HOLIDAYS FROM £10
MANY Cardiffians will have happy memories of the cinemas in Queen Street.
Some time ago now I received a letter from Echo reader Peter G Williams who revealed he had fond memories of the Capitol Cinema – where he had his first date with his future wife – and the city centre’s other long-lost picture houses, which included the Gaumont and the Empire, both on Queen Street.
During his time as a constable in the then Cardiff City Police, he recalled a gala event in the heart of the city, featuring an appearance from Hollywood icons Gloria Swanson and Montgomery Clift.
“I and other police officers were sent to the cinema to help control the crowds outside,” he said.
“Personally I was at the top of the stairs leading to the vestibule.
“The stars arrived in their limousine, having been allowed to travel contrary to the one way traffic order at that time (except for trolley buses).
“As they entered the cinema, Miss Swanson passed quite close to me and gave me a lovely smile.
“Her escort Montgomery Clift did not look at all very happy with head bowed down.
“I particularly noticed that the shoulders of his dinner jacket was covered with a heavy coating of dandruff! “The other occasion when as an acting sergeant, I and two PCs were sent to the Capitol Cinema where the Welsh premiere of The Greatest Show On Earth was due to be shown and its star Charlton Heston was to attend.
“We were rather surprised to find on our arrival that there was no crowd waiting to see them.
“We decided to stay for a while and, sure enough, a limousine turned up and Charlton began to get out of the car. “My colleagues and I moved forward towards the car and I stopped a couple of ladies, one with a pram, and asked them to wait while he passed.
“I thought that they might like to see him. “As he got level with us, he gave us a big grin and waved his hand. “The one lady with the pram then turned to her friend and said in a loud voice in her best Splott accent ‘Oose Ee then?’
“The grin froze on Charlton’s face, and he ran into the cinema.”
For more information on the Capitol Cinema see Gary Wharton’s Capitol Days: The Story of Cardiff’s Best-Loved Cinema published by The History Press in 2009 at £9.99.
Originally opened in 1921, the
Capitol entertained generations of cinemagoers until its closure in 1978 and Gary’s book provides the first detailed history of one of the busiest and best entertainment venues in the city.