Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I don't think that they had changed the projector when I started. Our first film was the Dirk Bogarde ' A Tale of Two Cities', black and white with white spots and streaks, and crackles so bad it was nearly indecipherable. It didn't stop the entire 3rd form sobbing their eyes out when he went to the guillotine.

I remember watching Clockwork Orange at CH shortly before Kubrick withdrew it for 30 odd years!

I certainly saw it when I was young but I can't remember where.

I remember watching Olivier in Henry the Something Part Something, in the School Hall, where not only was the sound erratic and the projector kept breaking, but the screen was split. Heads were at the bottom and feet were walking around above them. Very strange. And yes, woe betide anyone who dared laugh.....

I remember seeing Top Gun in the theatre at Horsham. Films were a real highlight - it felt like you weren't really at school, but out in the real world for a bit. I developed a serious crush on Kevin Bacon after seeing him in Footloose at Hertford, but don't remember any other films there. We weren't allowed any TV either. In 1s, Mrs Weiss only allowed seniors to have programmes (you could hear 'The Young Ones' through the door and it all sounded very grown up), so we all joined the Scottish Country Dancing club because it ran on a Thursday and we could nip into the TV room next to the hall during the break and see a bit of Top of the Pops.

I vaguely remember a film, once a year through the juniors I think, shown in the theatre. I can remember they were shown after tea on a Sat but I've no idea what they were.

I wasn't really bothered, at that age I'd only been to the cinema twice and had no concept of what films were, but I remember teachers having a go at me because I wasn't grateful.

The LE were allowed to sit in the top balcony and spent the whole time shouting, throwing things into the circle and drumming their feet on the floor. I really couldn't see the point, we couldn't hear what was going on!

Oh yes, one year it was Memphis Belle - that was quite good.

I lived out in the boonies until the age of 9 and then moved into a small town which in those days still had a cinema.

I remember going quite often. I went to see Swan Lake at about 6, and 101 Dalmatians when I was still quite young. Then there appears a hiatus in my memory, but my father took me to see 'The Sound of Music' when I was about 10 (I think I enjoyed it more than he did) then in my last year at primary school I saw Dr Zhivago with my friend and The Guns of Navarone on my own (precocious child that I was).

At Hertford the cinema was right across the road from the school and we were allowed to go to films of particular importance 'Ten Commandments' anyone?

J.R. wrote:I well remember the Saturday 'treats' of films in Big School.

On a slightly different note, but not really going off topic, when I was at Horsham, D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterly" was enduring its famous obscenity case in the Law courts.

I seem to remember that when the case was thrown out and the book deemed a classic and not worthy of censorship, (quite rightly so), it was IMPLIED that any student found with an unexpurgated (?) copy would experience the wrath of the school.

Our Illustrious OB editor, (JH), might be able to shed some light, as we were there together at the time !

I seem to remember that Lady Chatterley's Lover was available in our House Library, as I remember having read it in a Penguin Edition with a gryphon or something on the cover. I am also pretty sure it was in the School Library along with other delights such as Samuel Richardson's Pamela, an early erotica. The only novel that went around in a brown paper cover was Fanny Hill.
(To get out of CCF after the 2nd year I helped classify books in the School library)

Getting back to films, we saw these in Big School with Paddy Cullen working a Back Projector, (projects on the back of the screen), which broke down about once a film.
We had 3 films a term (only the Michaelmas term I think), which included:
The Horse's Mouth - Alec Guiness
Mon Oncle - Jaques Tati
Guns of Navarone
Bridge over the River Kwai
Dr Strangelove
The Mouse that Roared - Peter Sellars
The Rebel - Tony Hancock

I'm sure JR will dispute most of them but I think I got some correct.

My film watching days go back to the early 50's when a lorry would pull up on a green on the council estate where we lived. They would lay down some tarpaulin and play black and white films which I certainly can't remember. That was a back projector as well.
Later on I would go to Saturday morning cinema, using up my return bus fare to get into the cinema and trying to get home without paying on the bus.
Choice of 3 cinema's, all gone now.

Mid A 15 wrote:I remember watching Clockwork Orange at CH shortly before Kubrick withdrew it for 30 odd years!

I saw Clockwork Orange in Reading, also before he withdrew it. It was on with one of Spielberg's first films, Duel.

I left the UK soon after and had no idea it had been withdrawn.

I think we had the book at CH. (Anthony Burgess)

I think Dr Strangelove was after I'd left. I certainly remember most of the rest though, John.

englishangel wrote:At Hertford the cinema was right across the road from the school and we were allowed to go to films of particular importance 'Ten Commandments' anyone?

We persuaded DR that 'Exodus' was about Moses and thus suitable!

I remember the cinema across the road, and I remember going there - but what I saw is buried in the mists of time! I don't think it was Exodus - because I remember being so very moved when I read the book and I am sure that was after I left school.

We saw Olivier's Hamlet inthe cinema across the road. We sat in the circle with the local Grammar schools pupils, with the hoi polloi down below, creating merry hell because they were bored, while the girls in the circle were all sobbing into their hankies.

J.R. wrote:I well remember the Saturday 'treats' of films in Big School.

On a slightly different note, but not really going off topic, when I was at Horsham, D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterly" was enduring its famous obscenity case in the Law courts.

I seem to remember that when the case was thrown out and the book deemed a classic and not worthy of censorship, (quite rightly so), it was IMPLIED that any student found with an unexpurgated (?) copy would experience the wrath of the school.

Yes, I vividly remember those days - it was made known that there would be a copy availabl;e in the library for anyone who needed it for serious study!!! I'm not sure if anyone had the temerity to ask for the requisite chitty.

When he was in his cups (as usual) we asked Kit (Aitken of the wooden leg) if he would be reading it. The answer was "No, I'll wait to see the film" or words to that effect. I often wonder if he did see the film - I didn't .

As to school films AFAIR they were consistently on the worse side of excruciatingly awful (even awefully bad) with just one exception. A certian old blue supplied the film before release and put pressure on the governors who allowed that horror of violence and degredation "The Dambusters" to be screened.

So bad were the films I even walked out on one - and I got painfully put in my place by Kit.

englishangel wrote:I lived out in the boonies until the age of 9 and then moved into a small town which in those days still had a cinema.

I remember going quite often. I went to see Swan Lake at about 6, and 101 Dalmatians when I was still quite young. Then there appears a hiatus in my memory, but my father took me to see 'The Sound of Music' when I was about 10

Apart from perhaps 4 rubbish filma plus The Dambusters at CH the only film I saw before I was 20 was "Sink the Tirpitz" (or a title like that). My mother's employer was involved in the control of the chase and wanted to see how it was portrayed - it was a near all-day expedition to get to the cinema.

I can't say I am that keen after the cinema hell CH put me through - I suppose I have been in a cinema 5 times in the last decade - perhaps. I even walk out if a fillum is on TV now.