Palladium Cinema

I’ve uploaded a photo of local fishermen, which includes the Palladium’s Chief Projectionist John Hughes.

Me again David, I just looked up the details in my old Cinema Directory for 1958, all it states about the equipment is BA sound (British Acoustics) and that they had 320 seats. Did you ever go inside David ? Billy Kenny who sadly died this year once worked there for a week or two as a relief projectionist, he was then second at the Palladium before he started as the Chief at the Town Hall, (Pwllheli of course in case any one else is reading this)He was the Town Hall’s manager for the last 19 years until his retirement.
I think the equipment he worked on were Kalee 12s.

Hello David, No idea who owns the painting, I took a photo a few years ago of what I was told was the old Regal in Beaumaris. It was then a private dwelling, must say it did not look like a cinema, or a new house.

I’ve uploaded a picture depicting the Palladium during the war years, just click on photos.

Hi David, your photos are brilliant, I can see the fencing or barriers on the Maes end of the path from Cardiff Rd. We lived on the Maes for many years, and it was my Dad who suggested to the Town Council that the barriers would be a good idea as the children used to run from the Saturday afternoon matinee straight into the road at the Maes. We lived at Siop Newydd where Alan’s Hairdresser is now situated, that is where from that I photographed the Palladium photo you found on Flickr after the garage was demolished. The barriers are no longer in place, but then neither is the Palladium.

Hi David,the black cabinet with something like a giant radio valve in it, as you described it was the rectifier, the large valve or bulb was full of mercury bubbling away inside. The rectifier converted the AC supply to DC for the carbon arcs.

Hello David, just seen your comments, you have a good memory, we at the Town Hall also opened out the credits on the curtains, the idea being you only see the screen when there’s a picture on it. Most multiplexes don’t even have curtains, everything is so automated with no showmanship. I also remember the march out music.

Eric: That new photo of the stage from the auditorium is amazing; a sight I thought I would never see again and which evokes so many memories of so many movies. As far as I remember it was usually the film certificate which was projected onto the curtain before they were drawn aside to expose the screen – not very subtle perhaps, but effective enough at the time. Of course as the Palladium featured two houses every night (at least in the period I remember) and the curtains closed at the end of the main feature and “God Save the Queen” – for which the audience stood. At the end of the National Anthem the last few seconds were projected onto the curtains as they closed. You may be able to augment my memories of this, but when the anthem ended, and the shutter was closed, I believe the projector carried on running to play a tune which I think was called “March Out” – a lively up-tempo orchestra number designed to get the audience moving out to the exits relatively quickly. I can hear it in my head even now as I am typing these notes 60 years on!

Just to say how interesting that photo of the Palladium auditorium is – thanks for posting it. Interesting too how relatively shallow the rake was of the seating in the stalls. If the Palladium was being designed today there would be a far steeper angle to provide better sight-lines for the audience.

Hi David,yes it was a very large screen for a cinema of the Palladium’s size,thios was because Mr Baker wanted a bigger one than the Town Hall’s which had Cinemascope installed the previous year 1955. I think I’ve mentioned on one of my previous posts that they did this by erecting the screen in front of the proscenium arch, as I was only 12 at the time I thought the arch was demolished, only for me to see it again when Kwik Save started conversion to a supermarket. Of course it really came down then, I don’t beleive the circuit erected screens in this fashion in any of their other screens, so it could well have been the biggest. They did not install a stereo sound system, The equipment at the time of closure was B A sound system from the closed down Guild Hall Cinema Caernarfon, which of course was run by them.

I’ve uploaded another photo of The Palladium’s screen before Cinemascope.

Sorry to hear that Liz has passed away. Despite its small stage the Palladium, in addition to movies, staged live performances by Eric Winston and his Band (who performed at Butlins). A number of stars like Anthony Steel and I think David Attenborough visited the cinema to promote their movies and I personally remember Britain’s first World Motor Racing champion Mike Hawthorn and his fellow driver Peter Collins visit the Palladium to see a submarine movie that was playing at the time. Hawthorn and several other racing drivers were-in North Wales at the time involved in filming the motor-racing movie “The Green Helmet” (although he does not appear in the film’s credits). The film was partially shot in Portmeirion – which doubled as an Italian village in the plot. The straighter parts of the main Pwllheli/ Caernarfon /Bangor road was also used to shoot real racing sequences – some of which can be identified by the views of the distinctive walls of the Vaynol estate.

I meant to try to change the picture so that the aerial shot of the Palladium, which I’ve also posted, would appear on the main page of this section – but I’m not quite sure how to do this.