Picture palace memories keep flowing

10:53am Thursday 15th May 2008

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THE list of eleven cinemas, given by Sutton's heritage man, Chris Coffey, fell well short of the number of picture places which once drew packed audiences around the St Helens area.

That's the view of Burtonwood cine-fan Allan Green who, at 74, can recall a handful of others, including the Scala, the Hippodrome and the Capitol.

And two of these had the best 'canoodling' seats, he adds.

The Scala had double seats seized by young lovers.

And the back of the towering balcony of the Hippodrome (now a bingo centre) was the perfect place to steal a kiss.

The Parrvillion (or Parr Dog) at Fingerpost was the first to screen an all-talkie presentation, says Allan. "And the biggest cinema queue I ever recall was at the town-centre Rivoli, now gone."

There was a vast queue, wrapped right around the big building when Larry Parkes starred in The Jolson Story, a sort of biography about the great, black-faced jazz singer, Al Jolson, who began his singing in a Jewish synagogue and rose to become a world film star.