The Regal Cinema Theatre, Marble Arch, London (original) (raw)
Later - The Odeon Marble Arch
Above - The Regal Cinema Theatre, Marble Arch when it first opened - From The Architects' Journal, December 12th 1928.
The Regal Cinema Theatre was situated on Marble Arch and first opened on Thursday the 29th of November 1928 with the Al Jolson Film 'The Singing Fool'.
The Theatre was built for A. E. Abrahams and designed by Clifford Aish, and was constructed in seventeen months at a cost of £500,000, a considerable sum in the late 1920s.
The main elevation of the Theatre was of Portland Stone with entrances of white and black marble with bronze and glass entrance doors.
Right - The Regal, Marble Arch at night - From The Kinematograph Weekly, November 29th 1928.
The Theatre's interior was designed by Charles Muggeridge in the atmospheric style popular at the time with a Roman Temple, trees and creepers, and a large pergola in the ceiling covered in creepers and behind it an imitation of the sky with twinkling stars and clouds.
There was a fully equipped stage and dressing rooms for artists, and a very large Christie Organ was also installed, see details below.
Above - The Auditorium from the Stage of the Regal Cinema when it first opened - From The Kinematograph Weekly, November 29th 1928.
The Bioscope reported on the soon to be opened Regal Cinema in their 28th of November 1928 edition saying:- 'After two and a-half years' building, the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch, opens to the public to-morrow (Thursday), November 29th. An independent cinema, the Regal is built by A. E. Abrahams, the well-known theatre magnate, whose career in itself is a romance. From the owner of a billposting business in a small way, he has become one of the largest individual proprietors of entertainment houses in the country. About twelve months ago, it will be remembered, Mr. Abrahams concluded a deal whereby he acquired from Charles Gulliver seventeen of the London Theatre of Varieties, Ltd., halls for over a million sterling. The majority of these halls are now converted into cinemas, it is now his intention to establish a chain. of Regal cinemas in the suburbs of London, and sites have already been chosen at Norwood, Golders Green, Leytonstone and Richmond.
The Regal, Marble Arch, is the first to be completed, and it is the model upon which others will be based. The architect of the Regal, Clifford Aish, F.S.I., 22, Bedford Street, London, W.C., drew plans for a hall, the actual capacity of which is 2,400, though it is licensed to accommodate 3,500. The cost of the building, including the purchase of the site, amounted approximately to £500,000.
Above - A Ground Plan of the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch - From the Kinematograph Weekly, December 6th 1928.
The frontage of the Regal towers higher than Marble Arch, and is carried out in Portland stone in a free rendition of the Renaissance style. The whole of the facade is floodlighted at night and is visible from Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge.
The feature of the entrance is the three series of huge ornamental bronze and glass doorways which are flanked by black marble surrounds.
Right - The Elaborate Entrance Doors of the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch - From The Kinematograph Weekly, November 29th 1928.
According to experts the horseshoe shape of the auditorium approaches the ideal, both as regards acoustic and usual requirements.
In order to comply with the L.C.C. regulations, Mr. Aish conceived what is, structurally, one of the most interesting features of the building - the construction of a 15-feet passage-way right through the void between the stalls and the circle.
An Onyx Fountain
The vestibule, of which the handsome Onyx fountain is such a decorative feature, is treated in a free modern style. Direct access to the circle is given without the patron having to negotiate even one step. The vestibule is provided with two lifts which serve every part of the theatre. Telephone boxes are also situated here for the convenience of the public.
A Chinese Lounge
All parts of the house are served with spacious lounges, the decorative treatment of the stalls lounge on the lower ground floor being Chinese with Chinese-Chippendale furniture. Panels are treated with specially hand-painted Chinese figures, on a cream ground, the lighting units being in Oriental design. Oriental attendants have been secured to serve here.
The Circle Lounge
Above - The Circle Lounge of the Regal Cinema when it first opened - From The Architects' Journal, December 12th 1928.
On the first floor is the circle lounge, which is frankly Adam. An attempt has been made not only to carry it out in correct detail, but also to employ colours for its embellishment. The electric fittings are of gilt metal and delicately tinted glass.
Special attention has been paid to the convenience of women patrons, for whose benefit two beauty parlours have been introduced.
The Auditorium
Above - The Auditorium of the Regal Cinema when it first opened - From The Architects' Journal, December 12th 1928.
The conception of a Roman cinema with glades of trees and garlands of creeper visible in their autumn robes through an open colonnade was decided upon, Chas. Muggeridge, the well known decorative artist, being responsible.
The landscape painting at the Regal bears no sort of resemblance to anything previously done; trees and foliage are in relief, and by this means a pronounced sense of distance is obtained. The whole auditorium is warm with autumnal colourings.
Right - The Auditorium from the Stage of the Regal Cinema when it first opened - From The Kinematograph Weekly, November 29th 1928.
The seats. the last word in comfort, are upholstered in "panne2 velvet with leaf design in October brown and gold.
The front of the circle has panels of straw-cooured glass let into it, and these, lit from behind, give a soft warm light in harmony with the general colour scheme. There is a massive pergola in a section of the immense roof, from which hang bunches of the creeper which has ventured into the interior from the outside, and through which beams of sunlight pass. Behind this is a massive half-dome upon which may be projected marvelous lighting effects from the huge lighting gallery stretching right across the auditorium.
Above - Glimpses of the Interior of the Regal, Marble Arch - From The Bioscope, December the 5th 1928.
The main entrance vestibule is carried out in the modern rendering of the Georgian style, but novelty of treatment is obtained by the introduction of lit panels of glass in the alcove facing the entrance and in some of the circular headed panels. Baskets of gaily coloured flowers, superimposed on mirrors, contribute an unusual effect to the ensemble.
Above - The Vestibule of the Regal Cinema when it first opened - From The Architects' Journal, December 12th 1928.
The staircases are carpeted with a very heavy pile of modern design.
The stalls are treated with a curious mixture of rough casting, broken at intervals by pilasters formed by rounded plaster uprights grouped together under an intersecting cap. Walls and pilasters are tined with all the colours of the rainbow, producing an effect of great gaiety and charm.
The tea-room is a magnificent apartment with a spacious dance floor and a unique view over Hyde Park. The mural decoration here reflects a brilliance of a field of ripe corn bedecked with poppies.
The Regal Organ
Two distinctive features of the Regal are the organ and the carillon. The specification for the British-built Christie organ was drawn up by Quentin M. Maclean, the foremost cinema organist in the country, who has been engaged as the organist. He was given practically carte blanche as to the cost, and the result is an instrument which challenges any cinema organ anywhere.
It has four manuals and approximately 275 stop keys. In actual fundamental tonal ranks it is twice as big as any unit organ in the country. It includes a full concert grand piano controlled from the console, and two sets of chimes, each of 25 notes.
Right - An Advertisement showing the Christie Organ installed at the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch - From The Bioscope, November 28th 1928.
Bells of Marble Arch
The carillon is the first ever to be installed in conjunction with film presentations. It has been cast by Gillett & Johnstone, of Croydon, the founders of the Malines Carillon, and consist of 32 bells, fully chromatic, the largest bell of which weighs nearly half a ton. The carillon is also played from the keyboard of the organ, and its chimes will be audible over Hyde Park. It is installed in a self-contained framework in a specially constructed chamber on the O.P. side of the stage.
The Policy of the Regal
Every film at the Regal will be shown for a premier presentation, "first run exclusive in England."
No expense has been spared in the equipment of the stage, which is adequate, both from the point of view of size and technical installation.
The accommodation provided for artistes makes it possible to present the most elaborate forms of stage productions - from review to grand opera.
The Theatre opens on Thursday with "The Singing Fool," the Vitaphone picture featuring Al Jolson.
Prices of Admission
When the Theatre opens, prices of admission will be 1s. 6d., 2s. 4d., 3s. 6d., 5s. 9d., 8s. 6d., including tax. Performances will be continuous from 2 to 11, and on Sundays from 6 to 11.
The Regal is lease to Hyde Park Cinemas, Ltd., of which D. T Davies is chairman and A. Gilbert managing director.
Captain Shirley R. Simpson has been appointed manager, with R. S. Sowden to assist him.'
The above text in quotes was first published in The Biograph, 28th of November 1928.
The Odeon, Marble Arch
Above - A Google StreetView Image showing the former Odeon, Marble Arch in April 2012 - Click to Interact.
The Regal Cinema Theatre had first opened on the 19th of November 1928 but it was soon taken over by the Associated British Cinemas (ABC) chain of Theatres on the 29th of September 1929 and they would go on to run the Regal until January 1945.
Right - The former Regal Cinema rebranded as an Odeon Cinema in 1945 - From the ILN, 11th of February 1967.
It was then taken over by the Odeon Cinemas chain who refurbished the Theatre and hoped to open it soon afterwards but the Theatre was hit by a flying bomb, one of the last to hit London, and it wasn't finally reopened until the 9th of September 1945 when its name was changed to the Odeon Marble Arch. Odeon installed Cinemascope in the Theatre in 1954 and it was only the second in the country to have this feature installed.
The end came for this particular Theatre when it was closed by the Rank Organisation on the 22nd of March 1964 for demolition and the construction of an office building, shops, and a new large single screen Odeon Cinema on the site.
Above - An Illustrated article on the Opening of the Odeon Marble Arch in 1967 - From the ILN, 11th of February 1967.
The new Odeon, Marble Arch was designed by T. P. Bennett & Son and opened with a showing of 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' on the 2nd of February 1967. This was a large and lavish replacement for the former Regal Cinema Theatre with seating for 1,360 on two levels, stalls and one circle. The huge cinema screen was 75 feet wide by 30 feet high. The auditorium was fairly plain however, with panels and curtaining behind them lit with different colours.
Right - The Auditorium of the Odeon Marble Arch in 1967 - From the ILN, 11th of February 1967.
In September 1996 the Cinema was closed for splitting into 5 smaller cinemas and reopened on the 3rd of January 1997. Before splitting the Odeon Marble Arch had been a fantastic Cinema comparable to the still surviving Odeon, Leicester Square, indeed it was one of the last Large Cinemas in London to survive until it was split. Afterwards however, its fortunes were short lived and it was closed and demolished in 2016. It was proposed at the time to be replaced by a six screen cinema in the basement of the office building which replaced it but sadly this never came to fruition and that was the end for this particular site's entertainment history.
Above - A Google StreetView Image showing the site of the former Regal Cinema Theatre and former Odeon, Marble Arch in October 2022 - Click to Interact.
Some of the later information for this Theatre was gleaned from the excellent Cinema Treasures Website.
If you have any more information or Images for this Theatre that you are willing to share please Contact me.