Organist at an Odeon Cinema
The interior of a cinema showing the organist seated at the organ. Before 'talkies' came in films were silent, with captions for the audience to read. The organist played music during the film, sometimes a score was speciallly written for the film. This very ornate organ rose up from beneath the stage at the start of the film. The Winter Gardens, also known as the Odeon and the Astra Theatre, closed in the late 1980s and was subsequently demolished. The Christie organ shown here was destroyed whilst in storage. The Odeon cinema company was founded in 1930 by Oscar Deutsch. During the 1930s, it grew to become one of the country’s major chains of cinemas. The first five Odeon cinemas opened in 1933, and by 1936 there were 142 across the country. Although each Odeon was unique, the use of a set range of architectural features meant that most of the cinemas were instantly recognisable as an 'Odeon', with their distinctive Modernist style. The slogan, ‘Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation’ (ODEON) was also synonymous with the brand.
