Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Hammering home an unforgettable double bill
In the immortal words of Richard Attenborough, “If a movie isn’t entertaining don’t bother to watch it”.
The fifties marked a significant radical departure from the conventional British films of the times that were regarded by a new wave of filmmakers as “snobbish, emotionally inhibited, wilfully blind to the social conditions of the present and dedicated to an out of date exhausted national idea”.
The critics were supported by the X certificate introduced by the British censorship board, giving filmmakers the freedom to explore subjects that were previously regarded as taboo.
Sex was box office gold, and when a modest British studio combined it with gothic horror, the result was sensational. Bray studio, located in Windsor Berkshire, Was the home of Hammer Films until 1966.
When Terence Fisher, resident director at Hammer, was assigned the task of directing the new colour version of Frankenstein, he said: “Lets give them something that will make them sit up.”
Released in May 1957,The Curse Of Frankenstein, starring Peter Cushing as the Baron and Christopher Lee as the creature and made on a shoestring budget, launched Hammer on the road to international acclaim as the most formidable producer of the horror genre.
During the summer of 1966, the New Cinema in Airdrie and the ABC Coatbridge were showing the latest double feature programme on offer from Hammer – Dracula: Prince of Darkness and The Plague of the Zombies.
Although both my mate
Alan Andrews and I were not yet 16, we were determined to experience our first taste of the horror film.
At the New Cinema we were given the heave-ho by strict resident doorman “Owney”.
Armed with teenage temerity, we hopped on a Baxter’s bus and headed for the ABC and on this occasion our mission was successful; however the event scared us to death!
That same summer with my Airdrie High School days over, I secured the position of apprentice projectionist at the ABC.
This beautiful cinema, previously known locally as the Regal, which opened on February 17, 1936, and was renamed the ABC in 1963, was Monklands’ definitive palatial picture palace, giving patrons luxury surroundings, comfortable seats with a perfect view of the screen, popular prices, double feature full supporting programme and, of course, Pathe News.
The manager Mr Campbell and his assistant Mrs Fraser were seasoned professionals who, together with the ancillary staff, kept the ABC flag flying as the first name in entertainment.
In the sixties, the projection booth staff won a well deserved special award for the best maintained projection room and excellence in film presentation.
John Offord was the chief projectionist who taught me the tricks of the trade.
My weekly pay was £4 and 10 shillings; it was a labour of love, however I could now indulge my obsession and all consuming passion with cinema.
“We are the boys and girls well known as minors of the ABC and every Saturday all line up to see the films we like and shout aloud with glee.”
These immortal words were part of the song sung by the kids who paid six-pence or ninepence to enjoy the fabulous ABC minors’ matinees on a Saturday morning.
I often have regrets that today’s generation of youngsters have never experienced the magic of a Saturday matinee.
The year 1983 marked the end of an era when the ABC finally closed its doors.
For those of us who look back with incredible nostalgia, to the golden age of picture houses in Monklands, the
ABC Coatbridge will never be forgotten.