1912 2012 THE CENTENARY OF CINEMA IN THIRSK

2012 is a very significant year for Thirsk.

100 years ago an early pioneer of cinematography, Walter Power, opened the Picture House on Thirsk’s Westgate…and it’s still here!

Although there was a period in the 1970s and again briefly in the early 1990s when the cinema had to close due to declining audiences, the cinema is still actively here in the town.

Our centenary year will commence with recognition of the man who brought the cinema to Thirsk by those responsible for keeping it going now.

Walter Power died on the 31^st of January and was buried on the 4^th of February 1934 in Thirsk Cemetery. He was the first to bring moving pictures to a permanent home in Thirsk way back in 1912.

Walter was born in Darlington and initially worked in the town for Messrs Archibold Ramsden part of a chain of one of the biggest piano retailers in the country. During this time he probably developed his considerable piano skills later used as accompaniment to the then silent films.

Walter moved to Thirsk around 1909 and set about converting the ‘Reading Rooms’ (previously a mechanics Institute) leading to the opening of the Thirsk Picture House in 1912. The original square section framing to the screen along with the ‘TPH’ crest is still in position though preserved behind the modern screen. Locally the cinema was known as ‘Powers’.

Walter’s daughter, Patricia, gave us many anecdotes during the early stage of the volunteer group getting set up. Apparently he had uncanny knack of seeming to be in several places at one and the same time. He could keep an eye on the projection room and the box office, yet always be around to greet his patrons – making each one, from the one-and-a-penny balcony, to the sixpenny customer, feel like an honoured guest. Should the pianist happen to let him down, as mentioned earlier, he would take over at the piano.

Music was his abiding passion and, being a born improviser, he required no sheet music, so was able to give all his attention to whatever was happening on the screen. He had a great skill in impersonating the passion of Rudolph Valentino, the drama of Lillion Gish or the deadpan antics of Buster Keaton. At times he was accompanied by a violinist, and even a cellist.

During the original –silent- Ben Hur props such as the clapping together of two wooden blocks would be used to mimic the sound as the lash fell on the galley slaves and a local tenor was a accompanied by a trio to sing a soul-stirring climax of ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’.

The talkies arrived in the shape of ‘sound on disc’ but the technology wasn’t easy to master, and oft were the occasions when the lag would cause the heroine to emit the gruff manly voice of the hero, and vice versa. The Western Electric (sound on film) soon replaced it – but at colossal expense.

Sadly Walter died quite young at 47 and never lived to see the immense changes with wide screens and stereo sound, but we at the Ritz like to think he would be very proud to see that his early cinema is still screening films in Thirsk, and we are proud to recognise this great man at the start of our centenary year.

In his honour the Ritz Cinema volunteer group will lay a wreath on his grave to start our centenary year.

WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY

To attend the wreath laying ceremony please join us at 11:30 on Saturday the 4^th of February at the Cemetery between St Mary’s Church and the Racecourse Stables.  Walter Power’s grave itself is marked by a cross – walk through the main gates and follow the overgrown path immediately on the left and follow it towards the back of the cemetery.

In conjunction with recognition of the cinema’s founding father the Ritz is releasing a special discounted Centenary Year Pass.

THE CENTENARY YEAR PASS

For £100 applicants will receive a pass that they can use on an unlimited number of occasions within a twelve month period at the cinema. For regular cinema goers this represents a considerable saving.

Applications should be sent to:-

The Ritz Cinema

16 Westgate

Thirsk

YO7 1QS

Please mark all applications for the attention of Michele I’Anson and include a cheque for £100 made payable to ‘The Ritz Cinema (Thirsk) Limited’ along with two passport photos. The pass will be valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

As the year commences the Ritz Cinema will embark on various initiatives to celebrate the centenary.

Just some of the planned events are:-

A documentary short made by a local film-maker covering the cinema centenary

A film-related quiz night

A night of historic films from the Yorkshire Film Archive

A themed film show for local schools

Showings of some older films relating to time of the cinema inauguration

And more! Watch this space for details! 

As an aside we have been unable to accurately date the opening of the Picture House (today’s Ritz) in Thirsk, we have the year but not the actual date. Much research of newspaper archives and local history records have not revealed it. If any of your readers can help us confirm the opening date we would be delighted. We would also welcome any of your readers memories of the cinema – from any point in the last 100 years – please feel free to write to us at the above address or email us at enquiry@ritzcinema.co.uk