Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Saturday afternoon at the Biograph, Victoria
Early cinemas of the Edwardian period and up to the Great War occurred in all the Lon-
don suburbs; these, often family owned, have been less able to stand up to the competition
of television than the larger circuits, and consequently many have disappeared or else been
modernised and spoiled like the Classic in King's Road, Chelsea. Many of these cinemas
were of a delightfully ham-fisted Baroque, with fat Tuscan columns that appeared to be
in danger of being squashed by the loads they supported. This exaggerated entasis was
equalled by an exaggerated abundant decoration - swags, festoons, and the like carried
out in stucco or terracotta. I have never been fortunate enough to find a Gothic cinema,
though Tudor-style ones occurred. Cinemas followed the pattern of shapes evolved by the
theatre and were naturally built in the prevailing style of the day, i.e. Edwardian Baroque,
