Basildon's old cinemas as new £25million Empire delayed

The brand new super deluxe ten-screen Empire cinema in East Square was scheduled to open in late October as part of the major regeneration of the town centre.

The venue is set to boast the largest cinema screen outside of London and - along with Cineworld at the nearby Festival Leisure Park - will provide Basildon film buffs will even more choice.

However, the opening of the town's new state-of-the-art cinema has been delayed yet again, with bosses insisting it will finally welcome moviegoers before the end of the year.

In more simpler times, long before having to mull over whether to catch a flick in 2D, 3D or 4D, the town was home to the ABC, which was something of a pioneer in the industry.

The ‘dual’ cinema based in North Gunnels, Great Oaks, was ahead of its time. It was two theatres within one giant complex. It also had a state of-the-art widescreen projector.

• READ MORE: Basildon's new £25million new cinema delayed again as opening is pushed back

From the off it made going to the cinema something of an experience. The first titles ever shown at the Basildon ABC when it opened in September of 1971 were the tear-jerking romance Love Story and the comedy On The Buses.

Ticket prices were 55p for adults and 45p for children. The main cinema screen could seat 644 patrons and featured bright red seats, red carpets, and gold stage curtains. The second, slightly smaller theatre had room for 455 moviegoers and had blue carpets.

The ABC weathered along quite nicely during the 1970s, although this wasn’t the best time for cinemas due to a lack of smash hit films and diminishing audiences.

Just yards away the Basildon Arts Centre, based at what is now the Towngate Theatre in St Martin’s Square, was a thriving arts and community hub built for the people of Basildon. It too became a place for people to see films.

It opened on September 21, 1968, by hosting a notable film premier, run in conjunction with the British Film Institute. The film screened was rather more refined than perhaps cinema goers of the day were used to. It was called Never Strike A Lady Except With A Daisy, later to be renamed Never Strike A Woman Except With A Flower. It was the latest film from Czech director Zdeněk Podskalsky.

Vin Harrop, who was the artistic director at the arts centre and was pivotal in setting up the venue, recalls: “This was a British premier, a real coup for Basildon. The film is still appropriate today - even more so in this troubled world we now find ourselves living in, and is an antidote to the more violent films to be enjoyed by today’s audiences.”

The Basildon Arts Centre - the place where Depeche Mode used to rehearse, where Andre Previn, Alison Moyet and David Bowie performed, and where painters and sculptors of national and international importance exhibited their work - is of course long gone.

The ABC, later to become Robins, is also confined to the history books. It trundled on through the 1980s and 1990s until competition from new cinemas at Lakeside proved too great and it closed in December 1999.

Basildon ABC - later to become Robins (Image: Newsquest)

Another lost picture house, the Broadway Cinema in Pitsea, is today a derelict building - a blot on the landscape of Pitsea - but when it opened its doors in March of 1930 it was an instant hit.

Capable of seating 700 movie-goers and with an orchestra pit, gleaming chandeliers and a cafe, it quickly became a favourite amongst locals.

These were the days when the auditorium was thick with cigarette smoke and the backrow seats were filled with young lovers Jack Fisher, former head projectionist at the cinema, shared his memories of the venue with the Basildon history website.

He recalled: “The cinema’s first manager, I believe, was a Mr Halley. His son helped out in the projection room. The manager and his family lived in the self-contained flat above the foyer.

“In the auditorium the seating was arranged with three aisles. The back three rows were curtained off to give privacy - these were the dearest seats.

“Naturally this is where the courting couples would head for. This area even had the arms of pairs of seats taken off for the couples.”

Mr Fisher added: “Most of the audience smoked and the smoke was drawn up through the chandeliers making them brown with nicotine.”

Fortunately the cinema was equipped with the most up to date fire prevention equipment. This ended up coming in handy in 1936 when a blaze broke out .

The film showing at the time was halted but the laid-back audience remained in their seats, refusing to budge. Within 15 minutes the movie was re-started and the fire was out.

Broadway Cinema in Pitsea (Image: Newsquest)

In 1969, shortly before it closed, the cinema made national newspaper headlines when an underage boy was thrown out of a showing of an X-rated film. He was only three months old, however.

The tot was taken as a babe in arms with his mum and dad to see the psychedelic sex comedy Candy, starring Marlon Brando, James Coburn and Ringo Starr.

His teenage mum protested being asked to leave: “ It’s not like the baby is going to see anything of the film!” she stormed. “We will have to leave our friends and go home.”

But the manager Henry Caffin was having none of it. “We have to stick to the regulations,” he said. “We do not want to lose our licence.”

The cinema closed on October 31, 1970, after screening its final two offerings- the swords and sandals epic Jason And The Argonauts and lion themed tear-jerker Born Free.

With the cinema industry facing a fight for its life in the aftermath of Covid, a brand new cinema opening in Basildon is certainly bucking the trend.

Will it be a case of The Sweet Smell of Success for the new multiplex or rather Failure to Launch? Time will tell .