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Prince's News Theatre

Photo:Image shows Princes Cinema in 1933.

Image shows Princes Cinema in 1933.

Image produced with permission from Brighton History Centre

A potted history
Reproduced with permission from the Encyclopaedia of Brighton

The Bijou Electric Empire opened in 1911 at no.63a North Street, the former printing works of the Southern Publishing Company. In 1915 it became the Prince's Electric Theatre, the Bijou Select Palace in 1918, and the Prince's Cinema the following year.

Sound equipment in 1929
Sound equipment was installed in late 1929, and the building was transformed with a new foyer and neon-lit facade in 1933. In 1947 the cinema became the Prince's News Theatre and then the Jacey in 1967, but was taken over in association with the British Film Institute in February 1969 and showed specialist films as the Brighton Film Theatre.

Closed in 1978
This venture closed in late 1978 following financial difficulties, but the building was reopened as the Cinescene on 10 September 1979 by Myles Byrne, and continued until June 1983. In 1988 the building was refronted as a Burger King restaurant.

This page was added on 22/03/2006.

Comments:

As a child I was also taken to this cinema by my dad in the 60s. I remember walking down the slope (as it still is in Burger King!) and the walls were painted black. There was small dark ticket kiosk on the left as you walked down the slope. We watched cartoons such as Mickey Mouse and Pluto, Donald Duck and 'Thats all folks'! Great memories.
By Sue Burtenshaw (29/01/2005)

I have very fond memories of the News Theatre as it was called when I was a kid in the 50s. That was the place to be on a rainy day. I don't think that I have laughed so much since those days. More often than not there was a big fat man in the audience who had a real dirty laugh. This laugh was funny to me on it's own. He could set me off at once by his laugh, he saw the funny side of the cartoons. Today I am addicted to the cartoons from the 40s, 50s and some from the 60s. I have collected all those cartoons on video and DVD and often watch them with my kids and grandkids, we love them to bits, they are so funny.

By Mick Peirson (15/11/2006)

I left school at 14 and spent two weeks working at Allan and West. I then moved on to the Princes News Theatre, where I became a projectionist, until at 18. I was called up for national service in the RAF.

By Peter (11/04/2007)

I was a projectionist here in the early sixties.
I can't remember the head projectionist's name but we always called him chief. The other two projectionists were George and Cam [Mac spelled backwards].
The highlight of the night sometimes [when the chief wasn't on of course] was to wind up the houselights without switching them on. Then just as the program was about to end we would hit the switch and the lights would come blazing on without any warning.
I can tell you there were some very surprised faces.
Happy days.

By Terry McCormack (20/05/2007)

My mum used to take me to this cinema. They used to show a lot of news films but the cartoons were my faves. Afterwards we would go to the Lyons Corner House at the bottom of St. James's Street. Happy days.

By Sandie Waller (25/05/2007)

Sometime in the very early 1970s as the BFT they had a wonderful full day showing of Buster Keaton silents complete with a pianist playing the original scores. Loved it and I do miss the BFT. It ran on a shoestring but had excellent and imaginative programmes.

By Adrian Baron (12/01/2008)

My father Harry Allchin managed the News theatre in the late 1940s; previously he had managed the Grand Theatre in North Road. All my friends loved to be able to come along with me free to the the Princes and sometimes we would sit in there for hours watching the same show over and over again. Superman was the favourite and the three stooges the least popular. On my visits to Brighton I have never been able to place the building but now thanks to this web site I will know where it is.

By Rosemary Barlow (13/03/2008)

Love the picture, especially as it shows two landmarks that I hope are still there (well they were a few years ago). Whenever I return to Brighton I always look for the Hatter's advertisement painted on the side of the wall and the terracotta gryphen on the apex of the peg tile roof two doors down from where the cinema once was.

By Roy Grant (06/11/2008)

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