Ep 1: The Ritz, Belfast - 1930s Cinema Boom, the Grand Opening and Gracie Fields

The Wonder Cinema

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In the first episode of the Wonder Cinema podcast we go back to the 1930s to discuss the cinema boom and the grand opening of the Ritz, Belfast’s largest and most upmarket cinema.

Cinema attendance grew rapidly in the 1930s and the Ritz, opened by British chain Union Cinemas, was one of many venues built to serve a growing audience of film fans in Belfast. We discuss the Ritz’s architectural style, cultural impact and the concerns many people had about this new ‘super cinema’. We then go back to 9 November 1936, the Ritz’s opening night, which featured a special appearance by Gracie Fields, possibly the biggest British box-office star of the 1930s.
Links:
Cinema Treasures - various pictures including the opening programme
NMNI - Ritz exterior (1936)
NMNI - Ritz interior (1936)
NMNI - Ritz projection room (1936)

Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com

פרקים

1. Ep 1: The Ritz, Belfast - 1930s Cinema Boom, the Grand Opening and Gracie Fields (00:00:00)

2. Why was there a cinema boom in Belfast? (00:01:47)

3. The talkies and the fear of becoming Americanised, (00:05:04)

4. Why call a cinema the Ritz? (00:07:51)

5. Step outside into the epicentre of the cinema boom (00:10:37)

6. What else was happening in Belfast in 1936? (00:12:31)

7. Was the Ritz really Ireland's Wonder Cinema? (00:14:50)

8. Sound and vision, it's not just a screen but a stage. (00:19:50)

9. What happened on opening night, Monday 9th November 1936? (00:20:33)

10. Meet our special guest star, the Rochdale nightingale Gracie Fields. (00:23:20)

11. Did the Ritz transform Belfast? (00:27:27)

12. What did the Wonder Cinema say to the ordinary person? (00:28:59)