Rembrandt:Memories

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Peter Shaw sent me this story from 1959, where he recalls the cool interior of the cinema contrasting with the heat both of the day and the story on the screen.

Rather unromantically I have over analysed this to surmise that the water spray air cooling system must have been working at that time.

I think it must have been in 1959. My best friend Pete and I are the same age (in fact, our mothers met in the maternity ward) and at that time we lived in Old Coulsdon. We were about 10 years old. Our nearest cinemas were the Regal, Purley, the Florida in Caterham and the Astoria, Purley.

However, on this occasion we expressed great interest in seeing a revival of King Solomon's Mines starring Stewart Granger at the Rembrandt in Ewell. We had never been to Ewell (or Stoneleigh!) and had no idea where it was. Our mothers apparently decided we could go there alone on the bus. We had to change at least once, in Croydon.

I remember that day as if it were yesterday. We got off the bus (was it opposite the cinema?) and walked up a short grassy mound to the cinema. It was a glorious sunny day, and I can remember touching the red brick of the cinema and noticing how hot it was. This was the first afternoon screening. We entered the Rembrandt, and were greeted by the manager. The foyer was fairly dark and very cool. Years later, my mother confessed she had telephoned the manager, asking him to look out for two bewildered boys. This was effectively the first time we were allowed on such an expedition without an adult.

The manager accompanied us to a kiosk, where we bought kia-ora. We had a packet of sandwiches in our satchels. We entered a totally empty and enormous cinema (or so it seemed to us!) and watched this tremendously exciting movie (again, as it seemed to us). We were transfixed by the actor playing 'Gagool,' the guide to the mines. Of the cinema, I can remember the curtains, the texture of the seat, the carpet, but most of all I remember the space and the calm of the auditorium.

Afterwards, we sat outside and ate our sandwiches leaning against the cinema wall. I remember very little traffic until the bus arrived, and we hopped on. I recall waving to the Rembrandt manager as the bus pulled away.

It was the only time I ever visited the Rembrandt, but to me it remains the most vivid cinema visit of my life. Innocent days indeed.

Decades later, I was the advertising agent for Warner Bros for nearly 10 years and sat through hundreds of movies in the company's private cinema in Wardour Street. I can assure you there were many times, in that cramped, stuffy little screening room, when I longed to be back in the cool Rembrandt on that sunny day in 1959