More Movie Memorabilia : Old Cinemas

I found these really old photos which may bring back pleasant memories of movie haunts for some of us in the 1970s ...

Fig 1: Capitol in the 70s

I remember the days when the same film was screened at both Capitol and Lido (both part of the Shaw Brothers organisation) at roughly the same time, and because the cinema operator only had one copy of the film on (usually) two reels, they would stagger the timing such that one cinema would start showing the film first, while the other started with lots of commercials and trailers.

When the first reel ended in cinema #1, someone (usually on a motorbike so as to avoid traffic jams) would transport the reel to cinema #2. Once the courier was delayed, and we sat in one cinema in mid-film (reel one had just finished but reel two hadn't yet arrived), in pitch darkness, wondering what was happening. Invariably there would be lots of whistles, cat calls, and those with girlfriends would probably have a fumbling, fun time in the dark.

Fig 2: Cathay in the 70s

Regarding Cathay, actually what I remember more is the nearby ice cream shop, just beside the main entrance of the cinema - which sold great durian and sweet corn flavoured ice cream. (it's truly remarkable how one remembers foods tasted decades ago, and yet often forget what one had for lunch the previous day). Anyway, that ice cream shop was originally run by a certain Mr Lo Foot Kee, before he went into politics and even became an assistant Minister for Local Government, Sarawak.

Sadly both cinema establishments are no more. The Capitol building is long gone, with the Tun Jugah shopping mall in its place. I believe the Cathay building is still around, but no more functioning as a cinema.

Happy reminiscing ...