Alf Cooper 0:03
The copyright of this recording is vested in the AC t t History Project. Jim Gorrie, technicolour technician interview, Alf Cooper recorded on the 28th of November 1988. side one project Jim Gorrie laboratory technician from technicolour interview, l. Cooper, recorded on the 28th of November 88. Thing anything that's anything that's interesting Really? Jim Gorrie? Very sorry, Gorrie. When, first of all, where were you born and when
Jim Gorrie 1:12
Born in 1921 in Uxbridge and I went to school first school was the Greenway. And then we moved to Hillingdon afterwards I was there at the school till I was 14
Alf Cooper 1:32
Did you do any special training or anything when you were at school?
Jim Gorrie 1:35
No, I was never a sports whenever interested in sport to any great degree. I did play a bit but not not wasn't. The film, always film in the cinema attracted me. We used to have a cinema in Uxbridge with four cinemas Actually, I should say. And the Regal was the one that attracted me most. It was built it was a sister cinema to the Regal Marble Arch built by unbelievers Abraham's with a man who built them. And it was stage shows every week, big stars, you know, who doubled there between the Regal and the Slough the Delphi at Slough. So I spent quite a lot of time in cinema and as soon as I finished, except for about a month, when I was waiting for a vacancy in the area. I lost one because a bloke was there at the same interview as me he was crying his eyes out that he was hard done by by his boss . I gave in I said what you have this one that was at the Savoy cinema on the corner, which is no longer and then the one come up at the Regal and I went there. And
Alf Cooper 2:56
did you stay in for a month you'd be in for a month.
Jim Gorrie 3:01
I worked I worked at for a week I worked at the Bell Punch making automat tickets for the busees, you know, but I did a few weeks of greengrocers like before that. So I got this job at the Regal which was with a bit of existence really at that time when you think of the the big stage shows the big names I met all the big bands we had there all the big stars like Ted Ray Turner Leighten Huch Billy Cotton band Troy's is manadaliers is a go on and on, you know, the queues the the big queues outside the cinema was three cash boxes there. And the queues for hundreds yards each way along the booster block the whole pathways at the main street all around the town, you know. And Happy Days. Yeah. And where the shows. I think the is that the KRS laws were? Three hours and 14 minutes no shows. Sometimes when we went to all five and a quarter, five and a half hours, the show you know so when you think it was for six pence, the lowest for six pence, nine pence one,& three? I think the dearest was two and threepence you know. And as I went on, and
Alf Cooper 4:37
what were you doing then actually
Jim Gorrie 4:38
I was projecting, projecting projecting. I started as I say at 14. The rules were at the time you were not allowed to be left alone in a box till you were 16. And it rather excruciating me the fact that I had to train people who are older than me. I was fifth projectionist, and I trained people for the fourth position because I kept moving and kept going or getting the sack or something. And I train them to get more money than me it was just the age problem you know But then because we were doing spotlights and the stage stays work you know, curtains and colour, colour wheels and everything. And I was there till I was about 16 and a half. And they wanted to relief at a place called the Marlborough cinema in Yiewsley everyone called it a bug hutch, but it was the cleanest cinema ever worked at you could have eaten your floors in the toilets. It was the paint. It was beautiful. Only where the Regal was a 1600 seater with a big concert organ at the front, everything at the stage. The Marlbourough was only about 1000 I think just under 1000. But I liked it there so they asked me to stay on was I did. I stayed on there for two years, asked for a rise. I think I was getting 15 shillings a week then what as the projections as third and asked for rise and it wasn't forthcoming. So I wrote to Odeons I wrote to Granada's Odeon has offered me a job as third at the Odeon Southall it was only half a crown a week but pride and all that I took it The funny thing was that on the Saturday night I was leaving I happen to leave the projector to go see if the film was being packed away in the transit cases and who should come up with was the the chief engineer Savvy. And he saw me off the machine and threatened me so that I could get you the sack for that you can't I said I'm leaving. He said, Well, you're not I said, Yeah, so wherefore it was? He was going to get me the sack turned out. What do you want to stay on? I said, I asked you for a rise I'll give you a rise out of petty cash is it too late I'm going so I went there and within I went to the Odeon for half a crown yeah
Alf Cooper 7:33
what I'm trouble you're 16 Yeah, so
Jim Gorrie 7:36
I was gonna get see yeah half crown on top of what I was getting half crown risers. Well, that was on Saturday night. And he asked me to stay on I said no, no, I promised on going now the Sunday morning war started and also the cinemas closed down thenaturally have | got a job or haven't I and so we I reported the work we did all maintenance work cleaning out the plenum and the air conditioning and all that things. And then we opened up on Saturday I think it was stagecoach I'm not sure I got another funny idea it was john wayne in Stagecoach stay out and then after the three months of being that three months I was offered a second job but a real bug hutch in Hayes called the Corinth I don't know if you remember that Oh yeah.
So
I took that I was only there two months and along come the chief from the Odeon offered me a second job but he was about an hour late because the cha from the Marlborough had asked me to go back a second. That's all we took it so I spent another two and a half years there doing projection again the second which was although he was never there I was my own governor really. I was just in charge of everything so I think and
Alf Cooper 9:13
what were you earning then at the Marlborough
Jim Gorrie 9:15
have gone up to 30 shillings and which was good money in those days. I mean a chief projectionist's money in those days was two pound five, two pound five shillings, which wasn't very good. But when you think of all that you have to do your own electrical work everything you know, yeah. And then I got called up in the Navy. But before I did, we were doing fire watching there at the beginning of the bombing. The chief did one night I did another one. So when we did three nights now that we do for when we got we split on a three pound between us for that. But that made the money really Terrific, you know, think of it. And I went in the Navy of five years.
Alf Cooper 10:06
Did you? Before we before we go to the Navy?What What were your what were your hours? Like? I mean, forget about the fire watching what were the hours
Jim Gorrie 10:17
are very long. I used to start nine in the morning of an hour for dinner. an hour for tea, and half an hour in the evening. And sometimes it be 1112 by one o'clock before we got away and that was for five nights of the week. Sorry, six. But you'd have one early night is seven. an early night, baby seven o'clock. you'd leave off early night was leaving at seven o'clock. You know you do from nine o'clock in the morning. Till seven in the evening. Yes,
I mean,
you'd have one day off. But generally it was a Sunday where there's only two shows, you know, the lowest. The lowest bloke always had the Sunday. Yeah. And then
Unknown Speaker 11:20
he would give it to me. Right?
Jim Gorrie 11:25
He always had a Sunday. I was at the Sunday for strip beans. I was a boy at first. But then gradually, you could pick up days off you have a Tuesday or Wednesday or five, you know, which was alright, if you had a mate in another cinema if we did, and we used to go out. And then we used to have free passes for all the different cinemas, we want to go there. So we used to use that in the afternoon. And then I mean, what the younger generation are missing now is the fact we used to get the evening news and they got these great big lists of films and variety theatres, you know, quite big piles of them. And you can say we're gonna see tonight we got the Hammersmith Pat Hammersmith or Chiswick Empire or even right across town anyway you know Streatham and you see all the big x big bands you know and let's say I think that for anybody living that was the best time for the stars. I mean to me there's no stars now. Not these people you got on the wall. I mean that's just people you spit people who you see once you don't want to see him anymore and they're not really actors. You can make anybody an actor now Can't you know there's nobody can sing. The music is terrible. and so I used to really enjoy myself the fact that I always say well, you know you got the people like the Crazy Gang and all that around a time you got nobody to take their place now. And that's what we used to do. I say a day off was taken up in got to see a cinema. Of course we got in a box. Have a look around. I mean I've got a box to see a bloke is being flooded. where Randles is in Uxbridge. The Savoy was on the other corner, they were building out building Randalls, and they got the footings out and the water was it was been pouring for three or four days a water was rushing underneath the road and filling up. It was coming up the wires in the intake room C and R went two hours I was standing there with the bucket China chucking water out is clearly coming back again. But as I say, it was a fact that you love the job when he didn't care Long He works. And the flight was got one a day off. Even when I was in the Navy, I know I'm jumping a bit. I used to go on leave ice go and relieve blokes in cinema for a day off not for pay. The fact that it was the job one that everybody knows time but I knew in a box was crazy about projection about cinema. And now I think someone just hit me in my mind or forgot all about it used to be a milk bar in Uxbridge . And from about a past 10 limit night. It was filled with projectionists from the four cinemas all they're all taking the Mickey out one night and any cock ups tonight you know and if you put the wrong reel on and all that and that happened I mean the the safety things we used to use to so he wouldn't put the wrong reel on But it went wrong because we were showing the Broadway Melody in 1938 that was the feature film which should have started after the stage show. The film before was one I think it was called midnight Madonna or something and it was a real weepy one of those weepy things and them with shown that done the Oregon show done the stage show started up on the first wheel of Broadway Melody. And the boy came in. I was I was fourth in and held up the film hold the leader out and show the bloke. What he said he said real three and four. He should right put it on. And when he laced up, he went really checked it, checked his loot checked his lace up everything, check the carbons all the luck. And I happen. And I stayed there for the changeover before I went to my tea break. And he went I want the real pro and it was a real three. And for the other one one, it was a court scene on a busy Saturday afternoon about five o'clock. And we there was sackings everywhere that day, but it was all forgotten, like you know, but I've seen that happen several times. But say it was a feeling that I never found it at Technicolour when I'm out in Technicolour. I've never found that feeling. So much of people being so keen on their job, you know?
Alf Cooper 16:11
Yes, that's right. Yes. When did you get into NATKE?
Jim Gorrie 16:14
Well, we joined it was part of the deal when we went to the cinema the Regal the first month I was 14 of joining there. And I think it was sixpence a week, and we joined it for and the stage hand manager was only one but he was everything to all this doing all the alterations every week for the stage shows. And he was the convener and we used to meet a little cafe right next to the Regal, up above. And he didn't last very long because he was sacked out of hand because he knows it was union cinemas owned by union cinemas ABC hadn't taken over in which they did when I was there. And then we will take them into the office one at a time and threatened if we didn't drop out. We'd go as well. And when do you think I was a 14 the fact that about eight page boys were all about my babies. They were who I was always tall. Loads of our usherettes cleaners. No, no, they weren't interested. So I never came back into union. Till I met Alf at technicolour. Now,
Alf Cooper 17:23
let's come to you all for your war service. Did you did you put your name down for the Navy?
Jim Gorrie 17:28
No, I will. I went for our medical and when I went for the interview this general saw me I think it was a general and he said you work on carbon arcs mostly That's right. He said you work on big amperages and I said yes. So he said we'll be alright for the search lights and that was the last thing I want him to go and search lights I said no no I don't want that you know put me in the I'm putting the raft and I never honestly thought I would go in be called a Navy because that was the top one you know you could always come out the Navy the others but you could never get out of the other one to go in the Navy and I knew that. Anyway, I wasn't called up for about eight months and I couldn't understand it and then this letter came inviting me to go to Butlins holiday camp at Skegness called HMS Royal Arthur and also never go Butlins again in my life. I have gone back on that once and I regret the I had food poisoning. But we went up there and we started chatting on the train of 18 it was all projectionist all around town. I've got a photo of time almost like all of London blokes, you know, had all the outskirts know. When we got there was split into two lots of nine. Did our square bashing and rowing boats that got holes in the oars, so you couldn't move and things like that, you know, he was freezing to death. It was cold up there. People were dying in asleep. No heating there. And then I was sent down
to
Portsmouth was split into two lots of nine I was in the first Lot went so and there was a thing called the dome a teacher, remember elf dome teachers. And the other spot. That's right. Yeah.
Alf Cooper 19:34
They put me on my trainers because
Jim Gorrie 19:38
we migrated I'm trying to. Well, that's where I met Oliver. And all that lot you say? And so we we went on whale Island, which is the biggest gunnery school in the world, I believe. And that's where initially was and the man who was in charge. And he began his lifting at commander Hamilton. I think his name was and We were split up at the end I was sent to Bristol and I stayed there for about for the first while I was there four and a half years actually for 3-5 years and in that time I was got fed up not kept asking for you know transfers out because I had not only get lumped on with the fact that I was doing the dome my a teacher, I had a load of Wrens under me. That's funny and loads of blokes. And I was also repairing all the projectors in the local hospitals and local call up places and all that 16,9,35 and also the T. tg TGM at chif gunners mate my chief petty officer was the lead head electrician of the ship. It was a big old sloop from the First World War. And he got going sick the bronchitis so I take over all these luck as well you say? Anyway, I could get away for a while to go back down to Plymouth and I got my Petty Officer there got past a big test on electricity and everything. Went back to Bristol, because the old man i thought was away and he sent for me to go back. And I've got demobbed and as I was telling Alf the way up there was a cinema got bombed in hot Wales in Bristol, and I've you know, Bristol at all I've got a name now. What next to a pub. But I was very very funny with a public and he was one No, no. We're been civvy digs I the crew slept aboard but we had civvy digs and I was right near the bridge, Clifton Clifton Vale I think we lived in but this Alf Alf change his name was and he had a pub. He had a fish and chip shop which he bought for his wife and this cinema formed a sort of triangles these the fish shop in the pub on one side of the road. And right in the middle was this cinema, which it had a few bombs but only fire bombs and bit burning, which have been taken out by the Ministry. So should you try and find out when it's going to be derequestioned? You give me that me gratuity when you come out and I will put all the rest of the money will you be yours entirely? Our be the silent partner. And it took six months I was trying to get into the ministry, they wouldn't let me give them go inside. And so we've dropped that. And I came out. I didn't wanna go about the cinema. And I suddenly thought that during the time I've been there, I'd met all the bosses at Technicolour I've been down the same because they installed all the equipment is so nice. They state that more
Alf Cooper 23:07
or less, the down train isn't Yeah, the cams really forget it. And they, it was a an N if you know what it is. It
Jim Gorrie 23:14
could be an interesting thing to tell him as well, if you can imagine. I mean, I've seen 16 mil ones which is smaller but 30 to 35 mil one. And there was space around the country. There's about eight or nine in the Navy, but RAF camps had them all.
Alf Cooper 23:30
And Merchant navy were trying to protect themselves when
Jim Gorrie 23:35
we did the merchant navy car when I was in the Royal Navy, but I was attached to the what they called the DEMS. defencely equipped merchant ships. And so we had the boats come in from the merchant navy, the Royal Navy because most of the merchant ships had a Royal Navy gunner on board. We train the Americans army blokes the Home Guard and Home Guard every Monday night was Home Guard that was good night we just get paid up now hypose on blokes and RAF blokes met tonnes of blokes but the building was big, quite big, huge tin building. And if you can imagine getting an orange is cutting in half line, the flat bit and then again the middle so you had a quarter of an orange more or less and it was all plastered. 22 foot high on your screen there 22 foot high and 22 for each way with a black wall with with blue lights blue florie that you could put on and made the blue sky so then you had a projector facing others some photos if you ever want to say the projector face the blank wall around but you had 20 odd real different reels of different aeroplane attacks. Which you put on certain with a sync mark in front was a mirror, a surface mirror, which I'd be very careful with it control by wires for lying and training, which ran to the projector, to these cams Alf mentioned, which were lots to lots of metal that far apart. But that big, and they're all chopped out different. So that's about that's about two inches apart. No, there was there was the cams was 210, like two piece of aluminium, which were fastened with a piece of metal ring in that right going right round. And I was scooped out differently side, so that you put them on there on the Start mark. And when you start the projector at the light of this plane attack went onto the mirror, the mirror was moving, because there was little two little rollers, on these cams going up and down like that, which train the mirror. So sometimes you'd have a plane coming out from the right view, moving down and twist in mountain is sadly a direct Yeah, and you got aeroplane noises, you've got bomb noises, and you had a gun, which you aimed at it. And then when you tilt your aim off, you know, it's trying off the front, you fired. And there was a yellow mark there, but you kind of suck because you had a yellow flap over your eye,
Alf Cooper 26:27
it was the aim of actually that Yeah. That was in front of the plane that was attacking,
Jim Gorrie 26:34
you got a car,
Alf Cooper 26:35
if the if the gunner was firing correctly, in other words, the act of fire in front of the plane and that what they couldn't get the people used to. And, and if when when when they fire, the light shone on a dot, they knew whether the structure
Jim Gorrie 26:50
and the rest of the rest of the crew, I could see if they were right to say, but there was 20 odd reels of that. And the Technicolour in those days was very brittle. And we used to get to see how long we can run these. And I mean, I remember in the cinema, you get some old technical accommodation just crack a machine, you know, constant showing, well, after a while the first two attacks on he used to get really chewed up, you know, you start to put if you got to keep it in sync. So if you've lost a few frames, you have put some blank wire in to make it up. So in the United shot the first two off and then stab a sink mark on that. So you'd have I think there were 10 attacks and all reel so you'd have eight, you know, and I've got about 500 times out of a reel, which when you think they were little GBM projectors, which hammered the film a little bit that was quite good, you know.
Alf Cooper 27:48
But the whole kaboodle was made at Technicolour
Jim Gorrie 27:53
I think it was an old German idea. They pinched but there was another one I worked on us and I saw was the cinerama and that was in the Navy. That came out in the Navy, a bloke worked in Britain that first put that into the Navy, I saw down at Plymouth but that's that was the dome he went to tracer one as well remember the tracer that was aeroplanes coming down on Rope wires, and E boats go around a corner and you had a gun and you printing press the trigger? Because you'd have the noise of the aeroplanes coming down noise or bombs coming? The noise your gun you could change it from machine gun or a pom pom. And you'd you'd shoot big. Bigger ballbearings out Yes. And the light shone on it. It looked just like you know, a tracer flicks away you say, but we just take charge of that. When we were trying them out. We used to fight one another. And I didn't realise after one vote got one stuck in his head by x not when we were doing it, but we never did any more. But that was that all that training stuff, you know,
Alf Cooper 29:06
I'm a black and white film I guess the yellow dot and we had one side we have four sides to an IV and Yang use yellow, cyan and magenta. So we made another yellow one up print black and white, the print for black and white. We've put yellow.on with the exact position that the bike should be aiming to hit the plane because of the speed of the plane and the
Jim Gorrie 29:26
but it also will come out the Navy I suddenly thought you met a lot of the technical people down
Alf Cooper 29:33
Yeah, well, they come down and happy and happy
Jim Gorrie 29:38
cliffs. daland
Alf Cooper 29:40
did you meet?
Jim Gorrie 29:41
I don't remember. I was
Alf Cooper 29:44
Ganga MB for the SU brown app we were about
Jim Gorrie 29:47
Yeah, there was quite a lot of candidates or Griff, little, little short, Tabby, Griff come down there electrician and there was some we got the sack they were called fiddling their expenses or something. I remember hearing about that from the grapevine. But let's say I started there. Got a job. And the right there, the starting rate was one and 10 an hour. This is a Technicolour Yeah. That was 46, and May 46. But bear as I was fully trained, I got extra tuppence getting 2 Bob an hour. And then say we joined the Union as part of the deal. And that's when I first met Alf And even on the IB they weren't, yeah,
Alf Cooper 30:36
yeah, because I used to be sensitising in that pack that you see and then I went on to the IBS and then
Jim Gorrie 30:44
I had a sudden shock when I walked in on the Monday that I wasn't in a sound box. I was in a sync box. Where you're the IB running the reels off. There was an old dear bringing the runs in and pounding night made three machines. You got to keep one in sync. No sound it was just purgatory because we were short of staff. The young lads they're about 14 that's sorry, but yeah, 1415 I think someone were and they sometimes you'll be on your own running 6 projectors, you know. And it was murder. You're running out he got put a reference on it has a perfume?. Yeah. And then you got to, you might run a few feet. You got to tear it off, take it rewind, rewind it back, stick another one on and have it in time for next reel Oh, come on, you see. So I didn't like that very much. So I went back, went to ABC Golden square and also my job back which was entitled to they gave me a chief's job at Golders Green which I thought was fair enough for the leader. Is it the ABC? Yeah. Because he said we'll come back tomorrow and we have we didn't know I was working I didn't let him know I was working anyway. And so he they told me about right. He said, Well, you work with bloody Tom before we give you a bit extra and I said well, was it one of our and it worked out pound less? I've got a Technicolour in that old sync box. I said oh, no, you won't. I said now I'm I mean that he won't get any better money and now London, you know. So often I forget it. So I came back. And within about six weeks was I was in the sound theatre a vacancy in the sound theatre, which will then become
Alf Cooper 32:36
the lighting department.
Jim Gorrie 32:38
No, no, that was the LPA that commander Cahill bless plus k Hill positive assembly, as well. A film was checked and joined and I was in there. And I become the steward of the department which included projectionist, the whole of the people as viewers, the film handlers. There's quite a big department about 50 odd people in all. And so that went on for a while. And then we was in there must been eight years nearly. Then we had the lockout. I wasn't and just before the lockout, I've been moved to lighting department, which is just a new department which is started up of graders and they wanted a chief projectionist. See there was one in the PA for the whole of the plant at that time. So they made me chief and got me in there. So I lost the stewardship say, and then we had this lockout where 800 were locked out. And formen and above were kept on although a lot of them did black leg go in, I'm afraid. All went out with the boys. So being as our own, steward had Black legged. They made me steward while we're out. And I was meat going all the meetings with the guy around the house going around the factories with Alf looking after the microphones and the batteries. Pleading for money, you know, pleading poverty for money, you know, we got good reception in some we got bad reception. And when we went back, because we're always hammering out the fact that the projectionists has been left out. We were anomalies for about eight or nine years every new agreement we were left out of it. But we did best out of the lockout. We got about 16 bob week rise. The chief projectionists is like you know, and I did come did drop out of union activity just after that because I found that the convener was he wasn't Ah, shaking him up. I think he's shaking him he was a communist, but then Ray Sharp, if you've ever met him. He shook him up this lockout. And he had to be helped by a lot of people, I think, who knew how to handle it better. And
Alf Cooper 35:15
then Antarctica
Jim Gorrie 35:17
was one of the ones and he was paying more attention to the black legs and simply round them and gonna let them where they got fined five pound, which I thought was paltry at the time paying sixpence a week and all that and as either are, this is no good. I had a row with him and I dropped out for about 12 years. Then I came back to you being an activity, you know.
Alf Cooper 35:42
I tend to like to go back to when you're going round going round, or you know, getting drumming up support from factories in the area.
Tell us a bit about that. We haven't heard about that.
Well, we told you I took the boat with me.
Jim Gorrie 35:56
Yes. Tell us about well, we went we had a big meeting. And in Hounslow cinema in Hounslow, George Elvin was there. And when we went into that meeting, there was no talk, or any way of us doing anything after the meeting. We were going around the plant. We were there. I was there. Daily all day on motorbikes. I'm on my bike there, which, at the time, I had a caravan on hp. I bought a caravan on HP. I had the motorbike an HP, I hadn't got any insurance, any tax sorry, on the car on the motorbike. And this copper, there was a big red faced copper there, it was going to cause trouble we've ever so peaceful really. But he was the one who started us off because it lasted nearly a fortnight and he suddenly spotted I hadn't got any insurance and he saw as a blown tech the tech sorry there's a chap out of the ball house he was the same boat as me. And someone said Get your bike out of the way quick so we tore off home dumped our bikes and come back but the when we come out of this meeting we got cracking and we said this march to technicolour which I say is about five mile Yeah, about five mile well we said that they said no we're March a few 100 yards just that the captaincy so we're near the front and we're one of the front Okay, no technical let's go to technicolour and we did. Elvin dropped out after a few yards inside the some of the out but we went on, and it frightened the life out of him because someone were out walking out the front and I saw so much that road. And someone was telling me afterwards, they thought that we're going to take the place over, they all ran back indoors and shut all the doors when we were taking the like bad boys on Friday to pay our get our week in hand. But the ones who have been locked out, they got all their wages, they got all the holiday pay, and they also drew out their superannuation money as well. You say? Well, we couldn't do that. We just got a week in hand. The Union I think I was three pounds was it three pound for pound for pound a week as I got about six pounds, I think but not you know, but
Alf Cooper 38:27
whatever
Jim Gorrie 38:28
fiver was it, but we went to arbitration and we did win the day. But when we went around these factorys a lot of people were very sympathetic, but some of them didn't want to know we see because what happened? The papers, the talk, the Tory press, I mean, I've always been there. I mean, let's face it, they put down our wages and I put our night work money, all our overtime money and divide by 40 or 4545 40 at that time wanted and we're getting fantastic wages because a lot of people say you bastards you're getting too much already you know, they were saying we were greedy and we pound them to sat tell them it was a false figure for up by the press that that was a night pay. All the overtime and everything all added up and divided just say but as I went to arbitration and we won the day,
Alf Cooper 39:29
during the strike down Do you remember the guy to technicolour when we ended the pickets there are some of the people that were black he used to drive him with our cars he one bloke another one got his when he's got his
Jim Gorrie 39:45
chief engineer
Alf Cooper 39:47
broken off as he went past you know, when he
Jim Gorrie 39:49
was a chief engineer running,
Alf Cooper 39:51
but we had a we had a an inspector of police there and all the time, you know, and I went up to him and I said to him Look, either you stop these People coming in like that and treat the boys with respect said when are these cars going to be turned over cut man they're burning. Now don't say, I haven't warned you, you got your people here. And my people are not going to be knocked about by these people are blacking on this scabss. We were calling them said if you don't stop them Don't, don't come to me because they are provoking us. And it will be your fault for not stopping. so on, I know what's going to happen. And I'm just warning you. He said thank you. Because he was he stopped it. I forgot to tell you that when we were talking about that locker
Jim Gorrie 40:36
room, it was the chief engineer, the deputy chief engineer. Why not why the other one I was before Keith Burnham, the Welsh bloke, I forget his name. But it was funny, there was some Welsh blokes working, who had been put off and they were at the gate. And gradually as these 10 days, one whole week, and three or four days went on, they got more agitated, and they started thumping cars a little bit, you know, because one of them and I realise a brother in law in the car. And he he it causes a terrible lot of ill feeling afterwards. I mean, there was people would never have their in laws around the house. Because when I went there and those first 10 years, there was Technicolour I was a big family concern there was loads of people have some
Alf Cooper 41:28
metal 5g and all the other jobs around the area
Jim Gorrie 41:31
was five or six people in one families working in it all over the plant. See if someone blackleg they didn't want to know him you see. And then we we saw in big staples out big good nails out again, punches. No one ever got a punch or like you know, but it got really the feeling was getting angrier and angrier. I think those blokes were in there. And they was trying to start trouble because we were told by an outside contractor that at one meeting, one assistant supervisor got up in fact, the old man said when they come back he said we got wield a big stick. And we got a really treat these blokes rough. And the old man, Oliver Oh, we all had a great respect. We might have argued whatever, negotiate with him argue with him and all that swore at him or maybe I didn't but on other people that he was a bloke you could respect and he said No way. No way. Are you gonna do that? He said, I respect you coming in, but I respect them people outside more. And he said there's only one Kiddy in his plant. That was a big stick and that's me. You'll never do it. And, but it didn't stop some little petty things. When we got back there was some nasty things went on, you know. And it took a long time. Even when I left I've been retired two and a half years. There was a couple of Black legs left and I when I spoke to them, I still remember the back of my mind. And it was you can't help it, you know, and say it took a long time to die down. That wasn't a very nice part. And I say I don't I came out of activity. That must have been 54 was it 55 but I came back in as a steward. Paddy tried to keep me out Paddy O'Gorman because I was a foreman. And he was pushed down.
Alf Cooper 43:43
When did you go upstairs in the box? When did you got the box with Alan?
Jim Gorrie 43:50
Well, I started around 46 but I come away again in about 5354. So but then I have my own box and gradually my empire got bigger and bloke more blokes and a lot more projection boxes all over the place. And they were taken him from Alan to give to me. And then I went back and the first year I got back they made me deputy convener and then a little while after that, we started giving where the firm is stop giving hampers to the pensioners. We started this old pensioners business. We had a compassus there was a committee we formed and we had one bloke I was on holiday I agreed to be in it I was on holiday when I come back all the key jobs are gone except Oh at the worst when I was I'd got the sideshows. So I was making up sideshows weekends in the Union hut taking it home at night. Collecting rubbish you know clearly having making a disco app and all that sort of thing. But paring getting all the vinyl stuff. And then he fell out. And I took over his chairman. And then we started we hadn't made a lot of money then because he hadn't spent a lot of money on prizes where we started spending. And so we had, I had a big fete once a year six dances a year and about four or five raffles and we used to buy about 100 pounds with a booze and we could put it all in a window in the canteen look beautiful. Why we all we had a bloke with us as a shopkeeper. He done all the fancy papers No, you know, we used to make a bomb on that. We used to sell them tickets for about a month and even the last minute for we had to draw people buying pounds worth you know, and then make a lot of money on the dance but we made enough to socially evening and on the the fete day. We made set my 900 pound but when you got a workout, your figures what you spent and all you know, but we had to contend with nearly 300 patients that was a fiver each the firm gave us something I gave us 200 pounds a year and we had celebrity there cut the times we had Sid Cole one year .
Alf Cooper 46:19
now yeah with Sid Cole I got I got black beauty and the girl and What was her name? She was the SEIU member back be remember the daughter in Black Beauty what Stacy Dorney Stacey Dorney, we paid 40 quid to get the horse there 50 car seats and we had left back black beauty there. We had Stacey Dornier there and we cleared over 400 quid profit. Yeah,
Jim Gorrie 46:46
I'll tell you a story about that shall
Alf Cooper 46:49
change sides...............................................................................
Jim Gorrie 0:19
Yeah, we had
we were supposed to get Sid James. And he was mates with our Gin drinker Governor at the time, but I never got to come. And all we had to give him was a crate of Gin drinker . But then the last minute you dropped the study found it. Yeah. It already another, it somebody go to all the time, which are awesome. So do you add an offer? And I say and so I've never, I've never a Sid James fan after that. But then she got this. And I've got this, Stacey Dawning. And the horse. Now, we were a bit green on that. All it costs us was a rose, a car for Stacey dawning and some flowers, but went out of time with 50 quid I did my note and he said to me, You tight
bastard. I said, Well, 50 quid for a bloody he was 40 are still neglected for equipment. Bloody horse
let's have her on her own you know, balls out, voted on that one. And what we didn't know was that the other fetes , you see that these two together. They had key rings made. And they had placed leather for a phone front picture, and are in pictures of people taken with Black Beauty and Stacy Dorning, and they were flogging them for five or 10 Bob at a time when they scouts all around the country. We didn't go out we didn't realise you see, we could have made a bomb. But I say went on and on. And quite a few years went on. And then the big redundancy in 1978. And I was chairman at the time. Chairman of the old pension as chairman of the Union, the branch and I was made supervisor. And it's a very, very awkward thing. I turned it down for about three months. I kept turning it down. And then I was on I was threatened if I didn't take it. Thery would get a bloke in from outside. When I make one of my boys up and I said well that's totally unfair. I've been over him for 20 odd years. He's a nice bloke, good bloke and all that but I can't. So I went to see Paddy O'Gorman. Can I stop as I want to go on as am now I'm quite happy as foreman, but they wanted to take the whole projection side out to make a separate department entirely, you see. And Paddy and I weren't exactly best buddies, and because I'd boosted john stone out of office. And he said no, no you can do about it. So in the end, I took it. And then a lot the boys weren't very pleased with this lockout. And then I don't want to go into this next bit really, but I did come in a dispute with the union. And the fact that I was left there one day. And the big new plant was at the back because they've given doing away with the IBS, they got the big new plant ready to go at the back
Alf Cooper 3:38
new each month for the new resource
Jim Gorrie 3:39
where they made a cock up in America in America, they suddenly one day just shut down the Iby]'s, you know, the inhibition machines and opened up there and customers were left in the up the Creek, and lost a lot of work. And I said they weren't gonna do it technicolour? Well, Paddy O' Gorman is a convener it stopped anyone going into the plant? No one is black. The plant was black. So the night before we given that meeting with Brian Shemming 's. It gives me okay for that we're going in the next day.
Alf Cooper 4:12
I'd retired by this time,
Jim Gorrie 4:14
given the OK you see and I'm on my own the next day at the plant and let two electricians come along and said we've been ordered to go in and do work in there. We're not going to do it. We're going on strike. I didn't know Paddy give permission. But anyway, Paddy went back on his word. Time was something I don't know why. Les Ken Woolen? has told me that Paddy had agreed he was at the meeting. But when I ran head office touch because Paddy used to have a day out to come up with payout checks as me and the girl said, Oh, they've just gone out. I could hear a lot of tittering and laughing about I should they just gone out to lunch. Okay, I'll ring back and I went The management I said, Look, you hold up I don't know trouble here. Hold up like get hold of Paddy. I rang up two hours later and a girl, there was all this tittering going and the girl said he's go out to lunch. Says bloody funny. You told me that two hours ago. Don't bother. And I'll tell you what. The next morning I come in, and we have called it the office and we've made a bloody stupid we were. We were John Stone, Paddy and myself. And we were made to look, we couldn't be trusted, you know? And Paddy wouldn't answer. And we got out of there.
And
I felt like a little chastened schoolboy, because, uh, no, there was no answer to it, you know, permission have been granted. And I was so bloody mad. And I'll tell you what that day was. Do you remember when a big tanker blew up in Spain on a holiday camp and kill a lot of people and my loss words with Paddy was you dropped me in the cart yesterday. I said that bloody tankers should have been outside headquarters yesterday. And I said you dropped out. And I wrote I resigned and I kept out of it. And they kept saying me come back come back. Now I don't wanna I don't want to know until Paddy left and then I come back straight in as chairman, beat Claridge for the drawer, which aint hard whose reputation and I lost as I say I was chairman for two or three years. I realised we're going to retire out it was Spurts Bracken who was convener at that time we took over from Paddy who was a very fair but we did we got we got a lot of advantages. We got an extra weeks holiday. So we got seven weeks holiday we got rises where Paddy got no rises, Some tears he'd given stuff back. We had big rises four or five percents. We got days off for when we retired. The last six months. We had for the first three months of that six months. You had one day off a week, the last three months. You had two days off a weekly call rundown days. It was beautiful. My wife didn't know where she was. But it's just like holidays all the time. You know, just doing a three day week. We got the where no one has ever been interested in a pension. We threatened and we coerced or we might be two blokes in the neg assembly department. We put them in on the committee and I worked like stink and I got a look pension up. We done marvellous things, you see. And it was good after Well, the young bloke should be coming on now because Bert had to retire. He had cancer in the kidney. I took one away, but Stucken and I've never met him. And don't ever came up here.
Alf Cooper 8:02
No he didn't. Did he ever came lab meetings. Bad really.
Jim Gorrie 8:06
But you had to add a Dickey wife . His wife was bad. Yeah. Because he wasn't that strong, but because he didn't realise he had this bad kidney when he retired 18 months early, but his young chap took over. But before Bert, before Bert, I knew he had this trouble. He come to me. He said, would you come back. He said all the stewards are asking and I'd had arguments at that time was it to Alf on the way up? When I was with Alf I was regarded as a bit more moderate. By that time. I was very not not communist, but very, very union minded very red. And it was funny the fact that they thought that I thought they thought it silence me by making me up. I don't know. they didn't made me worse. And so I went back. And I went back as long as I could until the year I retired, which was at 60. So but since then things have fallen apart and leave I still meet Bert Strachan and I still meet some of the old boys, they come around me their troubles are still beenphoned up from work. People are in trouble with money, like the death benefit. Someone couldn't get it. And I've phoned up work and got it you know, things like that. in Nashville, I wouldn't get involved afterwards. If once you involve you are evolved as a lifelong aim. I mean, he had died in the saddle Alf . Well, you know, once you
Alf Cooper 9:41
know I don't do very much. But I could never get to work on tamamen I could never went in when I was on the clock for when I was on the staff I could never clock in in the morning. And Tom got out a car and I couldn't get in the firm.
Jim Gorrie 9:59
I don't know why, he had a motorbike. He tried to flog it to me . And I said no on your bloody life now what? The way you handle a motorbike is terribly was poor bloody thing, you know. But I say I think as I said that when I started out of it a very, very good career. I've enjoyed it. I don't think anybody could. As I said, our speech when I left. It hasn't been it wasn't a job. It was a hobby. Because I I used to come be sent out by the way, my other jobs at technicolour I be sent up the West End
Alf Cooper 10:39
certain amount of different West End cinemas, put their bloody lights right. Tell us about that.
Jim Gorrie 10:46
Well, there's a great controversy regarding lights for stars in the trade. There are standards laid down the standards laid down in America, a standard lays down over here. So being as we were American company, in England, we used to go halfway. So the American light standard was 1614 in England, so 12 in England, we used to go 14 years. Well, I was lucky at technicolour in one way, but it's a harder is a harder job to cut lights down than it is to build them up. People might just say I'm wrong there. But when you start cutting arc lights down and Zen and lamp houses down, you start getting all queer effect of lighting and focus and all you see. So I was lucky. I mean, my longest row was 45 foot in the threes the other three theatres and I cut down like mad. Yes, he goes is and everything, you know, diffusing everything. But naturally in the cinemas. They got long throws, and their equipment goes and where people always were really on preaching milestones only and now they can spend millions on a film they can spend on the stars on the staff that they don't like spending in cinema or in a theatre. any old crap does say. And so we just get complaints from the west end our print wasn't wrong was wrong. Or I've been all over now all around areas. So I take my metre and a lot of projects have never even seen a metre in their life. I bet this half the West End never know what a metre is to go around and check their lights. Now, I say that our light our film was graded for 14 foot Lambert's see how can only get two have some theatres in West End to and some of our screens were more or less this colour Brown. Brown really Brown is cigarette smoking when been renewed? Because I think that is most the most I've been in the I've got chucked out or one it won't let me in. Yeah, we've seen maybe seen Kensington high street was it? I forget they wouldn't let me in. They got the chief engineer down. But I've been to the plaza and dominion Columbia. I've been I went to remember, I can always call now the Carlton remember the Carlton Yes. Yes. Haymarket? Yes. Yes, Tottenham market. I sent me up there and complained about our film The producer was there and all they got three lots three layers you say you got downstairs two balconies and royalty was going to come? I see this you see. So I said shut the lights out. I started to read it. And when I got down on the ground floor it wasn't bad. It was just a little bit down. When I went back on the next floor. rough it dropped to seven and when I got to the top of me and dropped the two well because they're screaming at the wrong tilt because you know the light leaves same. Their screen was tilted wrong. It wasn't tilted enough. You see so all the light was coming down in there. The people paying the posh so I said. Yeah, take your screen back. So well they did it or not. I don't know. But that was my job finish you know, but I've been called out that out. I was called out once that all our second reels were out of focus.
And
I went over there and I took the film with me That the customer the producer passes okay, but apparently they had to get people their money back the night before. And they give them a check a rain check to come again. The film was Kes remember Kes you remember? So I run it out looks terrible so I set the bloke Its a a manageress so she come out look at that terrible right when she gone out I said pop the reels over swapped them over look she said it's terrible awful here so that was the print on that side looked at it and the bloke that blown the lens and it was it was a Yank he was dodging the Vietnam. And he burnt the lens out it was all a mess of bubbles. Of course he would get anything out of it you see. So she wanted me to because she started telling me that head would roll if I didn't do something about it geve her a new print and I'd be sorry the day I was born and all that you kI am not going to give you a new print its your equipment. So we don't say when I come back at midnight after the show and fix it. No I'm not coming back I've said your arcs in trouble you're arc light is terrible anyway. So I put her on to Brockless remember, Brockless where Old Joe Hall went I think he went around and sort of sorted out in the end but we used to get sent out quite a lot and not only in the West End around the suburbs. It was all right a time but I got the hate London and I as I say I was so keen on the job right and in the end I refused on Ingram once I said my job is in Technicolour I'm going round the west end putting their job, right. I said and because I would leaving the boys short we were short of men at the time you know, and I'd a good kick because it was a mate of his who was in trouble . It kicked up a stink about me doing a job on the side. But when I say jobs on the side, I wasn't paid for this. Three M's. Yes, they had a big do at the Hannover grand and the projectionist has a lovely number there to get more money and I was at Technicolour. I weren't very happy with it. And they might have made this big show up of all bits, snippets of f of films have been done with using Ferrani you know, 3M's. And I often read it when I do this big show at night. I said well haven't you anybody out there said yeah, but he's not all that grand. You know, good like. I said, Now, I know how I'd feel if you bought a bloke in here. I'd go a bloody mad. I'm not going to do it. So I said well, if that bloke agree would you do it? I said yes, a different thing. But he agreed. So of course I went up there and done this show. And Ingram people know he was pleased that technicolour was involved in it. I've done three out there in the end, not because different people went somewhere else in the in the car. He said what I said before now we're not here to look after people in the West End, well his mate was in trouble down the bottom of Uxbridge. You know, is it GSE They tried to send me. I said, No, if I can't get the West End, I can't go over there. And I didn't, you know, it gradually dropped off from there, you know, but the standard is a very poor round, you know, I mean,
Alf Cooper 18:33
we're in a lot of trouble with it. prints are too heavy and all that sort of
Jim Gorrie 18:36
thing. And also, they certainly up to before Ealing once. This is coincidental. This wasn't forgotten about this. So I was told to report for Ealing My Fair Lady, I've got trouble with a print goes up here. I met the chief. He said the chief engineers coming down a minute oh yeah this bloke` walked in, don't know. He said to me. I'm Savage. I said, Oh, yeah. He says, I know you. I said, Yeah, yeah. I worked for you a few years ago. I said you were going to give me the sack once. And that was the bloke who come when I was leaving that night. He'd come down said that, because I've lost the projector. He gonna sack me. And I remember my face sort of thing. See? And so I said, Look, he said it's out of sync. He said you're out of sync. So he showed me his rules. I said, I said I saw a voice. He said but she sing I said no. She It was like a little cow in it. It wasn't.
I was didn'tput Julie Andrews and it did they put another girl in it
and she couldn't sing. The voice was dubbed Of course it was out of sync. And then this bloke said every other reel is out of focus. Anyway, a young girl come up to me she said I'm one of the projections she said the budget the chief is blind she said he can't say she says projector she said that saying he said but she's there's nothing wrong with a print, I have to go in and give a snip naxi
Unknown Speaker 20:24
screen.
Jim Gorrie 20:27
And some of the things I've found out, you know, blokes didn't know whatever doing, you know, and no, I was good good guy and round, you know, because you never know, you got to find you got to take a lot of stuff with you lump a lot of stuff through. And we had a colour metre as well, which you could read the screen and we found that did have a list made. And all the screens in that in Westham are all different colours, some are green, some are yellow, some have brown, you know, and yet, we made a standard print you say, but in the end, we found that when we added the master print for their opening, or their you know, their opening premieres, or we look at the list and say, well are green there. So we talk a little bit of green out, you know, and there's a lot of tricks we did at work, you know, where they kept the shoe, we might have had a film and that type of change the colour enough and all that, you know, but if any Quick Print, so we used to, I used to give me filters, I put a filter over the lens, you know, so they look the same as the other reels like you know, and then when the blokes gone we had to run like mad get an order in for next reel to ship me a proper reel like, you know, but I say it was a good life and that's how I met. I met personally nearly all the big stars. Some were absolute shits, and some of our nice you know, and suddenly I speak to us as I'm speaking to you, you spoken me and have a good laugh and a joke. Others are still acting the Charlton Heston types filming I got a quote random night you know, the say the only man I never met, and I idolised him was Robert Donat if you ever come across him later on he was a wonderful actor. A is nothing unknown to me. There was no need to touch Robert in all his films a time our video knowing even though I've been in the veterans since 65 75. Only use the free ticket the veteran ticket about four times I think maybe five I wouldn't even go to cinema anymore. There's nothing I want to see. You know, I love seeing the old the oldies you know, now I do realise when I see some of
them bloody awful
From what you've been saying you wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. No, no, I chances I could have gone on several other jobs. I was offered the graders job in 54 when I went I forgot to say when I was drawing the line as cheap objections. I was saying they said no we don't do that we like is that but we'd rather he said a grader because we've been all over the plant and we get along with you and all that we think it'd be ideal No no, I wouldn't like us I couldn't sit on my ass because I was only happy we got another story in a minute. But I was only happy when something went wrong. I mean if if some of the projective i'd 54 projectors to look after in technicolour Yeah, that's 70 mil and 35 mil and 16 mil and eight mil as well and couple 8 mils you know, and then slide projectors and these automatic slide projector, you know, turn sometimes be dead days nothing go wrong. I'll be absolutely bloody browned off, you know, but when something's going wrong, I was all out putting, you know, putting them right and all that it was alright. But Alf was over the Alf was over the colour pods when it opened up. He was in charge of that. And the boys over there very, very important. And very, very embarrassing. It was because the boys over there the foreman another bloke closely but I can't do their lights for him. Well, they had inky light said cut the whole lab houses with the big 1000 watt bulbs he say. I said we don't know I don't. So I went over that Dell phone. And I've got me at any art and he come over there and he doesn't he's not and he Do you remember that? No.
Alf Cooper 25:03
I did my nuy a lot
Jim Gorrie 25:08
was always in departments. But it's always
Alf Cooper 25:12
the bosses coming in.
Jim Gorrie 25:15
So I went out
after that knows nothing else I want to do or say yeah, I was offered a job when I was offered a job in Germany's as projectionist in charge a lot of cinemas. I had a job offer me on the Lizzie as a projectionist Queen Elizabethjust after the war` that's another story that I have to get rid of me cos
Alf Cooper 25:41
You were lucky with a painting scheme see we couldn't get shot at the painting Kevin I wanted to get this pink machine shop years ago but Kodak the Prudential had money intechnicolour My name Ryan on the board we know for what I will know that Boise ultimately pulled out you know they started we had so much in reserve that we were just right for takeover. I found that thing from now. From America bought out in the first instance last Dorie Frawley
Jim Gorrie 26:25
trolley yeah
Alf Cooper 26:26
I've been doing I've been doing that my bedroom and I found that I found a couple of copies on the front see that there that are terrific reserve technicolour went with them went public, you know, they sold their parents shares and turn them into four and turn them turn their pound shares into five bob shares. So half the shares at a pound each so they their parents shares actually gave them four pounds in value. It actually gave them two pound back, and they still kept control of the business. Also, later on, of course, Fawley bought them out.
Jim Gorrie 27:13
Didn't he buy it with a three and a half million? That's three and a half million in the safe, which was for future development? For future development? Yeah. Well, they took over when it was taken over is Frawley I believe was found in pink,
Alf Cooper 27:31
a captain ship razor.
Jim Gorrie 27:33
He he got that money as well. There's been lots of bad decisions made there. I mean, it's very easy on the floor to tell him that but we've all we have told him for you know, the management. We had the rights of eight mil one time packing it the right way. And I sold the rights got rid of that. We had another thing called gratings. Which other people are Don't ask me to describe it. But it was a very, very strange and it used for engineering, very technical engineering. And apparently, I've been all over the world have been trying to get this thing wrong. We got it going at technicolour, and then we sold it for a pittance, you know. And they refuse
Alf Cooper 28:10
Xerox rank to get over?
Jim Gorrie 28:13
Or what I've challenged Duckfield about that. And he said no, I bought that I was thrown at him over the years why through at Duckfielsat a negotiation meeting. And he said never because he was in charge of that.
Alf Cooper 28:27
But but that after they they found out
Jim Gorrie 28:30
anyway, it was taken up was lots of different people. And each one seems to be worse than the other, you know. And now it's been sold out again. But I think it's British bloke who's got it now. No, no sweet make it out of it. Now. I think I don't I can't remember the name of something like Colton enterprise or something. I don't know. But they brought up Hollywood as well. But I used to go over and I don't a lovely understanding because Don't forget Pinewood is Rank belongs to the Rank. But I'm very bad for names at the moment. I'm sorry. But I got to stand with the chief over there. Very nice man. He was he's retired now. He's tired on Friday. Now staffel now he was still there. Now, this bloke lost his wife with cancer, I think, but it was he was a smashing bloke. And he used if he had trouble these lights he called me over my metre because he had a morganite metre and I had a EEL Neil e l light. Who know we read different. We knew what they read different. So I'd go and read all these lights out. And then if some we had a complaint on the rushes, I'd say Come on, come over and have a lunch like and so we come over and do our lights, you see. And I went over there one day and we were one are one of the times after this Frawley were bought out by another bloke who was the partner of cubby broccoli. And they did the first of the Bonds. I can't remember his name now, but he's not a very pleasant lad. And he's not very well liked anyway in the film business, and Connery Sean Connery apparently hated the sight of him because he always if you read anything, you know that it's why he dropped out of the Bonds because he thought he was underpaid he'd been ripped off etc. And this bloke on the chief was there they are actually at the time. And where Connery had been mucking about refusing to do another Bond in the end Do you agree? And this bloke I just had a heart attack the producer you know and size of the go a bit careful Sean Idon't give him heart attack` I'd kill the bastardI hates him so much they're like this bloke was despised all through the trade. And the last thing I saw was in a filmmaker where he was a Jew and oh, but he'd gone to ask in a big nightclub in in London he got up to an Arab an Arab millionaire to ask him to help him because he was in trouble and he was told and unless to go away rejoicing and you know what we show is I wish I remember his name but so we had some
Alf Cooper 31:42
Porton that blokes name
Unknown Speaker 31:45
well i think you know sufficient
Jim Gorrie 31:50
Cubbies on his own now
Alf Cooper 31:51
and Cubbies an honorarymember as that is domiciled in states but
Jim Gorrie 31:59
I'll tell you a funny story if you want funny stories on live chat, but they were doing the other Bond for a left I thought management it was because I might see a may come every bloody few months now. They're all rubbish now. But making one over there and he's daughters in involved, you know, cubby broccolis daughters involved. And
Alf Cooper 32:21
she's nice girl aint she. Did you meet her.
Jim Gorrie 32:24
on. Anyway, they were shooting over there and they come to a break in the break in the shoot even though we're preparing a camera ready, and all that but a still camera that could be shot I say it was her birthday. And they they put the blokes up to it. And this bloke Come on in a dressing gown see he walks up to and he Chuck's it off he is naked aint he. He chases all actually looking at him. She's trying to dodge him and he's chasing all over the set like see. And suddenly she realised that like they're all shrieking and someone did take a still I think you bastard. Brian Wynn was over there that morning. He was there when it happened. But he's, I've seen him at work Cubby and he sees in the industry she's
Alf Cooper 33:25
actually a member.
Jim Gorrie 33:28
Yeah, I've seen her at work like, you know, let's say we used to get someone that I found that I'd go down in the theatre with some who out or what when I meet someone and I'll get back in the box. Who was that scruffy individual you know? Bloody dirty thing, you
Alf Cooper 33:50
know, my routine suddenly
Jim Gorrie 33:52
realised who it was. No, I was shocked. There was one. One film we were doing there. African Queen it was. And John Houston was in the theatre. He goes away but he went in on I passed this girl in a camel hair a overcoat in the passage and I thought it was all scruffy dirty. and realise it was Evelyn Keyes. You remember out of Jolson's Story story? She was married to Jo Houston at one time anyway. But there are all these American stars and starlets there. And the one who shone who look the nicest, the tidiest, the cleanest was a little girl you might have come across her I show love. I'll film for Rene Ray and she showed them up she looked terrific compare with em you know. And some of them are so scruffy and OB unbelievable procedure a very, very small spa laws. Yeah, very small. Once you've got Remember that remember that name all right? Remember the all stars? Because it was funny at work. bloke be talking to a customer on the phone ring me up and say Jim Can you remember a film? with so and so who was the star straightaway I've got it you know? Or can you remember a film? That had a terrible storm and it would be one it for a backlash but remember it couldn't now you know that remember the stars name?
Alf Cooper 35:28
Remember the worst film I ever saw for that month he went outside it was Above us the Waves. So that tiny sentimentally Scott and I people find him but
Jim Gorrie 35:45
before I enjoyed it, and it was a hobby I mean the worst thing I could have done with me if I'd known at work when I was getting up stopped was psycho said to me, I'll take your projectionists and I would have done me I had cried my eyes out you know, but so it's been good
Alf Cooper 36:03
and dirty tricks they've played with me that's the journey and God days before your time. I put me on your journey for watching William Ruto edge a power of six over in front of the screen in the sound theatre. And that just met me about two foot above the screen button and they try to wipe me out and put that on there all night. I told me they've actually stood me up and pushed me around wonder Leo and I'm not working anyway that took me on top of this put me at work I was asleep you see step toward me that stopped me on top Nicole might nap so we all went to work and I started a project come in and I put a doll back on the screen we put it on full blast and I'm right touching the screen and I suddenly wake up we all jumped up to a quick screen recording of his bedroom screen Why not?
Unknown Speaker 37:15
Yeah
Jim Gorrie 37:19
Yes I when I first went there were very snobbish technicolour was very very snobbish
and I know they didn't get the department's mixe with one another
Alf Cooper 37:35
well in the early days if we were found in your wrong department you could get the bullet
Jim Gorrie 37:40
I mean even the canteen now was I mean in the cinema, the top dogs were projectionists you know and they were called operators not projectionists but when I went to technicolour okay but operators must be bloody 1000s of bloody projectionists is zero was an operators operators well that was the term is the operator but cleaners again it was when you were in the canteen they all stay to their
Alf Cooper 38:13
arms about the only person that worked in practically every department in technicolour I told you I think a remember even the chemicals water add a number weights weights, no load weights in pounds and out number according to the chemicals, chemicals roll number, but all secret
Jim Gorrie 38:34
but what I meant was I went out of the positive assembly that I made that was chief with the foreman grade at the time. And I went in the canteen and Olive Taylor who was assistant supervisor in the department I was going in in lighting I sat with her she cut me dead and I realised that even though you in the same department, the projectionists is rated lower than the graders you see. And it wasn't for a long long time before most of the graders had left all my blokes who got made up into graders then become a right rough department they're not you know, and do terrific turnover in projectionistss this they are mean we carried out one day. I mean they all had to be trained because people come with buses, milk rounds anything. Miners you know you name it they come there that didn't end never seen a bit of film their life. I mean, elf must have experienced that with the
Alf Cooper 39:40
blokes I resigned. When I first went there. I was the only guy that worked on film before.
Jim Gorrie 39:45
So you had train these blokes We count that one day and I'm going back to about 1960 we trained up men and about a train about 128 blokes in Without pit we could forget and but since any, we went on and on you see there was as I was saying kind of a racket going that you couldn't get anywhere because of the ticket but I knew it was easy but a come to technicolour they got a ticket after three months and after six and a six had six months they were off in the studio you see that's what I did. So technicolour was used as a jumping off place. They didn't know I didn't know but now I want to know you say and I will see their names on titles now blokes who come to technicolour as projectionists are or other jobs and I've done this six months and they're out both on the BBC I see their names on there you know and they say they couldn't get it they couldn't be get in Pinewood orDenham or anything like that but technicolour I was always easy meat say marvellous
Alf Cooper 41:00
large staff, which makes a lot of differences in one period was 13 150 which is all sorts of shapes, sizes and trade.
Jim Gorrie 41:10
I doubt if there is three hundred there now. You see we had a we had an ability labour going was a good thing in fact that you couldn't be sent on another job. That's what they had in technicolour Hollywood is a real rough place and over there if they want to say four projectionists and sixth graders for a fortnight I ring up places say four projectionistss in sixth graders for fortnight that come from this place you're out no redundancy pay nothing so what I try to technicolour
Alf Cooper 41:48
when negotiations I told him I said God didn't put our in our hours to anger Sonic free Tiger for now when you want us to work that's why they wanted his money oh yeah that's another aspect is and he gave me he came back from Hollywood one day and he was telling me an interesting and surprising exam few people that was in the technical plan said well what kawara daddy skates on to
Jim Gorrie 42:19
say they they this will put it live and you want to know so the only way you'll be put on another job is if you got nothing in your department and the people in that department didn't mind you go in cos you weren't stopping or overtime you know, but now this last 18 months I've got a lot now technicolour ...
Alf Cooper 42:39
that was a big that was a big do with flat in the hourly rate meant what it said in America over there they could employ some money hourly rate for so many hours work. And I
Jim Gorrie 42:57
posted I've sold a lot of the land at technicolour now I got other folks Rumpelstiltskin
Alf Cooper 43:02
Boulevard Yeah. Thank you..........................
