Ted (Robert Edward) Newman

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Alan Lawson  0:03  
The copyright of this recording is vested in the BECTU to history project.Robert Newman, known as Ted cinema projectionist for the Odeon and rank circuit cinemas, in the Birmingham area. Interviewer Alan Lawson, recorded on the 17th of November 1993. side one Well, now Ted, first, when and where were you born? 

Ted Newman  0:40  
I was born in arklow. Wicklow in Ireland. Yeah. October 3 1921. And what now? What about schooling, schooling? Well, I didn't do any schooling until I went to a, you know, ordinary village, all in Ireland, where they mistress taught all the all the grades in one room. And I often wonder how Miss Smith used to manage it. She was marvellous, and we were very well educated. Yes. Not like today I think a lot of them and we never play true and we daren't

Alan Lawson  1:14  
is a small school please.

Ted Newman  1:16  
 Yes, it was only a village school because I arklow in that day. It's a big town now. But arklow in those days was just a small fishing village. Depending on fish, yeah, but my my grandmother's family, this mother's side of the family. They were shipbuilders they built a lot of the way the schooners and, and of course naturally the her sons sailed the schooners each one was a master Mariner in his own right. We got a photograph at home of the seven brothers who met in Liverpool in Runcorn and to get seven schooners, all meeting in the same place with the winds right and in the same place, and to have a photograph taken and we recommend 1860. And it's a beautiful photograph, and then stayed there. And we went on then we stayed in Ireland. My dad was a weed writing carpenter. He was good. I was fond of my dad. And he was you know, his business was going down because the Irish Free State had come into being in 1922. And people weren't paying the bills. And in arklow, in Ireland at that time, chi Knox which is a Birmingham firm, they had a munitions factory, and this munitions factory after the First World War, it was closing down, they're coming back to Birmingham, and dad being although he had his own business of Wheeler, right, and people weren't paying the bills, because they state the, you know, the country was in flux. Yeah. So dad decided that he'd come over to Birmingham with some of his friends who had already been here as a carpenter. Yeah. And that's our decade berberian 1926. And when it settled down here, we followed in 1930, but I must tell you about because it's a cinema talk, I must tell you about my introduction to the only introduction I ever had to any projected image where Lenten slides, the evangelists used to come showing these evangelical slides. And the remarkable thing of some of the moves I used in that was madness. But that took us up to the Grammys. For our holiday I was only four and going up the fairground came to the village. And of course the fairground had electricity, which always fascinated me because we had no electric light in oil in where we lived in 1928. And when I went up to this village and went up to the fairground, the traction engines always fascinated me For a start, but there was of course all electric lighting was wonderful. And then I've seen that magic side moving pictures. And that evening, the the proprietor I presume, I think they call them Barker's in those days. He was on the front telling us with a megaphone, all the wonderful films we'd see if we went inside. There was a list of titles but the time we there were very provocative titles but not unlike it when he went into like what I always remember on that was the steam organ. I always really fun to steam or that was always on the left. And of course they are dancing ladies on the right. I don't know what the people thought about that. Very funny. And I never did go inside but I was walking up there on my own. I was only four and it was only a small village anyway, and I walked up on my own and that was one of the things that first time I'd ever seen a projector now that's a bit vague in my memory but I do remember it was inside the truck. Obviously the back of the van that brought they brought the equipment and they know that the marquee and the upgrade There was tampering with some what I knew is big cylinders, but obviously it was the reason origination for the light we had in those days on our bicycles the setting and obviously this was looked like it was set lien a larger version of it in the lampposts. But what intrigued me was the when he added the other stuff to it, and my dad told me dad was very clever. That made that would be oxygen to get to intensify the light. And of course, that's today how we get the modern the word of limes, but uh, theatres, because that's how it originated. I mean, yes, like cinema Paradiso.

Alan Lawson  5:37  
 Did you have you see?

Ted Newman  5:37  
 Yes, it's wonderful. other cars.were dropping ahead of my talk. But I must tell you that what happened to the projects that happened to me was a fire was terrific. Yes. But when we got back into in town, arklow, my sister, she's a lot older than I am. She will always tell me about this in math. I didn't call it a cinema. I forgot what I call it. But she's always got a cinema in the town. And she says us girls go there every Saturday. So of course, she tagged me on, we went along what intrigued me, we used to put all our money together and throw it to the cashier. Before she had time to check it, we'd be up in the balcony. And it was only a balcony it was only three or four rows of seats. The building is still there. But it's all tumbled down the roofs fallen in a very sad, I'd love to go inside and see what it's really like. But can you remember? Well, there were only five minutes or so there's nothing that would be 9025. And of course, my guarantee thing they wouldn't show which I wouldn't have thought so then, of course, our assignment. I always remember because they had a three piece orchestra in the evenings, but they couldn't afford it for us. And my sister was telling me the penis was one named Dennis Healy. But it's not the same one. And, and when we were there to reserve, the pianist, the only film I remember really, and it's very vivid, was he used to play with Nursery Rhymes or something. dickory dickory, dock the master, not the clock. And that's the one I particularly remember the mess

for us a clock face, but we thought was marvellous, I mean, you know, fascinating. And that was my introduction to the cinema. But it goes dad's business went down and we just say he'd come over to Birmingham 1926. And we followed in 1930. We stayed now I don't like mentioning place names in Birmingham. But we stayed out in the suburbs. We had a house there. And a very nice house and the Mayfair cinema, a very common was being built at the time. During its after its construction. We were still living out there. And I always remember them putting loudspeakers out on the canopy to relay the sound. And oh, no, that is strictly against all regulations now. But although we did do it at the Odeon EU street on one occasion. But anyway, that was normal there. It was a lovely cinema. Now I have to tell a little story about that place because we It was a big bearing on the Odeon industry Odeon circuit. Yes. The Mayfair it's very common was privately owned. And they were looking to extend their business across to the new part of the estate where my dad was working King standing. And so they decided they picked aside at Kingston in our in my book I tell a bit more about this. But it was it person, the original site for the odium. They moved it for some reason someone else was developing a site and the lead the planning application fail. So the Mayfair took it over and started to build it. Now that would have been across Africa. Deutsch had already built the Petit borrow it in which was his very first aid already got a cinema out of Bradley Hill. But that was it wasn't an odium. Now we came to Birmingham in 1913. That was the time the Odeon was being built at very bad. We couldn't afford the bus fares from the king standing into the city centre because dad was in and out of work. And you mustn't forget in those days carpenters didn't work on building sites in bad weather. And they only received half baked and across finances where we were always very poor.

Alan Lawson  9:19  
I don't think was a bad time it

Ted Newman  9:20  
was it was the depression. Everybody you notice the country was in a bad way. But we moved into an inner part of Bermuda called low sales. And again, a nice area and not a posh area but certainly joined hands with hands was the was the in those days the duck broke a belt. Yeah, but that's I come to tell you about the first cinema I worked in. But we used to go to the lowest cells to the matinee on Saturday afternoon. And I loved the lower cells picture house. It was my introduction to the cinema. And we used to find we used to have to queue up facing them. Main Entrance it was wet set well back off the road. And we used to queue up the opposite facing the main entrance, we found out that if we queued at a certain spot that the stalls would be falling, we go in the balcony for the same price. And we used to buy a penny packet of broken biscuits from a shop. And everybody bought Penny packets of broken biscuits and the most of the young lady there who break in biscuits and put them into packets. But I don't want to drift away is the main cinema dog. But inside the art before we went in, there was always to doormen came out, you know to start the queue. And I was really intrigued with the maroon uniforms and all the medals. I don't know what they represent it but it looked impressive. And they studied side of the queue at the long pole. And they used to lift this up in lettuce dash underneath. And it did come down like a portcullis. And it was a strap the rush on the cashier. There was no free seats like we had in Ireland. But the cinema itself, I always thought it was ancient, but it wasn't it was 13 years old. And it must have what I can remember was being very neglected. There was a big place. Originally it was an ice rink, and the original picture house was in front of it. And that's how you got this long approach up to the front entrance because obviously the pull down the previous cinema and inside, we used to rush in, and there was no ventilating plant in those days. And they used to have Windows all down the side which we used to. They used to leave open before the film starts. And of course once these two dominant finished, they'd come in and start closing these windows one lot one walking down each side. We used to chill video because the as we got as they got near Mr. godbole just to play the organ that was a frank Newman before Mr. God boulder is just before my time, my name is Wurlitzer organ. And it used to broadcast and when you're in there a normal afternoon or evening performance, it has nothing to say the sign might up organ now being broadcast, and the film would just stop. And people, people accepted it. Now at that time, I started taking great interest Oh, I bet I must tell you about the lights. When the lights started to go down, they used to go down a bit and come up a bit go down and then give up and goes and go blackout RG. And the film used to come on the screen by a miracle I think because obviously we're still just after the silent film stage at that time. And of course the kids Matney stuff would be rubbish anyway. And I never remember them getting through a show without a breakdown. But that was all part of the fun. Anyway, we used to stamp bare feet. And I started great interest in home movies. I built a cinema in our cellar, and they everybody thought it was marvellous, but it was 9.5 because I couldn't afford sound. And I used to process my own films, but all on homemade drums and equipment. I read every technical book in the library you could possibly find over and over again. And I used to buy those viewers we used to buy for topics I think and metal thing and new put a frame of film in the front and you could look through a hole at the back. And we used to wonder if we'd seen that film. If we found one that we'd seen. We just didn't have as much. But now dad must have known where my interest lay. I'm always puzzled I The more I think about that the more I think he must have known. And unfortunately I had the misfortune to pass to Handsworth grammar school. And I got a free scholarship there. And only the thing only thing was that of course, dad had to provide my books and you know, sports gear. And other than that, I always thought was very unfair.

When you go to the schools, it's very unfair to them to give you a lot of homework to do a young young boy like that you'd like to be out in the evenings with his pals. But I was never allowed that I wasn't allowed to go to the cinema that was worse. And but the art master took an interest in me because I've got a natural talent for architectural drawing. And he asked me to do a drawing for the Birmingham Mayor lotto newspaper competition. I did the drawing at home. I no way I was going to do it at school. And I know this drawing was designed for a cinema and he did win a small prize and I think that made that place I don't know. But he passed comment that master did pass comment on little minor things. I went on to develop that for that do all the interiors. What always fascinated me in these buildings, even in those days, how the exits all intertwine as they go down. And I used to love to work out how that was done. And

and always the losers' pictures. I thought, oh, I've got to go see a projection room

got to and one day I was on 11 and I walked down to the losers' pictures and I also see Mr. Collins There was a manager. And I asked him, I told him what I wanted. I'd love to see the projection room and he says, Oh dear, dear, that's not allowed. He says no one in the bromium regulations. No one is allowed in the projection on when films are in progress. But I think he knew that I was a bit upset. But anyway, he says, I'll get one of the lads down. And that took me up. Now the losers' Is that weird built was a way it was bombed during the war. It was a weird but building, not only was the there was an enormous girder sections across the roof, like a bridge, you know, girder sections. And that obviously built because of the large wide span of the roof give us holding the roof up. And the projection had been home from under the circle, because it was an ice rink, or built as an ice rink. So the further projection in one of the circle, and I often look back and often think thinking about designs of cinemas, that was probably done to get the equipment as near to the screen as possible. Because in those days, the light output from the projectors wouldn't have been wouldn't have been all that much. And no other problem there. When I looked at the picture that afternoon, it looked enormous to me, because you know, you're right on top of it. And looking back now knowing that technicalities involved with lenses and light distribution, I often wondered how they got the tops the corners of the picture in focus. But I don't I think it was because we weren't forcing in those days. Now in the box that I was, I have to explain the box because this deals with the rest of the story from now on one in the box, they still had the sound on disks, of course, that we're still using them, because there's that was would have been paying 33 and no, not only 32. And these discs were occasionally in use. And he, of course I I knew the I knew the questions to ask, although I knew the answers, but I thought I've got to make myself look ignorant. And I said to the projection, oh, he was tiny. And he had to be because the front of the projection and we were the slope or the rake of the circle. Yeah. Couldn't find them very much at the front, but it wasn't too bad. Actually. I must tell you when we went there as kids, we used to put our caps on a bit of string and dangling them in the projector beam. If they did that unmetered they are to kill them. But anyway, that we were having these discs. Now one thing I always post on me, city of Birmingham will not allow gramophone records in the projection rooms because they're inflammable yet, here we are with a 16, I think 16 inch disc underneath the arc. Any spark from the lamp could catch it, or the hot carbon foil on it. But the did. And another thing intrigued me. But I never puzzled it out why the bigger the stylus started the middle of the record and went to the outside. And the more I think about that, that puzzles me. And I believe that these record random 33 and a third, which is the speed of our modern LP, well, they're not modern at the CDs No. And the art lamps were what we call low intensity. Now, I must explain that, because the low intensity arc lamps are very yellow light. But they didn't need to these carbons in the arc lamp burn away. And they didn't need feeding that often on a low intensity. So in the next few years, they've developed high intensity carbons, which sort of carbon but they had, they were like extruded, like Blackpool rock with rare earths down the inside. And these when they're burning give a very intense white light, as I recall, yes at a core and a colour coded to the original ones when or not. But the copper coating was because they were working on a much higher current, they had to be copper coated to convey the current they were the lamps burning the carbons for a very intense ball of light. And that's collected by a mirror at the back of the arc lamp, which is adjustable to give a nice distribution of light on the screen. That was ruined

Alan Lawson  19:01  
when they used to strike up an arc. I ended up with the smell.

Ted Newman  19:06  
Smell I know that it that comes into my story when I started in the business really a little interesting thing there now because you know obviously students are going to listen to this. And this is not in my book because when I wrote the book I had to wrote write it for the man in the street. And when we had a corner one day come into the hood and you want to see the Jeep projectionist. And of course I went down and he says we're having a problem on our hi fi It was not what we call hi fi now but it was a very high class setup. I was a huge thing when I went down to see him and he said every 20 minutes we're getting a buzzing sound on the on my radio, and he says I worked on the recording morning departure. And he says I automatically connected with changeovers. Now he was when he wasn't far from the cinema. And we kept a timesheet of what time it is. Oh, it was right. The GPO came in and put suppressors on it seems that's their duty. That was their new. Yeah. But at this time, oh, I haven't finished but the load cells because of course, I said, Oh, yeah. See, I said, Now what happens? Tell me, what's happened to you get out of synchronisation is if I don't use that word you should have known I knew. And ah, is that when you may ask, Well, we look at the screen and decide if the sound is leading or trailing. And is is what we do we go across the disk and we either press our finger on it to slow it down, or we give the flick the speeded up. So then we kneel down on that met and pray there was met between the projectors, where they walk backwards and forwards. But, and of course, you know, I already knew that on the desk, you had to put a blank film in if you clipped a bit out and all that. And of course, he did explain that to me. But you said the audience, they didn't mind in those days because it was such a novelty. But if we did that today, we get murdered. And but I got an interest because I was at school. I used to do the electrics for our operatic society and we were always good churchgoers. And, of course, the amateur dramatics at school i'd church I did the lighting for and I always thought I'd like to go into stage electrician. But of course I soon realised that's not possible with only five theatres in Birmingham, the chance of getting a job as remote. And I sort of started thinking then my interest in films. Well, dad, things were bad in 1936, as far as dad was concerned, and he decided to remove me from Hazlitt, grammar school, he had to pay a fee. And he took me out. And of course, I was determined I was going to get a job in a cinema. But I was only 15 then, and you couldn't be in a projection when you're 16. And I got a job in a factory in a maker we used to make metal signs, you may think is dope but it wasn't. And we used to make these signs such as you see outside solicitor's offices, and we used to make big ones for coal mines further. You know, the baths were usually donated. Yeah, we used to make those memorials are very interesting. And I'd only there a few months, and they promoted me to costing Clark. Well, that was a to be proud of because it's, you know, if you drop a clangour on that job, you're in trouble. But anyway, I stuck it for a while. And then one night I seen the advert in the paper, rewind boy wanted for the villa across pictures ends with Well, I came home from work that night and got down some tea and you could smell the rubber on my boots burning when I went up that road to the villa cross picture house. Now that was enhanced with Handsworth was a very posh area in those days very posh. Not today. Sadly, if we digress here, that's where the riots started a few years ago, and it was the villa cross they caught the blunt of at the front of the interior. Anyway, I went up to the vet across seen Mr. Bowden, the manager, and he interviewed me and he told me that he'd had 42 applicants since that paper came at lunchtime. And he says, we'll put you on the shortlist. And he says religion Oh, well, I went home very despondent, and I was thinking on the way down home enough, I'd only bet 10 minutes walk. I think what did he say that I'm going to do a 68 hour week? And what's that gonna say? That was gonna be a 12 and six a week and arguably 150 in the factory. So I don't know it. I'll face the paycheck now. But that wasn't there. Because he unfortunately, you know, 1936 by building army camps, and he was out of Birmingham, working on these places, and he didn't get home till very late. And I went I went to work very despondent. And that night, I, I, when night came and I was leaving work. I thought, I wonder what's going to happen. Now. I found out when I got home, the front bell rang and mother went to the door and she's the manager of the villa cross wants to see you. And I said, Oh, looks if I've got a job there and odd there.

But you know, mothers always intercede for their sons, don't they? And I left whether to sort that out. Well, of course, I went up on the job was mine. And then I met that gentleman of gentlemen, the Holy of Holies the chief projectionist. He was nothing like what I was expecting. In fact, he was a scruffy one, but I, you know, I accepted that and he took me up to the projection room. Now. The one thing in the projection that struck me as soon as I saw it, across the top of the portals in beautiful old English lettering, like you might see around the church where it says enter here in the spirit of holiness. didn't say that. It said a company. A good projectionist is 100 patrons forget, and that always remained in my mind altering my 50 years in the business. The other thing that impressed me was the small the box was very small, very small was the smell of burning oil from the government crono projectors, the grass, there was dust on the film and the dust film attracts dust that would be burning in the gate, we used to watch it burning. And of course it was continuous smoke coming out. And then the wonderful smell of Emil acetate and acetone, what we used for repairing the film joining the film. And then you've got all that combined with the arcs burning, and it was a fascinating smell. There was no ventilation in projection terms in those days, it was minimal. And Matter of fact, in years to come. That was the proven a downfall at that place. We had to have a lot of extraction plant protein, because they they knew outcomes that put in much later years kept going out on us in the slightest breeze.

Alan Lawson  25:50  
Did you get a visit from the fire office? Oh,

Ted Newman  25:52  
yes. Yes.

Unknown Speaker  25:54  
Often often. I

Ted Newman  25:54  
can't wait. You never knew when they were coming? Oh, no gracious. No, I was gonna mention that. I think here, if I can tell you that the the government pronoun for no projected look like toys to me. My other word compared with the modern ones. And we had big a sonic sound. Now those do Sonic heads. Chief always told me they were really made for they were a recording head. But they were put in there for reproduction. I know. I didn't understand what a boy but I know, later years we had a lot of trouble with them. But the engineer always seem to be adjusting and narrower. The amplifiers and the city of Birmingham wouldn't allow the main amplifiers in the projection. We were no heating. We weren't allowed any heating. Any sort, we weren't allowed to open a proper door open, but there was no to be no forced drafts. And the amplifiers were the size of wardrobes. And I remember the valves, they were enormous. And the store will glow with a brilliant light. But they never gave us any trouble. We used to go in there into the amplifier room when we were feeling a bit cold because it was a mighty cold place. And you could stay in there. And we used to lean on a I think it was the power unit for the amplifiers and have a chat. But there was a there was there wasn't even a toilet. We had no toilet, we had nowhere to wash your hands. And the other thing, we weren't allowed to make a cup of tea, because we had no way to make a cup of tea. I wouldn't allow that in the latter years. And but we always we were happy. But the chief was a weird character. He was very, very strict. And he was never in the box. But if you had any trouble in though, after I'd been trained off, I took i i was i was I wasn't allowed in the projection for about who I think it must be nine months. I was confined to the rewind room. And that's the thing that always gets me in the latter years. Why in interest and boy to rewind the film's when your next show depends on it, I could never understand that. And it took us weeks to learn how to make a join. Because it was there's no splices in those days. And another weird thing in the projection when we add Hanford ARKS staleness, the stone maroc today is used for spotlights, and we were burning 90 amps when you're continually hand feeding them. And imagine what it meant when you came to a changeover that you couldn't see the standard dots that were useless because the regular projectors on the rake down to the screen. So what we used to do in the rewind, I dread to think that we used to get the end of the reel, and we used to hook it onto a hook on the wall, walk down the rewind room with this film in our hand to the other wall and back again halfway. And that was where we put our we used to put a paint mark on the film. And that was our multi cue, I just play havoc with the film but had to unhide them for the kid and those those are certain we do today. And we used to put wide spacing on the very end of the picture area before the leader while the tail and MGM we didn't show many MGM s films. But they always done that for us. MGM films always had great spacing on the ends. And that was how we took our change overs. But in the projection and when it came to the changeover, you had to feed the arcs. And at the same time you're watching for these flesh marks, but it wasn't too bad. Because we could see the carbon carbon image of the burning was projected on the front wall. And we could see it wasn't too bad. Now we're wondering in the hours we worked with enormous Levon third at 1030 in the morning to 11 at night. And after that I had to go around as a young lad I had to go around and turn all the guest lights out there was 52 of them, and how my dinner break if you just have to light on those two. And we did that six days a week. And we got a night off from six if you know that's what you got. But on Sunday, the city of Birmingham insisted that you have a clear day off if you work Sunday. Now on Sunday we started at seven the show didn't start till seven but I'd have to be there for half five Get the lighter gas lights on and get the project. We're not me but the chief was always on with me. I never liked the fellow. But he taught me my job the hard way. He was very strict. Now, he used to work on Sunday nights I was on with him. He said the second and third worked once on the chief and I the other Sunday, and he used to get a few copies out of his pocket, you send me next door to get a quarter of profits, Tea Time assorted biscuits. And he used to sit on the amplifier, which was under the portal. Looking at me, I was at the back and his carbons getting further and further apart. And I used to start feeding them and he was let me eat the carbs while he fed himself. But he never gave me a biscuit. Oh, no. Oh, he was he was but as I say, he taught me my job the hard way. And I've got a lot of I had a lot of respect for him.

That way you had to because you never said you never called him Hubert. Oh, gee, it was always sir. And he stood to attention Really? Oh, yes. But only in those days. Yes. And you said the carbons used one thing. This is not in my book. The carbons wouldn't last the real and the positive. We used to be of john Clampett and tappers along with the screwdriver and on feeding it at the same time. But when it came to the negative, which was pointing upwards, that was very tricky. And you only do it a little fraction and you could tap it up a bit. And but I always remember when chief went on holiday and we get a relief projectionist in the US always call me and to do that for the longest I just found out I wanted to, let's say in chief doing a tuna but the other thing I worked in the rewinder mill said I must have been there for nine months but and rewind drum was very small. But I tell you one thing which today is highly dangerous is carbon tetrachloride. Oh pit. Oh yeah. Well, we had a block and on the bottom of the rewinder a block of wood. And now just to explain I can't explain that how it worked. But there was three lids shall we say an age all these were lined with yellow dusters. And we used to pour it onto them and then run the film between them to clean them, but must have played havoc. But nobody seemed to when it was accepted in those days. It's the same in the Gohan Corona projectors. There were spell pads on the Gama Kronos that pressed on the entire picture area while it was going through the gate, we used to have to change those and clean them overly real. And but the underworld there was a picture frame and in that picture frame was the cinematic ref England. That's the book of regulations dealing with waster bait for a penny. I always remember that. And mistake we used to have visits from the police and from Mr. Coombes, he was our fire prevention officer. You never knew when they were coming. But Mr. Combs was a bee. And if anything was wrong, you knew about it. And one of the things I always remembered chief had asked me, I think it was a sales trainer, because we didn't have kiosks in those days. And the girls used to go around with a tray with ice cream. And then they'll go around again with cigarettes. And they go again at the end of Volker era ice cream. But whether we'd run out of ice cream or not, but he told me to take the sales trailer out. And of course, I said the problem in those days was these Blimey gramophone records. They weren't allowed in the projection room, they will weigh in a separate room from even the rear projection room. And I use TAF two. When it comes to the end of the film, it used to shout to me, the projectionists would shout. And I'd have to start this blue and 70 s record and no jet propelled these days. And I'd have to dash down to the stage to close the curtains with our hand round. And there was a light on the wall. And when they were ready, they used to flash this light for me to open them again. But if you're if your interview was a long one, the record did run out. So I used to have to dash back to record and the needles. Oh, he was very strict. He used to count the needles. And if he hadn't changed the needles, Where do they live? And I know at this getting back to cinematic graphing and I had to know that inside out. And I did I get to know it. And of course this fire officer used to ask me questions about it. And I always enjoyed reading it because it's full of technicalities which are and normal thing we weren't allowed 14,000 feet of film in the projection room at any one time. In the rewind room. Well, when you work it out, there was just enough room every show in those days.

Alan Lawson  34:34  
Yeah, right. So it's a feature.

Ted Newman  34:36  
The second feature in the new Israel Israel, yeah, sometimes you get a cartoon. I always remembered the old windmill one that was one of the first Disney was a marvellous thing. It was done in the multi plane process. I always remember that's been one of the first cartoons and but all surplus film had to be kept down in the film safe. Now you'll never guess what our film safe was. It was over the door to the boiler house. And I thought Harris stupid can they get their spirit what boiler house at that cinema was always spooky to me. And I didn't know to use afterwards that a dorm and got killed down there when the boiler blew back. He got so badly burnt easily no one would know he's there that didn't bother to look for him. And, of course sound recording in those days was very mediocre. And they couldn't maintain the level from one scene to the next. And I always remember chief sitting in the back circle with these a sheet of paper. And it used to buzzes to the box sound doc was one the sound down is two and it's nothing wrong with the pictures three. And he had a little bald patch on the back of his head about a shilling. We always knew where he was. And we'd be doze off sometimes. But in the big cinemas in those days, the big garments, they employed a sound manager and they control the level of sound and not the projectionist.

Unknown Speaker  35:56  
Oh yes, yes.

Ted Newman  35:57  
And that one in the big theatre was one

Alan Lawson  36:00  
of the what was his position in the in the strata.

Ted Newman  36:03  
I know, he was the sound engineer. But he probably was the Harris engineer too. I don't. I've never worked in a big cinema. I'd be terrified to go into those. I used to go into government Birmingham, in passing on the message to the projection room. And I used to be amazed to see the projectors were flopped, the anger tilted somewhat down, you think they're going to fall into the circle was a terrific rake, the projection room there and there was all garments was in the dome, and ridiculous place. Anyway, this course, time went on. And I think I learned more from the service engineers than I did from because I was interested in electronics. And not that late tronics were very basic in those days. And they It was a surgeon is that taught me more. I remember one of them and Mr. Lancaster sent him it. He had it all he had a funny card was and he sent me down to syphon some petrol out there were cleaning the sound aids or something. And of course, naturally I got caught and I was brought back into the manager syphoning petrol out of a car. But that was the clean the sound. And in 1938 you know, the war was coming up. And we knew things couldn't improve. And I must tell you, in the 30s of course, the audience circuit was forming. And I thought you know, I was getting a bit I suppose big headed, and I thought I'd like the word odium has always fascinated me. And I you probably know that the word Odeon has great significance. The od e o n. Oscar Deutsch entertains our nation, od e o n. Now I can go further than that. Because I heard when I started work for odent. Eventually, that the eo n was one of his pals. And they were building petrol stations at the time because motoring was becoming popular the early 30s. And I heard that was the initials of one of his friends. But the word Odeon it has, it's also the Greek word for theatre, spelled slightly different. But by 1938, I'd been to the audience at Petit Bard, and we're hundreds of times. And it always fascinated me. And this particular time, I was getting a bit big headed, I suppose at the villa cross. And I went down to the paddy bar and asked, Is it possible for a job in the prediction room? But the manager said that no, he says all our projections are promoted from pageboys. Well, I couldn't be a page where my dad would have killed me. So anyway, I went back to the video class. And then, of course, we were very fortunate in 1938. Because the Astra brothers who built to really control the government circuit, they were turning out films that were very mediocre. And a lot of them we wouldn't show and a lot were put on the shelf. And business was was bad. And there was at this time, I was still a young lad, we use tefft.

Alan Lawson  38:57  
No,

Ted Newman  38:58  
we used to have to end the evenings. The wooden lettered light gases that were in semi daylight, like the gens toilet of wire or main staircase. We used to have to go around those and light them with the taper in the when in the evenings. And sometimes the cues would be there. And they always did it. They used to sing the old lab lighter as long long ago. They but I don't know why they always did it or you know, if they did it once. I'd have understood it, but they didn't. But anyway, of course in 1938 or third projectionist, the dentist's. He left to go to a country cinemas was he got scared of the war coming. But he left us but one thing did happen one to Dennis one night. Now I really missed it out earlier, was the fact that I was reading up the real I wasn't allowed to run the show, but I was reading up one of the reels on the left hand projector and he shouted, the show was running. He shares it II. I knew what had happened before he said it because I could see the flames and my own projector and the film was on fire. Now we'd always been trained and city of Birmingham. In the stupidity had a wet blanket. It was in a bucket and it hung in the bucket but it was most of it was in water. They put that there. That's however, burning film. Well, this lad took this blanket but I was quicker because I was near and as bestest blanket, and I met there may have been a mistake. I threw it over the projector from the non operating side. He pulled it down over there where the film is burning. The top spool box opened 2000 feet of film on fire. It was gigantic. And of course, I've never seen I didn't realise that burning film gives so much

Alan Lawson  40:36  
ash

Ted Newman  40:38  
Oh, the fume Yes. Do you know i this is another thing alarms me when I think what could have happened to us in the projection rooms and white metal. And we used to cut transit tins up to write the part numbers on and hang them on disks on the projectors, nunnery. rewild film bins, and you know in the fire all those turn brown. Now I often wondered, someone told me that's nitric acid. And I said, Well, what did it do to our lungs? But I'm 74 now and I'm still here to tell the tale. And you want to change the name. And it was in 1938 where we were very, very lucky because Jay after rank came into the business. Well, it was I suppose you know, the Jay I think was a Methodist. Yes. And he wanted to like describe. Yes, he was a Methodist in Hall. He was born in Hall. They really they're made the money from flower. And he decided he'd love to get an audience in front of cinema screens and get the message across to them of the religious meaning. And he he made a lot of shorts, but the cinemas refused to show them that they're not box offers. He made a feature film called turn of the tide. And again, the cinemas weren't accepted. And he came down here toward a street and seeing the different distributors and he took away cm wolf from what was the I was no it wasn't Jennifer, it was would have been general firms. GFD Yeah, GFP, and it took them away. It took him away and got him to go into partnership with him. So that by that time I cos Jetta, Rankin bought out the government company. And there was two weeks there when we never got any wages that were that poor. And a lot of my I was on your boy, of course. And a lot of the people who were getting more money, I was only getting 12 and see Oh no, I'd been promoted by that time to 3030 bucks a week. But a lot of them took shares in the company, and they've done very well with them. And when we went out to rank a man, of course, he eventually he, he got the Fox Studios and he took shares in universal. And with that, of course, he got a lot of marvellous films, they were the Judy Garland film, not necessarily Shirley Temple films. And, and I was and I was one I always remember as a huge money spinner was a Showboat. And that I think that was the thing that put him back on, put us back on our feet as far as the lacrosse was concerned. But, of course, in 1939, we were fast preparing for war. And we spent a lot of time we had to take anything class out of the auditorium, molar chandeliers came out. But before that, gelato rank had been in the villa cross was a very ornate cinema. It wasn't big 1200 seats and but all the ceilings had beautiful deck deck around them, you know, angels on scleral gentle the usual theatre decoration in those days, side walls were covered in gardens. And the foyer was was a beautiful, beautiful mahogany staircase, and lots of artificial plants. You know, the usual you know, Victorian, but all that went and I always thought it was a great pity, especially with the war coming in and made everywhere look bleak. At the villa cross is a huge round window or perhaps Oh 40 feet across, over the main entrance. All that had to be covered in first of all with old curtain stage curtains, and then we hung wire netting across the top of that if it if anything happened because you couldn't take the glass down. I always remember there was a sign on top of that, and that must have been 40 feet in there. I said talkies and we just have to go up on triple extension and change the bulbs and nothing of that was terrifying.

Alan Lawson  0:06  
Ted Newman side two

Ted Newman  0:08  
now when we, whether it goes just before the in the later part before September, you know when the board started. We've always instructed that all the films is in 125 cinemas in Birmingham, it's a lot of celluloid. And anything of that nature, any thing like that had to be removed from the city. And, of course, when the walk did start, we were told on the radio on that Sunday morning that all places of entertainment cinemas and churches and football grounds would be automatically closed. And of course, I was very upset. There was me starting in the business I loved and now having to be thrown out. But fortunately, the chief disappeared. We don't know we at the time, we didn't know what happened to him. When we think he went up to. We thought at the time he'd gone to lead up to the Sheffield he had a brother in Sheffield. And of course Sheffield was bombed before Birmingham, we often wondered if he got killed there, but he never came back. Now, officially you have to be over over 21 the big projectionist in those days. And I was only 18 at the time. But I was interested to the box. And we started across another light we'd already gotten one. And but the first thing we had to do remove all the films from the out into the country. Now it's a long story. And I won't go into it that we were told to take it to where crook has crooklyn grade bar. And like all managers, they don't understand a lot of these things. And they gave us a few copies to go on a bus. You know, in the old days before, you know when I first started, we had no film transport service. We used to have to take all these films back on Saturday night and collect our next programme. And although there was another little thing I used to have to do as a young boy, was to go out with the show cards. We used to have these show cars that were 15 by 10, I think there were there weren't on string. And we used to take them to the shops and barbers and things that that was that was my job on Thursday afternoon. And I just think it would be wonderful to go right because I used to get free sweets. Or you know, you go into a cafe they give you a cake. But, but getting back to getting these films that we were told to take them there. But there's no way to get in there except on the bus. And we were we don't take transit cases on the bus. Because obviously the conductors would have known so we put them in sex and as we turned the corner one real stood out onto the conductor's platform when he wasn't very happy. And the people on the bus said don't blame the boys blame the people who sent them. So anyway, he let us continue on the journey. And when we got to the end where we were told to get off a good bit out of Birmingham. There just happened to be a police cottage there and the policeman was cutting his grass and we asked him where crook Lane was. Our fellows is is a mile and a half of the road. And there was a struggling on a it was September struggling on a beautiful day with all these films. And it was Jesse James, by the way. And we got there eventually it will I've never seen so many films in my life. There was no film safes, you know, there were just in on the grass. And it was in bands there were everywhere. And it was every projectionist in Birmingham. We were having great chats between ourselves. Oh, I must tell you that the newsreels we used to have and usually this came after the war now. Yes, I'll tell you what happened to the newsreels after the war, where the newsreels used to come around cinema Cinema, and they always had all the vacancies listed, so that if there was a jobs going anywhere, you'll find them in the and also you found the root stories, that But anyway, I we, the cinemas reopened after three weeks, but sadly, all the staff had gone. My my other projection as he got into the into because Birmingham was very busy place in those years for the war effort. And it was easy to get another job. And I think that was one of the problems in those early days because you never got the right kind of boy to come and work in a projection room. They used to think it was free pictures and they'd stay for a few weeks and then they'd all give up. But the cinemas reopened but of course the cinemas were very drab. We'd lost all our beautiful lighting. And there wasn't much neon in those days because that wasn't invented I think was 9032 or three when neon came into being. We've had a case recently of the Odeon King standing where they it's Bingo. But they want to reinstate the neon lighting and city of Birmingham have said there was no neon lighting but there was because I've got a photograph of the neon light. But we only had one cinema in Birmingham where people were killed. And that was the Carlton had Sparkbrook lovely looking cinnamate in a mediocre part of Birmingham

were very attractive, and the bomb fell while the film was on and so People in the stores were killed. While in 1940, of course, inevitably I had to go be called up. And I joined the RPF. And, you know, you go for a selection that they after your medical was a dancehall. And you the interviewing officer interviewed me and he says, oh, it says, suggest the RDF for you. I went to see the RDF officer and because he just went on to find out what I mean education, and I'd had a good education, I hate attended grammar school. I was no sportsman. And of course, they had these offers a training course, like no time for anything like that. I couldn't throw a cricket ball because I found out when I was in the RPF that I've got a fault in my shoulders. A cricket ball used to go up there and drop it my feet and so did hand grenades. But everybody used to run when Newman threw a hand grenade. I beat them to it. Well, I did my training down here at bullet Polytechnique, the technical part for six months. And sadly, we were in the bombing there too. But we were billeted at at Sidcup and used to come in every day to the poly narrow where then I went to RDF Cranwell, which is the main Training College, and I learned the RF side of electronics. And while I was there, I used to work in the cinema, part time, didn't get paid for it, but I didn't mind. And coming out one night, I was a bit late, my colleagues had gone on in front of me and I ran after them fell backwards and broke my arm on the ice. And of course, I was kept at Grenville for medical reasons. But I got a bit fed up with it. I was going around the camp repairing telephones and doing pa wiring goodness knows what, and I only had one arm. And I asked for a posting. You won't believe the separator in Northern Ireland. And, but things were bad in Northern Ireland Even then, but it was centred in those days. He says it's two openers. I must tell a little story there. I heard recently about Northern Ireland. There's too many Catholics, too many Protestants and not enough Christians. But I enjoyed working the chemist cinemas and there were a lot we used to eat they essentially there to work in work in the cinemas. Oh no, no, I was okay. I was working on nurse Spitfires at that time in at a place called Eglinton. Eglinton. Now, it was a new campaign venue. And at Eglinton we, we brought in new aircraft from America and refuel them. And then we did anti submarine work with our own aircraft. And then while I was there, the set me up on to the transmitting station up in Kili lane. That was a wonderful posting. Because you're all you're away from moldable. And I used to get great delight. The the masts were Oh, I think 200 feet high. And they had a platform on the top on the high frequency masts. VHF masts, and there's a platform on the top. And I used to always used as an excuse when I work important came up to God. Have a Sunday. But But, of course, we used to receive all the, you know, the films from the gun cameras. Yes, we used to receive those. And they used to come to me and I used to have to show them and they used to find out which aircraft was responsible for what damage. But I wasn't there on the transmitting station. Now. I knew it couldn't last. And they posed to me down here to Chigwell. And somebody says to me, you're not going to cheat well, so. So I said yes. And I said, Oh, dear, I went I got the CIG. Well, the first thing they did was take my blue uniform off and give me khaki and I thought I would do. But we reformed into mobile signal soon as well. By that time I'd promotion and I was in charge of my own unit. And Chigwell was a it wasn't it was a nice posting. Because we learned such a lot of things. We had to look after ourselves. We were talking about cooking in hygiene and all that sort of business. And we were taught to drive well that fascinated me because I didn't drive up till then. But it always amazed me that it was down around Chigwell in, I've forgotten the name of the place that they are now. But you didn't get any training. Driving instruction. You were put in a in a truck. And you were taken straight out into the East End of London. And I thought he guards but the said anyone drive around an airfield, but not anyone can drive around the East End of London. I always remember on those trips, the we're stuck for 11 years. And we were there. Of course there was no everything was rationed. And we used to get toast with jam on and always remember that toast and jam I used to have. But I don't know what happened with the American forces but they had no fires. I know they had no radar cover.

whether they'd lost a lot or not, we don't know. We are never told much what work we were doing. And we went across to France and they landed on Omaha Beach. Now where there was we everything went normal then for about 12 months and we hadn't seen a single film and we're running Grandville that on the east coast on the west coast, in Brittany, and the Germans were hanging out in the Channel Islands, we were still being shelled. And this German officers, anything you'd like ice, I'd love to see a movie. So always says that's no problem. So one evening we were living in the Chateau Granville. He came. The objection is to ride with a projector in films. But he'd forgotten the transformer. So I saw is no problem. Well, what's the voltage? Well, it just happened that we'd been changed on to American equipment by that time because the German the Americans weren't happy with our, our work. So they gave us American equipment that was 110 volts. So Ted, silly boy, clothes they show at the radar down or we came down seeing the film was lady in the dark. And, but always remember seeing that film was on television a few weeks ago. And eventually we landed in Germany and went to what is now the was the RDF headquarters. Now I can't remember where as munching glad backward, futile, slow, doesn't matter. But there was an interesting thing, because we went to the pictures that night in the German cinema. And the cinema was still being run with the normal programme as if the Germans was still there. The never changes, and a film there, which fascinated me short film, it was a x ray thing with a chicken being being born inside an egg. And I thought that was quite fantastic. I had never seen like that. secrets of nature. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the main film was a musical. But of course, we didn't know anything about it, because we didn't understand German. And I was a different school, my French master committed suicide. And, but when we left there, sadly, I had a nervous breakdown, because I've been running this unit for all those months. And, you know, you've all got problem with fellows, you know, and new ad arrange shifts and rations and guard duties and under normal duties, and I was getting sorry for myself and had reported sick. And I went to a German hospital. And while it might stay there, Henry, the fifth, that wonderful film arrived, and it was showing downstairs in the basement. So of course, I, I thought, I've got to see Henry the fifth. And you know, the medical officer wouldn't let me go down. He said, No, you're much too poorly. And I couldn't understand why I couldn't be put in a wheelchair and taken everybody wouldn't let me go. So the orderly cut me on negativity, I asked him and he said, Well, if he says no, he says more than more or No, no. So anyway, I thought I'm going to sneak down. So I went down. So in Henry the fifth, and I was amazed that it ran on one projector because there was only one portal. So the next night I thought I'm going to find out about this. I went down, went into the box, and the operator projectionist. He got an empro projector and he got this long play attachment. But there weren't you know, it wasn't in paradise. In those days, there were homemade pieces, I had to have the made it was easier to make those than put another hole for the wall. So that's how I seen he was a London projection is I've forgotten what his name was. But sadly, you know when projection has to get there talking shop, and I walked out straight into the medical offices arms. But our he had to either telling us but there's a right now where I got him up. And it was 9049 45 I had to stay in longer than I should have done because I was already a mechanic and they were shorter mechanics. But I pointed out but he said I went in grade one. And of course, by that time, I was grade three. And this is one of the things I had with the medical officer. And I couldn't get I couldn't get a posting. Well, of course I got promotion. And you know, really when you get promotion, you don't do what do you menial duties, and that was bullshit. So I was just hanging around the camp all the time, bored to tears. And I got I went up to the YMCA canteen and offered my services and it was winter and it was so cold in the billet. And then I was working in the kitchens there and I enjoyed butchering dogs. And I used to work that was it into near cluster. It was the RDF headquarters records. And I worked in the cinema there Vth equivalent.

And anyway, I went and asked for a posting. And they said when they're seen my records, they said you shouldn't be here. And they sent me to Castle Bromwich castle primary because it's on the doorstep here to my home. And I was living at home and going to work every day. But anyway, I decided then when I did Mark came, I got returned to the cinemas. 945 and I went I went to the to the regional engineer Because the region engineers engaged the projectionists he was always drunk. And it was 10. In the morning, he was still drunk. And he wanted me to go back to the villa cross for two pounds 10 a week. Well, I pointed out that I spent in that much a day in the ADF. And I couldn't cross off. But I had saved up because I was working in these camps, cinemas, particularly at one or two of them, you do get paid three shillings a show, which was a lot of money, and certainly helped RFP. And I, a friend of mine came down and told me that Mr. Williams, who was the owner of the rookery cinema in Handsworth in Birmingham, privately owned it been in the family for years, his father had it before him. And I went up to see the Mr. Williams, and he, they dorm and Tommy does sit in the back stores while I was in the back store, very small cinema pretty intimate place. Rather quaint. It's, it's a bit of church now. And I think of all the swearing that went on in that projection, and I think to church anyway, I sat there watching the picture, and then added the corner, my arsenopyrite coat standing at my side. And when I looked around, this fellow was beckoning me to go with him, and he went up the box, and very small box, but the rewind room was so small, that the bricks had been taken out to the walls for the spools to fit into, we had to walk on duckboards because the rain always came in. But in the films he showed, I don't know where he got them from the ark. But somebody told me that he used to go down to the film dumps and buy them and to extract the silver. Yeah. And he has to go up and he used to give it he had blackboards outside. And we didn't know what we were showing the next week. And he we used to chalk it on these blackboards. And anyway, he, he was he was good to work for. And I loved the digital cinema, because it was, you know, everybody seemed to go there. And I couldn't understand how they could watch the films, you know, but they did. And of course, we were big thing. At that time, I suppose existed for years where I didn't know about it was this barring just when you've got a major cinema will always say on Odeon in the centre of a city, they'll bar the suburban show. And likewise, the suburban show will bar the next one out in the suburbs. And then they bar completely, that means the small exhibitor doesn't get the film until it's probably had three runs. And by that time, the film is physically worn out. And so one of the problems with transistor films that when they they're all reels are joined together to make up the programme. And when they're broken down, such a lot is clipped at the halfway joins. And if you get an unscrupulous boy breaking these films don't need to take a fusion feat for himself. And we used to have terrible trouble with that. And but one thing and then of course, we had quota eventually. And under quota, we were compelled to show how many feet of British film from the video studios. And as I told you earlier, some of the films made by Astros were so terrible they'd been put on the shelf, but they found them. And we used to show these things to me. when when when you were sending films back to the renter's, did you ever get any did any feedback come back? Oh, yes. conditions? Yes. Oh, yes, many, many times. But how could you prove it? You know, I used to, this was a bit when I was, you see, I don't like boasting, but I was too conscientious. And you know, it worried me to death, the very complaint came back about the condition of a film. And then you don't like moaning about a condition of a film when you get it? Because obviously it's come from another government show. And you're really letting your colleague down. But the newsreels after the war war are particular about that, because ours came from a little cinema down at Witten, and we complain to him about the oil on the field, usually or when we got it. And now I don't know why we went after him, because he should we should have he should come after us. But when I went down to see them got all this oil, which was a continual problem. He says to me Look at my projectors, and of course, they are so cluttered, you could never get oil on them. But

at the back to the rookery, we had two marvellous arc lamps there. And they were the storage and Acme arc lamps. And I've never seen them since. But there were we used to get a marvellous light on the screen. The amplifier was it said Phillips on the front, but it wasn't because when you pull the cabinet out is a it's a homemade amplifier in the back. And the preamplifiers had grid by even a grid bias battery in them. I'd never heard of the things you try go around shops to buy a grid bias battery. And the other thing the exciter lamps were fed off accumulators. Now when I at the time I thought how crazy but then I thought after you know I've thought about it since when I give more time to it, especially in retirement. Of course it was a good idea because you don't get any ripple on the light and running off with only two words the batteries used to run down on us and you're done. The dish upstairs and change them, but we alert for that we used to change them regularly. And then the best thing of all that ever happened to me happened at that time. There was a writing on the paper that by that time ranked, you know, Oscar deutscher died, and Mrs. Deutsch was selling at the Odeon company. And she sold it out to rank and rank took over. And of course when I realised that because I worked for rank, I thought that this was my opportunity to get under audience and I went down to the manager at Perry Barlow, Mr. Lew Friedman. And he had no vacancy for projectionist, but he fetched the chief down. And the chief. He was a Bristolian while I was educated in Bristol. And of course, we were we were willing to start with and he came down, he put on his posh Bostonian accent, we didn't know who I was. And we had a chat. And the manager said that the chief would let go in the office and he came back. Both of them came back and said, We no vacancy but we're going to take you on as a relief projectionist. Well, in the years that went ahead, I never went out and relief once. And I stayed at Perry bar. Now, Petit bar was a beautiful theatre. Beautiful. And of course, you probably know that Mrs. Deutsch designed all the interiors of the audience. Petit bar was was kept by Oscar and his family because in the other circuit broke away, you know, the other podiums were formed. I hear I must tell you about the Mayfair I mentioned the Mayfair at the beginning of the talk. And they'd started to construct a cinema I mentioned our King standing. And they ran out it was 1936. And metal was a problem. And Oscar being a metal merchant and ecopro strings went out of a pea padded when he seen the Odeon King standing. It was called the beacon then it wasn't it wasn't finished. He was so impressed with the architecture that he decided that all is he said he'd invest money to let them finish the building. And at the same time we take it over a standard architecture for all his future adopt all the most of his future idioms. And that was the first howdy wheaten, odium and the second heavyweight nerdiness they wanted something Caulfield, beautiful buildings.

I had the good fortune to take the PVC round, and they were doing the cinema as a burmilla audio talk. And john Florence and I took him out to see the king standing Odeon. He says what a beautiful interior. And it was gorgeous. I love that place too. But I we had petty particles, we had this problem with quota. And the same time the government restricted on the use of electricity and her death. How can you show pictures without electricity? And how could you do get the coating? So we had to devise a system. So my manager chief and I got into a little conclave. And we were trying to puzzle out how we can fulfil all these necessary requirements, I suppose probably already dealt with by head office, but we were just having a chat about it. And we said well, why don't we start at 11 o'clock in the morning instead of two. And we run the projectors with no light on and when somebody comes in to see the show, we'll put the axon and we'll know that we're roughly in the road we didn't bother with changeover as such you know, but we had to do changes and we found them that that was one way we fulfilled a quarter we didn't use electricity and it was so crazy. But Haribhau was delightful cinema theatre you call them theatres and doors that's what grieves me today the audience they're not referred to as theatres now It hurts me there cinemas. It does hurt me. Anyway, pretty bad. I had three sets of tabs are the usual they have two sets usually but we are three. The middle one was a festoon curtain and it used to we used to operate it from the projection of up and down but at the back we had a pegboard and we used to be able to change the design or the Swags you know the loops and at the same time the colours would be changing on buttons and floats and it was beautiful. I seen a programme programme sheet there and it's a curtain display 15 minutes and I am sure some of the patrons must be brought to tears. But anyway we used to enjoy it and it was I think two years we had problem there and fog fog was dreadful in Paddy bar in those days. And when you look at the protocol you know what it's like driving a car and headlamps for lawn when we couldn't see the screen. And we use the same one of the boys down to the circuit watch the film and he used the buzzers to the projection in for changeovers. And the the boiler house well at all the audience boiler houses were forgotten about and we used to burn anthracite there and Oh gee we used to suffocate with the stuff because we always had to stoke the boilers the carbon monoxide Yeah, yeah, well Jake was dry. Cool. Yes. And anyway, the region engineer came along and at the villa cross pictures where I'd been trained, which is a no, it's only a mile up the road. The chief prediction is there, he got himself into trouble and patron Compton and because they had no chief at the same time that had a fire in the intake room, electrical intake room, and they never reported it. Well, I don't know was one or the other, stirred up a hornet's nest. And Mr. Coombs, who I mentioned earlier, a fire prevention officer caught on one is unmute. You didn't know when they were coming. And he called him and because he went straight into the intake room and seen all the scorch marks up the wall. They'd replace the fuse box that caught fire, but they've forgotten the painted. And of course, there was around and the chief was part to blame and because the manager was definitely to blame, so I was transferred to the Ville across my first chief's job. Now, on the way up the road that first morning, I said to myself, well, what staff I've got now that won't be treated the way I was treated at the village dress. So I got there and there was the cleaners, the same cleaners from all those years before. It always amazes me the cleaners at the Stonewall cinemas, they're always there. They always say that they go through all the war. And of course, they were delighted when I walked in, and I said I've taken the chief's job. And I went up in the box and Katie projectors, the new ones, the KT 20 ones, the one a three sound hid prior to the narc lamps, beautiful combination.

And they wish they'd been in two years because I went off for the installation just to see the first ones. And when I've seen them, I thought what a shame they had been neglected. Now that rewind, the projection was so small with these big Kaylee's and it was cool. So one of the conditions I went up there, the the projection must be extended. Because I got I'd already drawn up plans for that. And but we had a problem with planning permission we had to get I think it was weird that the job must not exceed 50 parents we were limited on money. And because there was a lot of money, you know, we're talking about now of it that was 1950. And we were a bit stuck for money. And so of course, we had to I took the job. And then when I went up and I found out what stuff I'd got, I was amazed. I got two male projectionist and two female. Now the two female ones were girls. They didn't come on till afternoon anyway. But these two in the rewinder, there was no spare bulbs. I couldn't find gramophone records. Now that what has happened because usually, you know, you have hundreds of spare electric light bulbs, but there was nothing there. And the pin from the previous night, which we're going to show that afternoon hadn't been been rewound. And anyway, this may have predictions came in and I said, what what's going on? I said there's no film cement the film's not rebound. And always we don't rewind them until we need them again. So anyway, we had words, and I said, Well, I'm afraid I'd like to ask for that to be changed. And when the girls came on, I found out that when one wanted to powder and I was the other one wanted to help her, and when you send them for it or break it break each one to do both wanted to go well now city of Birmingham and system at that time are two projections being in the projection middle times where you're puzzled at at yourself that there was me and because they don't want other male operators be off duty and you've got holidays to think about not. And weekends were a problem because we had to do a fast amount of paperwork returns carbons use lamps use, film shown and records played needles. And anyway, as I said, it's got to stop. Well, I suppose it was two or three days later this one mail projections came to me and he says chief I want word in private and not always going to give his notice in. He says no, it wasn't his I can't read and write. So good. And then what confusion that was because How does he know what film is showing? When try crossover is covered on the set? Do does he know where to send anything? How am I going to have a weekend off? You know, and all kinds of things went through my mind. So you won't believe it. The other one came to me is on the same. Now I heard afterwards it was a Dodge to escape national service. If you're a little narrower, whether they were just playing it up because they had to I don't know. But anyway, the one the second one, he decided he'd leave anyway. I think it is because I upset him with his girlfriend to see. I think they were with the girls most the time. Anyway. Now I've worked with the women operators, most of the scenarios before that, and they've been marvellous because the one For, you know the finer parts of presentation, and that always makes sure that the place was clean and that you always had an ample supply of cups of tea. I love my cups of tea. And anyway, that was it. Now the next thing I still get for two years and Mr. Pooler regional engineer came to me and he says Ted where I don't like boasting, he says, You've done a good job here. Would you like to go to the king standing odium and do the same? Well, of course, I was delighted for one thing I'm going to my audience, which I loved. And when Dr. King standing Odeon, and on that very first Martin's a beautiful building, I'd love you to see it. And I walked up to the front entrance and my second projection is met me at the door. Now I didn't know him. And he shook hands. And he says, I'm Ron, your second. And I said, What about the others? He said you hadn't any? Because we never had any staff in the audience during those years that they wouldn't stay. And will the money was no good for a start.

Unknown Speaker  30:59  
Were you getting about them?

Ted Newman  31:01  
Oh, are things standing? I was getting Baba. I would have been getting red eight times a week. Yeah. Yeah. And of course, I'd only been there three months. And of course, I'd love you to read the book because you get a description of these buildings. Yes. They are super Yeah. And commercial over. And I run the second I had you see, he he was very keen. Now he'd been trained at the OD newsbeat which is the Paramount premium hoodie and took over and he was trained under excellent t projectionist. In fact, nobody liked him. He was too strict, but he was a good technician. He died soon after that, and run. When Mr. Poole came to interview me about going to new street I didn't want to go because I felt I hadn't got the experience. And besides that new street had got the bth super projectors in which were very troublesome. I always said with the bth supers if they come out five or six years later, when electronics were a little bit more advanced, they've been a super projector, but I super project. And But anyway, that was the way it was. So I refuse to go to new straight Well, I was Mr. Poole was offering me more money. I said money won't induce me, because I'm happy here is nice to the show. So I'll tell you what, choose your own stuff. And when you were accepted, then on you're going on a shift, you know, two shifts, and you're going there a shift chief. So I accepted. I accepted that and I said I'll take Run with me and I knew then. So it'd be very difficult for me going in as a senior projectionist. And not knowing the projectors, and certainly not knowing the theatre, because it's a huge place. So anyway, I agreed. And we went in there the next week, and Ron came in. So did did. Did they increase your money then on that? I know they wanted to know, Oh, yes. Well, he had to because he'd already agreed on that to see. But when I refused the money part of it, he said, well, we'll give you the money if you can have your own stuff. Well, of course, I went up to 12 pounds a week, then. That would have been 9051. And I also had my own stuff more or less well, I'd got the one that I knew. And the boy who was already at New street stayed on for a while. Now new Street was the problem. It wasn't the it was the it was the manager. Now, in those early years, I used to think he was a Tata, because the slightest thing wrong with that picture he had me in the office. And I use the projectors, when tapped out there were new with the super projector was a very badly designed projector. One little thing I always quote in these talks, is the fact that we are three of them, because we worked long hours and those days because we were on the screen at 10 in the morning, so 11 at night, there were those three super projectors, and we could run on the alternative would that was a help. But it was the only trouble was we were burning such a high current on the arc lamps. They were never designed for that. They change the arc lamps and they put filters into filter the heat and still that the light pass through. And they were a nuisance because they were very difficult to clean. And then of course when we came onto the in the 50, twos and threes when we came on to widescreen, the optic current again, 230 amps Well, the sides of the arc lamp because they're very small lampposts, your ears were burning. So they had to think about changing them all. But I come to widescreen and CinemaScope in a minute, narrower. I started it new straight. And I found that Jessie it's a huge building. And we used to say that there's so many electric light bulbs in the place. That if your bulb is guaranteed for 1000 hours, I shouldn't say lamp they're not built. If a lamp is guaranteed for 1000 hours, we've erected are we changing 30 a day. Well walking up and down all those gangways and staircases and toilets. It's a full time job and you You've lost a boy already. So anyway, we were we came to the days of widescreen and cinema scope. I think widescreen was a definitely a terrific clangour. Technically, they should. Roman Holiday was our first film my widescreen and I was off. I'd been on duty and I had a night off on the Saturday night. When I went in Sunday afternoon, I walked into the auditorium to see what the picture was like. And I seen what a name Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, when I've seen her face cut in half, I thought, Oh, heavens above. And what they put there was a short on with that programme. So a dancing thing is German or Swedish or something. But there was some titles, what it meant to you put the subtitles in, the heads disappeared. So you want us out? Well, right, we are talking about

a Roman Holiday and a short and a very bad idea. Because one thing at the Audi neuspeed screen have been brought well forward on the stage, we'd lost all our beautiful stage drapes were helped him presentation of films. I must mention. That time there was about seven of us as technicians at the audio, and we had a stem Harris engineer who was an ex theatre man. And we were coming up to showing the coronation film The green has crowned. And he said to us that we should do some special in the way of presentation. And we put our heads together and we set up on a plan. Now we had to collect from lots of the stores around Birmingham, heads and tails of women. arms, legs and everything. And it was a great laugh. We were carrying these back to the audience. When folksiness with various parts of lady's anatomy, we went to the local theatre and borrowed a lot of costumes, and a bag cloth. And we had our own restaurant costumes because we had a full size stage and we used to do in the old days the did Cindy variety shows but a lot of this equipment had remained in the building. And we put the restrooms on the stage. Now if you don't know what a restroom is, is it a platform which is a can be dismantled, and that about eight foot by four foot and they can vary in depth. We built these up into various heights around the stage and the one at the very back was very high. And we let the stage in deep blue and non sitting on all these restaurants or was the past kings and queens of England in costume. And on the one at the very top of very back of the stage, the very highest one was our president Queen, who was leaning on a pillar and we had garland of flowers rounder. Now the idea was that when the backdrop curtain we had an curtain that went up and down at noon straight I backdrop. And when that curtain was went up, the audience would see a deep blue stage with all the past kings and queens of England in tableau, where the present Queen well illuminated with a mini spot from the top. And as it went up, we played land of hope and glory now and added land and hope and glory finished, the screen came down and the picture the queen is crowned appear to unroll on it. The audience cheered. I often wondered if it was the audience or the shred starting it off. Now, it went down very well. But our problem was that if it went wrong, we'd be for the guillotine. Because the manager was extremely strict, and any fault in the presentation of showmanship. He always wanted to head to fall. Sad in a way, I always remember I was 42 miles away, I sat down in Tewksbury and I went in the next morning there was a note on my desk that was telling me to see him at 10 o'clock went down and he wrapping my knuckles because the lantern slide had been put on the screen upside down the night before. So I explained to him now Mr. Newman, don't start again. Use a I can get a rubber and rub it out and I changed a sheet of paper. You can't the 2400 people have seen it and they tell others as Yeah, but it's true. So he says no, he says you're not instructing your staff properly. And of course I caught I got into trouble again. Now well, that's fair enough was about the chief must be the chief and the chief has to carry the camera. But I know that another thing was that I always took my share of running films. not let the chief When I was a boy and afterwards knew the chief never run any film, but he was there to turn you off if it if anything went wrong. Now the audience knew straight away and the Oregon two we had to come to Oregon and that was used. in their early days. It was used full time which saved us playing gramophone records. But then one night they decided the organists had to go to cut down on finance and We really go back to records. And what happened. The boy, the bth record players, you know, as twin the two turntables side by side, switched off the one wrong wrong one one night. And of course, the record went around. And again, the bus phoned up the box, and there was nipples wrapped again, you're not instructing your staff properly. And of course, I had to get rid of that boy. And I always said it was. It was awful to do that because we couldn't get stuff. And then, of course, the next big thing that happened to us, they decided to put cinema scope in which actually followed widescreen, we were the first one outside London to get cinema scope, and of course, the robe and bth and all that wisdom. Done the installation. We were still on the Supers. And it was all budged.

Say the super projector. If you don't know it's in the era project at number a letter a projector are the main amplifiers. Now I'm sorry that it's in the beep projector, the main amplifiers and a projector carries all the contact us for the outlands we are three but the other projector didn't have anything narrower. The problem with the super amplifiers in those days were valve amplifiers. And of course they get hot. And another problem we had to get the to the components of the soup amplifier pull that amplifier, right which is you'll see the valves. And then you have to turn it over to expose all your fuses and components. Well, when we turn these over the lead us to break off the solid connections because there's no a lot of them. And we always use the laughter The first thing you do with the audience is straight. When you go in, you don't put the kettle on. You put the soldering iron on. And we are so open at 10 o'clock in the morning and you'd pray to God that you've got sound. Now when they put us what a stereophonic sound in we had another problem the boxes quite big. They put the main amplifiers we begin soup amplifiers in separate cabinets at the back of the box to put them so close it Oh by the way, the only new Street was the only projection and I've worked in weathers heating. Well, I put these next to the main amplifier cubicles and the preamps next to the radiator. And you had to pull these out of the back and that didn't give us enough room to turn the amplifiers over. And it was a it was a terrible mistake. The preamplifiers which they had pre pre amplifiers for the magnetic sound up on the wall by the projectors. But then they went across the projection room to the second preamplifier which had valves in which I know the most Vt 50 ones but RDF. But there were microphonic. And we used to walk across the projection Hall floor you could hear Tom Tom, Tom Tom on the sound. And if you shouted, and sometimes you'd have reason to shout that could be heard in the pickup as a microphone it is under sound. And there was immense problems. And then another problem we had was mains variation because we're in the centre of a city and offices are switching on and off electric heating and all that we used to have variations and voltages. And that played havoc with sound level. We used to have to keep one of the boys the the the fader controls the volume controls, were at the back of the box, which meant you had to get a boy to sit there hand on the fader. And, you know, you'd have to keep the sound at a reasonable level. But then of course the vent voltage on the mains goes down and you're back again. At a cinema scope in your street was a watershed. For another thing it was this the theatre didn't lend itself because while the stage was 52 feet wide, it was a huge building. And the front tapered from the halfway down the side was tapered towards the stage. But the stage was still 52 feet wide. We had a 49 foot cinema scope picture, but because we couldn't get the width, the top masking had to come down instead. And it was dreadful. I always remember the SIR the engineer and installing the loudspeakers. in cinema sir Angie uses cellular speakers for the hf the high frequency notes. And on the cinema scope does three lots of speakers or three lots of these horn speakers. Each speaker had 16 cells in it. And the service engineer borrowed 16 or shred torches, put one in every cell walked around the theatre to make sure that he could hear sound he could see a light in each cell. And I always thought that was a very very clever idea. Now everything went reasonably well they took out our super projectors because node j at the bank Lord rank, the bank organisation decided that they're going to take BTO to head over all their cinemas and we're going to put Kaylee's M. So we got the Kaley 21. Again with the one a three sound head and we got them. We had two secondhand arc lamps which were night masters and it's not be there.

Alan Lawson  0:09  
Ted Newman side three light masters you were saying

Ted Newman  0:13  
yes, well the light master arc lamp clearly arc lamp that were usually installed in the larger government where the light master you won't believe it you know normally on the on the Oakland controls you would have two knobs that you could move to control the position of the mirror upwards downwards or sideways but not on the light master you had to put a penny into a slotted bolt a slotted bolts to move the mirror which was really corny. But anyway, there were 13 but we had problems with them. One thing the rake of new straight was enormous. And with the if you've got a big rake on an arc lamp and the carbons when they're feeding the tent that the clutches tend to slip and they carbon stop feeding. Well that was one of our problems. They took those out and then they put them all Richardson watercool dark lamps and that was a hopeless mistake. The water cooled arc lamp, you may wonder how they cool water but very clever. The water is fair you say the mould Richardson's they use ordinary plain carbon. They don't use copper coated carbons we used to have to polish these carbons. Horrible mucky job to get them to feed smoothly through the solid silver jaws. Now these solid silver jaws with that grip the carbon near the point of light. They would they had solid copper tubes soldered in. And under these copper tubes we used to put rubber connectors tubes to feed the water in and aerate. Now whoever thought of that idea, heat and rubber don't mix and water and mirrors don't mix. What used to happen the we'd lose the rubber your drink and let water out. The jaw was not the silver was not being cooled the copper soldering where the copper tube ended would splash and we get a we get the mirror splashed. And of course you've cracked the mirror and you're off the screen again. Now the other problem with news that he got was downdrafts, we used to get other downdrafts too and that didn't help with mirrors. But they took out the more rigid and arc lamps and they put the I told us Jenny mecanica, Cindy mecanica, arc lamps in the 450s. Now they'd stayed in still with the cayley, projectors, they those arc lamps were magnificent. There's no doubt about that. They're Well, you know, there are I can't remember the name was the big arkla. They were designed on an American one, but very efficient at this Barry. I could think of it. Anyway. You see, when this water cooling was going on, the water was being recirculated. And that didn't help. We had circulators underneath the arc lamps. And I remember one day we had a problem with a water cooling on the under the logical rules. And I went down to we always told the manager if we were going off the screen, and I went down to him and told him we'd have to go off the screen. He wanted to know why. And I said because we've got no water cooling. And he called me back he says Tell me Chief, why do you need water cooling for showing pictures. He didn't know the projectors were water cooled to. But we're burning a terrific amperage, though. And of course, as you know, it was shortly after cinema scope went in that 20 Century Fox fell out with rank and stopped an image or any further installations. Well, of course, it meant that we weren't going to get any more cinemas go films. We were delighted and everybody was happy. But of course other people started bringing out superscope and fantasy scope and goodness knows what net scopes. And just after we hadn't been on these long, you know what they, they change it over from the water coolers and put tanks in the roof. And they gave us about six hours supply of fresh water all the time. Well, that solved another problem. But the box at New Street was a bit weird. We were very high up in the building. And

looking down at the screen, it looks so far away. And I always you know you've really you need to have opera glasses to be able to really focus the picture. But anyway, we be managed. But the front is the people sitting in the back stores. The back is back circle because that was underneath projection and well that screen looked especially on Cinemas COVID looked at a postage stamp turned sideways. It was it was dreadful place for films, but yet we were always packed. And I remember being in London here. I came down on a big screen television course because Leicester Square Odeon. They were going to put us big screen television. And I came down here for a few days to learn all about it. And I remember the managers know the chief of wickedness named Scott Irishman. He said he took me around all the in cinemas to have a look at the boxes. And we finished off at the Empire. And the manager said, Oh, you come and sit and watch a decent show. And I sat in the circle understanding the narrative and the one of the projectionist came down with a cup of tea to me. I always remember somebody said, Why did you get that from? And anyway, I said to him, I say God, empty. That's the audience all. Our buddy says, You've got the name Odeon over the door. And you know, people always say, it's true. People say, Oh, we like going to the odium. There was the name and it had got a good name over the years. But no, it just after we got this, all this Auckland Problem solved. They decided to zing the theatre that was 1964. And the idea was that the theatre was going to be modernised. That was wicked. We had a beautiful Paramount, a typical Paramount cinema gorgeous deco. And there's photographs in my book, and the deciders in it, the one explain what what does he mean, I've never not found out, it meant that this young lady came in. And she looked and she looked and she had long dress on and she had a scarf, you know, one of these things, she throws over a shoulder and a clipboard and she'd walked around with this clipboard. And she'd been looking at this making herself look important. I remembered it, she had more decisions how to change the theatre clock than she did with the change in the theatre. But I don't know him in the in the bar at the restaurant area. I don't know how many times I changed to different coloured bulbs here, there and everywhere. Till she was happy. And then I don't think she was. But she It was a weird idea. And one of the things was the idea was that because our front ceiling over the stage, because we could fly everything off the stage, which meant we got a lot of very high proscenium and all that had to disappear. And the lower the front Ceiling by 30 feet, believe it I believe or not. And then all the the entire theatre was just painted over and a horrible pink, and all our beautiful decor went all our chandeliers went. And it was it was a terrible mistake. If they had kept that today. We it would have been a you know, people come from far and wide to see it. But we knew we were going under stage show, as you see they started in 1964. Very small to start with. And again, there was there was only five of us technicians. And we had no idea of stage presentation, we'd never had any training. But fortunately, we had Harris engineer, who I think I mentioned was he came from a theatre family and he had it in his blood. He was brilliant. And he started it off on stage draping stages, you know, lighting and stage, drapes and all that. But he left us and we were sort of left on our own. The stage shows became bigger. And during the course we had to do operate spotlights sometimes Well, we used to take it in turns. We used to do others do the spotlights, we used to set the stage lighting. Another one was mix sound. Now if you've mixed there and on a big stage show, your words have to be an expert. I thought I knew sound I love music I'm very fond of. I don't I don't understand pop music. I'll tell you that. But I love good music. And I was mixing the sound. And then you know if you've got Ted Heath and his music, because the way the audio new street stage is built, it's very what we call brilliant. You don't need trumpets, because there's enough amplification in the actual building. So I used to turn down the trumpets. And then I was in trouble. Because they couldn't hear on the monitors on the stage. And I used to say to them, well, it's the audience that wants to hear. We had what they were seeing Nancy, somebody American singer, I remember her stopping the show in the middle of the show and say Can you hear me folks? And of course it was an embarrassment to me. I was sitting in the middle of the stalls mixing sound. But now we're getting on in years and 1964. Well, we're saying bit after that. I was starting to get leg problems.

And with these leg problems, of course, I had to go to the doctor. And the doctor said it because if your puppy knew I worked in the cinemas, he says you've been standing on those legs of yours for 40 years, you can't expect much different because we were never allowed to sit down in old in Birmingham cinemas and the projection here because it was on fire. And a chair would be considered normal stress tool would be considered an obstruction. So we had no nowhere to sit down. And we were always short staffed. So you couldn't say it was wet and sit in the staff room for an hour. So I always seem to work long hours. I know I remember one of my managers used to get worried. And I used to say to him was a dog I said don't worry as long as I can make a cup of tea I'm happy. And anyway, we went on to single Manning and that was a we used to have to go in and do stage shows of course because you couldn't single man now This single man, he was always a thorn in the flesh. I'm in Union headquarters. Now I'll tell him straight, that I think the union dropped a terrific clangour. I forgotten the name of the area representative. I wouldn't mention it anyway, he was based at Nottingham. At new Street, we designed the single Manning system. And it was all worked out on how we you know, time and motion study they did. And they went off to the union. And I thought we got a good case. But the representative he was the area represent not the local one, came down from Nottingham. And we'd waited all afternoon to see him because he was going to interviewers as a group, he did, I got fed up, I had to go home, my mother was very ill at home. And I went down to the and as I walked through, it was nice sitting in the office talking to the manager, he should never have done that. He should have come to us first. And we got a very bad deal. Although the quarters to 35 hours a week, not all we got out of it, because we should have had a big increase in salary.

Alan Lawson  11:02  
What was that? That was net key, then?

Ted Newman  11:04  
 Well, that's just not true at all. I mean, I know I blame nephew for I was on the local committee. And you know, I couldn't understand why he ik you'll know what his name is. And he wouldn't mention a name anyway. I don't know the local but it'll be in the record. It's been in Tom. Yeah.

Alan Lawson  11:20  
Brian's union anyway. Yeah,

Ted Newman  11:22  
I know. So I was always dumbfounded. Well, because my legs were bad at that time. And it was getting to that were actually I was out in in one of our big parks open Park, and I had my dog with me and I passed out, I stepped over like a drain. And I passed out and I thought I'd broken my leg. And no one everybody passed. On the other side, you read the good book about the Good Samaritan. And But anyway, I've someone got me back to the car, and I couldn't change gear. And I thought I'd broken my left leg. But you see, if you're driving, you use your left leg for changing gear, and I couldn't change gear. So of course, I had to go home and second gear. But I found for an ambulance went to the hospital and I was in a wheelchair going into it. And some one of the physiotherapist seen me and these What have you done? I don't know. But my left leg useless. He had a look at it. And he said, you know, he's the head of thrombosis. So we got to get you into a bed immediately. And I went into the hot end debate in hospital and they treated that and I came out. And of course, I was off work for a few weeks. And when I went back, I found that the stage shows were impossible because this left leg just seemed to I don't know, as soon as the twist on its own, it still does. Anyway, I told them I'm doing no more stage shows. And then they said, Well, if you do you see the problem with the Odeon newspaper patrons didn't know when we had a film on and when we had a live show. We had all the big pop concerts, the Rolling Stones and the shower, you know, the Beatles, and all those. I used to get great delight in the Beatles because I'm mixing their sound. I used to put everything flat out and that's it. But most people do. And I remember leaning over and saying to the girls, you know who were in the show, I said, Well, we don't care about the sound of interest in the Beatles. And but it was a lot of hard work. We used to go in perhaps if we had an Irish show we'd be in fact we say half eight. And Ernie. Yeah. Well, we had to dress the stage and definitely take on board all the lorries you know, you know, we had two or three articulated with some of those shirts, we did all that. And we went through the day, we never had meals, you couldn't have a meal. We never sit down it all the I blame the Union for it. Oh, it should never have been allowed. There was me a union man. But nobody did anything about it. And I began I blame it on like our while I was a senior projection said what we call a shift Chief, but our head chief chiefs, he shouldn't have allowed it to happen. But then again, it happened. And we were glad at the money because of course doing all the hard being we used to get back handles. Don't tell the company. And I know this went on for months. And you could see that he had finished one show at half, two at night and you were back again at eight o'clock in the morning. I had problems at home with my mother. I was nursing her at home and things like that. But I found that these live shows were definitely had to go out.

Alan Lawson  14:28  
He was moving them in and also moving out. Yes.

Ted Newman  14:31  
And but that was every week. Yes, no. In between time have we got a live show? We put Phil month. Well of course the renter's didn't like that. I couldn't understand where did it go on so long, but I used to go in and run the films when I was bad. And my colleagues did the live shows were levels of great and at that time we had cinnamic what do they call this animation? Well this animation unit runs the show for you and when you're on 4000 foot spools is not too bad. are talking A 4000 foot spools is one of the biggest clangers I ever dropped was on a 4000 foot spool. I was on my own, and the trailers were on address and trailers, and I was threading up the first reel of the main film, and the phone rang. Now when the phone rings at that period, you always think it's best to answer it in case they want a doctor out of the auditorium. And then you don't interrupt the film wanted started. So I went across onto the phone went back and threaded up the first reel of the picture. And the trainer's had finished and I took them down to rewind them at the other end of the projection room. There was a mighty crash. I knew what had happened before this happened. The top of the spool had fallen off the top spindle, because I hadn't put the clip down. Now fortunately, the organist was still we'd got the organ back at that time they were going went out of use for 20 years. And new manager we had a since died. He decided he'd like the organ re installed. And you know, my colleagues, I didn't do it. My colleagues rewired all of that content organ to get it back in use. And they weren't very keen. But the organ was used regularly and fortunately had been not been taken out like most Odeon stuff, the organs out. Now the audience with the parliament. Anyway, this pool was laying on the floor. I went and looked at it was bent every shape you can think of. And I had to take it down onto the rewind and rewind it onto a fresh spool. Of course it was backwards then. So I had to rewind it back again. And it took me 17 minutes. And there was an ad the doorbell rang. We had to keep the projection level locked because we had a lot of pilfering, and it's quite a good little walk out of that door. Anyway, I was back on the screen. Unfortunately, the August organist hadn't gone off the console, he won't close the curtains, and he played all through that 17 minutes. It played better when he was drunk. And anyway, when I went to the door, it was the manager and he said, Oh, Ted, Ted, thank God, you're alright. I thought he dropped dead. Because I you know, I'd been in hospital all the time. Anyway, that was a he was a great character. And I you know, I broke my heart. When I heard he died. He was he was only 51. And he was the only decent manager I think I've ever worked for. But I went on like that. And then as these pains weren't getting any better my legs and I went to the doctor and he said about a bit of surgery. I said do anything. And I was in hospital. And that's when a lot of fun started because I was never apprehensive about going into hospital. I've had more than my share, particularly during the war and went into hospital. And when I went for the initial examination, I was laying on the couch and the consultant came through the curtains and he said he wanted the dying breed Mr. Newman, I said, party. This is where your cinema projectionist isn't, we don't get many of those in here. So anyway, when I went up the theatre on the day of the operation was a lot because I went up he was there he met me on the corridor. Mr. Newman, is nice to see you. Do you realise you're in a different theatre today. And you're the star attraction. And then he was introducing me to all the people Mr. So and Miss so and so. I had a personal nurse in that hospital in the hospitals theory that if you get a purse, a trainee nurse, she looks after your while you're there anything you want to ask her. And after the operation because I I couldn't I was difficulty in walking. I had both legs or the veins stripped and not a pleasant operation, but it's wonderful afterwards. And with this, I was in the bath. You know, we had to have Ceylon baths to heal the wound. And she was sitting on the edge of the bath. And she says you're looking executive type. I said Far from it. I said, You'll never guess what my job is. And she tried and she tried. Well, I said, I'll give you a hint. I'm considered by by Manat my boss to be a necessary evil. And that was mentioned at a manager's meeting once and I didn't know that there was an audio visual operator in the room. And anyway, I said I'm I'm a cinema projection is and she's all Quick, quick. She can see candles I've met you at last year, Eric. And I say who the dickens is Eric, and she's willing to cinema when the sales thing comes and it tells you that Eric your projectionist is much

too busy to drink clear or free to squash. I didn't I didn't know that. You say I'd never. I didn't frequent ABC cinemas. But anyway, that was wonderful. But when I got back, the manager knew straight when I got home, there was the biggest basket of fruit I've ever seen in my life and flowers galore. And he says we've arranged for you to go to Cleveland's now I've got to mention Cleveland's because I always said You know, that's our retirement and convalescent home as we're working. And I've got to mention Cleveland because I'm on the local committee now at Birmingham, Florida. Cleveland's and for the Benevolent Fund. And such a lot of people don't know about it. And anyway, I went there and I got a quite a surprise because every chair I sat in belonged to somebody else. But I got a bit you know, I wanted to go home, but I thought I taught myself and you can't beat them, join them, Ted. And that night three sat down to play canasta and they were looking for a fourth hand. canasta is a card game, by the way. And I said our play and of course that broke the ice and from then on, I was willing. I always remember the the they don't they show films they you know, when a new film comes out, it's shown in Cleveland at the same time as she sees it, you know, the one but the corgis. She sees it at the Odeon list is always in Leicester Square. But they're not allowed to start Cleveland still she has actually started their project. So at the Odeon, Leicester Square say they found Cleveland's as soon as the film starts and they start their projectors. Now the laugh was they got to where they had two projections there. One was crippled and the other was blind. So I between them, I managed to get this on the screen. That was Kramer vs. Kramer, the one I saw, but a nice little cinema. I will I love Cleveland. And I always say the Cleveland saved my life. Because I live on my own. I have no family now. And while I was there, on the second week, a television camera man turned up and he was extremely stuck up. He wouldn't speak to me because I'm a projectionist. I'm the lowest of the low. And anyway, I got cards. He always started moaning about the food and I said, What do you expect for nothing? And they food was a weird system that used to depend on gratuities you know, people would send in a pound of cheese and you've got Paris cheese for supper. So everything is different marriage. It's wonderful now. And I said to him one day we were sitting out in the gardens. I said, Tell me one thing puzzled me. Now this is many years ago. How do you follow a golf ball through the air? Always? That's easy. We only show you the ones we follow. And either will that solve that problem? Now I went back to the to Birmingham and after a few weeks, I decided to go back to work and to go to another long story short, I knew I couldn't stay in the business. I was hurting me. And then I was sent for by the manager and he had a chat he says we're transferring your Ted now. I was a bit delighted with that because I knew I wasn't being made redundant. I was by that time I was 61 I think and a the i thought i was when i during the interview. I thought I was going back to the audience of Sutton Coldfield, because I was I didn't tell you that during my stay at New Street. I went there for the rest for a few weeks. I thought I was going there, but I wasn't I was going down to the audience at Queensway Birmingham. Now this was ridiculous, because this Queensway odium, it wasn't it was a city centre. Cinema to start with. And it had a six cinema built into the office block above, in the office section. And the idea was that that would be a six cinema and the main cinema downstairs, which was a beautiful auditorium would show normal production. They call it the Schuyler super armour. Now, I can't vouch for this story, but I rank audience took it over. And instead of calling on scholar super armour, it became the odium. I think the chose that the word odium because of the same number of letters in his column. That didn't mean much alteration to the sign. And but the upstairs cinema still ran based in New centres a sex cinema. But in the years between, they'd built another one in the office blocks next to it with the same, the same idea to show normal production films. But of course, films went in short supply that wasn't successful. And what they tried to do to make because they couldn't get a separate pay box cash desk, so what they tried to do was cut a cut through the dividing wall in an office block. And they found out that they couldn't do that. So they had to run the two cinemas in each one separately, which was a big drain on the resources. They closed them eventually. And the time new straight was nothing but film shows. Now the stage shows. So we were running the output for the odium circuit in the in the main cinema.

So what rank decided to do was convert the two small cinemas, modernise them, and we would run those runners a triple that was a clanger because for one thing they tried to cut through the same wall. And the they brought in all kinds of things to cut through this mall. And they were drilling three inch holes with diamond drills, but a three inch in diameter. Water was running down the main road while they were cooling them. And then one one afternoon at 10 past four, they got through one of the main hoses that hold the building together. They had to evacuate the office block and evacuated person As we were closed down for two days and I hate to think, right that cost and they came along then and the put big bolts all the way through the building, but big nuts on each end and screwed the building back together again. So, but the thing was that we told them, they couldn't cut through that wall. But we're only a projectionist. They don't listen to projectionists. So anyway, either Well, you should have listened. But anyway, that was our tripling. Now you'll wonder how projection could take place in office in offices where they you've got detentions supporting the roof. So Jay was Dr. Napo design these animals By the way, he was an eminent cinema designer. If done in the main auditorium, it was a beautiful auditorium and 600 seats. It was 35 and 7570 mil. And I used to go create the light and run the 70 mil because you unless you sat down on a stool in the projection, and we couldn't see at the top of the screen. And of course, there were manual change overs. I used to get great delight in pressing that button for the picture to change. You see an enormous picture in front of me, actually, that's power. But next door to that it will alter a separate room there where you could run the entire show from a separate room and actually sit with the audience. I never liked the idea. One thing I always thought the projector should never be seen anyway. But worried me because there was a lot of steps from the this control room down into the main projection room. And I'd always been trained to stay by the projector. But he we were stopping and starting projectors and see them remote control. Yeah, the most everything was remote controlled. And this todra curtains Harris lights, but it was a beautiful theatre was gorgeous. And I was quite happy there. But the thing was, I went down there in a junior capacity. And that hurt me. I had someone giving orders. And I'd never had that for 40 years. Now, that hurt me, again, the money manager I couldn't abide. And he couldn't abide me by the way. And we could never see eye to eye I had nothing to do with me. I wasn't I was just an underling. But getting back to these upstairs cinemas was another problem. The projectors were behind the screen. And they went into a we projected the image in through the portal into a mirror it 45 degrees roughly. And that went down onto a floor in the auditorium the floor and the auditorium behind would be the orchestra pit, went down to a mirror there and again went up at an angle to a very big mirror which was hidden by the orchestra wall. That mirror would have been or 12 feet by four feet. They'd had to because scrupulously clean because the audience was behind that. And they used to tip ice cream down at the brain over and look in the mirror for the waves or arm in front of it RG. And because we're in the protocol, there was no curtains in there originally. And you can imagine that that image was going through three mirrors before it got to the screen. And when we were looking at it, we were looking at through six mirrors, and it just drove me up the wall. But because it was a triple, you're not talking one projection. And we're there. There was 12345 sets of staircases I had to negotiate to go from one to the other. And through the main foyer, and the main floor. Yeah, we did marvellous business. And I mean for you to be soulful, you couldn't get backwards and forwards in time to do the end of the show as it was running on automation. But, you know, even then, you know, it wasn't all that reliable. And I always remember going down and the manager said to me, you're running five minutes late and screen 310. I said, I know what he says the others manage it. I see it but they're not 64. Now the greatest thing that ever happened to me towards the end of my career in what I think is a wonderful industry was when I received a phone call. I went in on duty at four o'clock and change the shift. And the cashier said there's a phone call for your tip. I took the phone I said yes. Can I help you? And he said it's Cliff here. I said Cliff Cliff Who? He says Cliff Richard said Good heavens. So

he says you're the projectionist. I said yes. He said, Would you do me a very big favour. I said I'd do anything for your club. And he said, I want to see a film The Jewish showing. I can't see it because I'm at a concert up here. You're running a normal programme all day. Would you run it for me after your show? I said it'd be a pleasure. He said It's alright. It's all squared which are buses. So I was sworn to secrecy not overly even my own good I tell my own staff or even tell the students of my home. And anyway Cliff turned up that night and I must have shouldn't have I should have told you that on the phone. I said you know me, Cliff. And so do I know you. I remember the only new straight new chapter to me when I was cleaning a chandelier. So remember, you know, the Irishman and I always thought it was a great character anyway, but So we sat in our little staff room, which was only about five foot square. And we had some sandwiches together and a cup of tea and he said, I'd love to see the projectors. And I showed him the projectors, and I ran the film on him, and he come out afterwards near the light. And he gave me 10 pounds anyway. And anyway, but the worst thing of all that happened to me, that's the best thing I think that ever happened. I thought it was wonderful to think that Cliff Richard found time to come and see my show. And then one day, we used to run Chinese films and Monday evenings. Now these Chinese films, we had to be made up, we used to make it a point, but whoever is running the Chinese show at night must make them up. Because these films come to us as a in a tin blank, you know, they're not on spools, we have to put them onto spools. I was doing that for a Chinese film. And we were running what we call a press show. That's a show special for the newspaper reporters and anybody else that was interested. And I walked up the steps to the projectors, because the projectors were at a high level, Dr. nap had forgotten, you've got to clear the audience to get show films. And when I went up the next real we were running on the platter system, you know, that runs, if anyone who doesn't know, that runs the entire programme automatically. And it was it was what two of the rails are joined together. And when I looked at the screen that next Rio was upside down. Now I thought heavens above? Well, of course, the manager flew in who would made up that film. And I said, Well, I'm not going to tell you but it wasn't me. Because how could I do it on someone I was only an underling now. And anyway, I was trying to I must have passed out because the next thing I knew the manager s was Danny by me with a cup of tea. And she says, Just don't worry at all the other day when the dean were given them all coffee for you. And she says do what you can. Now I the puzzlement now is getting very technical, because how do you get a real that's upside down off the plateau system. Now fortunately for me, I had the presence of mind to stop the projector. And I thought to myself that if I can get that real rework, run backwards onto the other projector, see we two projectors down in the main cinema, that will be the right way up. And then I can went that I've shown that I can change back to the plateau system. It never been done before. But anyway, it worked. And the across the bus was was he was happy. But it wasn't fair. Because, you know, there was times there when I'm sure I got blamed for things that were happening on with other people. And they never, they weren't interested in showing films down there. It was just a job to them. And that used to worry me. But anyway, that was one of the biggest blunders in my life. Well, I wrote a letter to our head office and asked if I could come out instead of retiring in October, could I retire in April, because I, I felt that I could do with a long break a lot of summer holiday. And you know, though, the boss never sent that application to head office. And it was only to our manager s that she founded. And it was all dealt with. And I retired in April 1986, after 50 years in a wonderful business. And if I had my life over again, I choose the same job. Yeah. And I want to ask you,

Alan Lawson  33:16  
because, you know, as I told you, the boys in the labs always said, you know, not out of sight out of mind. It's the same with you. But when you wish, running a show or projecting a show, what, you know, what did you do yourself? Were you watching all the time,

Ted Newman  33:39  
but you couldn't? Because in the old days was that the rails? Well, they were only 10 minutes to start. But then there were 20 minutes. But by the time you have every one that real and threaded up. The next one admitted if you had staff it was it was our idea. But of course, because we were, you know, they'd only be three or four in the normal cinema for projectionist. You'd always have someone on day off. Yes, in the latter years, but in the early years because we didn't get much time off. Now. We always found something to do because it goes a lot of maintenance to be done.

Alan Lawson  34:13  
But you're feeding the arc anyway. you're feeding the arc anyway.

Ted Newman  34:15  
Well, the arcs became automatic, you know. And then, of course, when I went to the Odeon Queensway they had xenons Well, I'd never worked on xenons and they used to terrify me. But the strange thing is during my I was there six years, yes. Five years, five and a half years. While I was there, I never presented veil on me. But my Junior Assistant while the one below me, he had to go in that time. And I said How did you get unpatterned he said, Oh my underwear needed changing because they implosion but now I always found there was always work to do. And then of course, like some cinemas where you'd be running past two or three programmes in the same week. You'd always be spooning films or spoon in the mouth. And then there was the office work to be done and Oh no, I always found once we went on to the largest pools because eventually went on to these 4000 foot schools that run 6000 foot or I got the 6000 foot 4000 I found that that gave you a lot of time for a bit of leisure. But then when I was on those fools we had no way you could go to get away from the clicker the projectors, we had no definitely no I, I, I used to get a bit bored at times. I must admit I missed the old days when there was always something going wrong. Because the equipment became so reliable after a few years, you know.

Alan Lawson  35:42  
Thanks very much. That's great. Thanks.