where people can buy food to go into the cinema. They show off about the different architectural features of the building. So there's a big advert that shows off that they have used 2100 liters of emulsion and eggshell paint. So that kind of harks back. So if you remember to Episode One, where we talked about the opening brochure and how the cinema tried to sell itself, and they had all this stuff, and that had kind of faded away throughout the years for various reasons. It's almost like they're trying to start again. But they don't, kind of, they don't, kind of realize, maybe they do or, you know, I don't know, but it kind of feels like this is a slightly watered down version of everything that they were trying to achieve in 1930 6am. I? Am I being unfair to them here?
BHM
And of course, what the MGM cinema had was a car park, a multi story car park that was actually bigger than the cinema itself. And that really is the future of where cinemas have gone while the shininess is glowing from the MGM Grand. What has happened to our wonder cinema site? Sam, what has happened there?
Dr Sam
Well, so after it closed in 1993 the building stays there for a while, but in 1994 the building is then, unfortunately demolished. We have pictures of it being demolished, which obviously very sad to look at. This is actually one of the few opportunities you have to see the interior of the building as it would have looked like in in its kind of period, as the ABC Film Center and the and the canon. So you kind of get a sense of how the building has been divided. And people obviously did care enough about this to take to take pictures, and there were a few articles talking about how it used to be the the Ritz, but I don't think there is really a full understanding of the architectural heritage of the of the building. One of the few people that does speak out on this issue is Michael open, who was the head of QFT Queen's film Theater, which was the independent art house cinema just, you know, a few 100 yards up the road from the the new site on Dublin road. And he says in the local press that the Ritz is a very important cinema for for Northern Ireland. It's a pity someone didn't put a preservation order on it, which I would absolutely concur with, because even though it has changed form quite a lot, I think there is still enough of it that evokes the Wonder cinema of 1936 but that's not really on the cards at the time. It is in more in people's interests to knock down the building and replace it with something else.
BHM
We spoke in episode one about the money that was spent on the fixtures and furnishings of the Wonder cinema, the 10,000 pounds or more that was spent on the organ itself. Sam, what has happened to all of that? Does any of this remain? Is there any trace of the cinema anywhere?
Dr Sam
There are, fortunately, some traces of the organ which end up in some rather unexpected places. So some of the manuals, the pipes from the organ, end up in a pub. Yes, a pub in Hertfordshire in England, which is quite well. Firstly, miraculous that a pub would decide to have an organ, but that these parts from Belfast would would end up well, the organ was built in in England and came over to Northern Ireland, so maybe it's trying to make its way, make its way home. The console is now in a location in Wales. It's well looked after by someone who collects many of these cinema cinema organs. So yeah, it's been split up and dispersed, but it is still here in in some form, fortunately.
BHM
And the only thing that remains are people's memories, the people who went to the cinema and remember those amazing nights and the films that they saw and the dates that they went on and the dreams that they had. That's all that really remains today. Sam is what is left in people's imaginations.
Dr Sam
Absolutely, and I think that's why it's so important to preserve and capture those memories. You know, for instance, I remember talking to Noel Spence, who I think many listeners will know as the owner of the Tudor cinema, which is his own 1950s style cinema in his back garden. And I remember telling him, telling me that his first cinema trip was in 1952 to a screening of Jack and the Beanstalk as as a child, and that is what got him hooked on cinema, made him want to go back, made him want to make his own films, made him want to recreate the glamor of the 1950s cinemas in his in his back garden. So it's memories like that that really resonate with me, and I think there are 1000s of equivalent memories across Northern Ireland from people who went to the roots.
BHM
Now the site obviously became a car park because everything does a car park or a coffee shop, but it's now a hotel, which we visited in episode one, and people from all over the world come and sleep in this hotel. So it's still a place of dreams. Okay, Sam, I'm clutching straws here. It's still a place of dreams. I wonder if anyone dreams of Gracie fails, or Cary Grant or the Wizard of Oz or the Beatles or Reservoir Dogs.
