The cinema was on Cheapside, next to the Palace Theatre, and was one of the very first Odeons in the country. As cinema entered its golden age in the late 30s the Odeon chain grew exponentially, at the time Reading’s opened the chain had 50 new cinemas under construction. The building was designed by architects A. P. Starkey and Frederick Adkins and was built in 1936 to seat 1704 people. It had a sleek, modern design.
Image courtesy of Reading Library
The cinema was opened in 1937 by Dr A. B. Howett MP and the first film to be shown was Elephant Boy. The Odeon had the same projectionist for 36 years, his name was Arthur Chippenham and he started as an usher before the cinema opened. He worked his way up through the company, stopping only for war work.
By 1938, the Odeon chain of cinemas had been bought by Joseph Arthur Rank, a wealthy industrialist who had ventured into the entertainment business. Rank’s company became the largest and most influential film company in Britain, it controlled more production companies, distributors and cinemas than anyone else.
Lots of famous faces visited the Odeon in the 62 years it was open, people like Margaret Rutherford, Jack Warner and Alec Baldwin. The cinema also had a community function during the Second World War, when it was used to play instructional films for soldiers.
Odeon closed in 1999, screening Fight Club, The Sixth Sense and the Blair Witch Project.