All Super Cinerama Cinema

HJHill on June 9, 2025 at 8:49 am

Dundee newspaper archives show that this was the ‘Tay Street Cinema’ from its opening on Monday 24 June 1918 until Saturday 12 March 1921. The following Monday, 14 March, it was managed by Thomson Pennycook (not Pennycock) as the Cinerama, its name until closure in 1962.

There is no evidence of James Joseph (not George) Bennell having run it as part of his BB circuit.

In Dundee, he ran film shows at the Empire theatre, which described his films, commencing 8 June 1908, as ‘Spleet New to Dundee’, and at Gilfillan Hall where he began with shows throughout September 1908. On 2 August 1909 he opened ‘permanent picture entertainment’ at the Palace theatre, behind Nethergate’s Queen’s Hotel. The 1911-1912 Dundee Directory listed him running the BB Picture Palace at 160 Nethergate, and leasing the Empire.

My article about Bennell and the historical use of the word ‘cinerama’ was in the CTA Bulletin, Vol 54, No 4, July/August 2022, pp 14,15.