Sunday 20 November 2011

Egypt in C20: At the Movies







The second of this series focusing on actresses who played Cleopatra in the twentieth century (see the first here) focuses on the film starring the marvellous Theda Bara.




The director was J. Gordon Edwards and it also featured Fritz Leiber and Thurston Hall. It was filmed in the Summer of 1917 and was released in October of the same year.






Both publicity, sets and costumes were lavish.30,000 people were employed in the making of the film as well as 2,000 horses in total Fox spent $50,000 on sets.



 Publicity stated that ancient prophecies had predicted that Theda would play Cleopatra.


She makes a wonderful, exotic and mysterious Cleopatra, if the surviving footage and publicity materials are anything to go by.

Sunday 13 November 2011

Carlton Cinema, Essex Road, London

Designed by architect George Coles the Carlton Cinema opened in 1930 and was still being used as a cinema into the 1970s, since 1962 as part of the ABC chain. It’s history has been less illustrious since with a stint as a bingo hall and then its subsequent abandonment in 2007. The building is currently boarded up and vacant.

The 1930s structure was built on a site that had previously been occupied, since the 1800s, by terraced houses.  C&R Theatres Ltd, owners of the Carlton Cinema chain, purchased the land and got planning permission to build the venue in 1929.



The cinema was opened on 1st September 1930 by Prince Arthur of Connaught and other audience members, in its 2,266 seater capacity, were the Mayor of Islington. The opening film was “Welcome Danger” staring Harold Lloyd.