Cinema Memory and the Digital Archive

In Summer 1995, Nancy Carrington came into contact with Cinema Culture in 1930s Britain through Harrow Libraries Housebound Readers’ Service, joining the project’s eighteen core informants based in and around the London suburb of Harrow. Born in Harrow in 1911, Mrs Carrington was one of five children: her father worked for Harrow Council and her mother was a housewife. On leaving school at the age of fourteen she took a job as a mother’s help, looking after six children under the age on ten, and later worked in a range of roles, including mending cricket nets at Harrow School. Nancy Carrington took part in four interviews in all: on 7 July and 22 November 1995 she was interviewed on her own; and on 25 July 1995 and 30 April 1996 was joined by her childhood friend and fellow core informant Nancy (Agnes) Prudhoe. Also participating on 25 July 1995 was Mrs Prudhoe’s sister, Elsie Horne. All the interviews took place in Mrs Carrington’s home in South Harrow.

Mrs Carrington’s first interview opens with recollections of several cinemas in Harrow—of ticket prices and presenting jam jars for admission--and moves on to memories of adolescent cinemagoing—queues outside cinemas, courtship at the pictures--and the particularity of returning home from the cinema at night when Harrow was still semi-rural and all around were “fields and buttercups”. Prompted by the interviewer presenting photographs of film personalities, discussion turns to favourite stars and films, and Mrs Carrington states her preference for “clean romances”. She recalls the toys and games of her childhood and silent films with their piano accompaniment; and in later years dressing up to go to dances. Towards the end of the interview Mrs Carrington suggests that two of her friends might like to be interviewed, and the meeting closes with her reciting a poem by Walter de la Mare.

Mrs Carrington and her friends Nancy Prudhoe and Elsie Horne prompt each other’s memories throughout the lively second interview, in which conversation ranges over local cinemas—with vivid recollections of the Cosy on Harrow Hill; of going to the pictures two or three times a week, dressing up to go, copying the stars’ styles, and queueing to get in. They talk about different star personae and the “clean” films of those years (“You never saw them in bed, did you?”). They exchange gossip about various film personalities, including Jessie Matthews, Gracie Fields, Shirley Temple, “cruel” Joan Crawford, and the recently deceased Ginger Rogers. They ponder the appeal of Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. They scare each other with visceral memories of horror films and agree on a preference for American over British stars, acting styles, and films. Towards the close of the interview the tone turns elegiac, with recollections of how quiet and rural Harrow once was and memories of childhood games and toys. Mrs Carrington recites another de la Mare poem and a poem about her children that she wrote herself; and the conversation concludes with reflections on lifelong friendship.

A feeling of loss pervades Mrs Carrington’s third interview, in which she restates her preference for ‘romantic’ films and refers again to the Cosy Cinema on Harrow Hill, mentioning the special Cosy bus that transported picturegoers there and back in the years before the launch of a public bus service, a time when the area was still semi-rural and walking home alone late at night was perfectly safe. She recalls that some local cinemas featured live acts and music alongside films; and on being asked about her feelings on being in the cinema in those days replies “We thought we were there. Actually on the film.” She alludes to the affordability of cinema tickets when she was a child—a few pence or some jam jars--and contrasts the simplicity of her own childhood pursuits with young people’s lives today, and the financial hardships and strict parental discipline of her youth with the unwarranted sex now pervading films and TV now: “I just don’t like the things of today at all.”

When interviewed for the fourth time in Spring 1996 Mrs Carrington had recently returned from a visit to Zimbabwe with her son and daughter-in-law, and whilst awaiting the arrival of Nancy Prudhoe she shows the interviewer the drawings that she had made during her trip. When the interview begins in earnest, the conversation turns towards queueing to get into the cinema and staying to see the film twice over at one sitting. Local cinemas including the Cosy, the Odeon and the Granada are described in some detail and talk turns to favourite stars and the preferred ‘romantic’ films, with recollections exchanged of going to the pictures and dances with boyfriends. The interviewees have a heated discussion about whether the boys were out of work or not and in consequence whether or not they could afford to pay cinema or dance admission for the girls, or even for themselves. On the subject of getting home after an evening out, the friends debate whether there were any local buses, and mention using an unofficial taxi service to get home. Finally, they return to the subject of the immense changes in the area that have taken place—and continue to do so--during their lifetimes.

Audio-synced interview (1 of 4)
Interview transcript | Listing of cinemas, films and stars mentioned
Audio-synced interview (2 of 4)
Interview transcript | Listing of cinemas, films and stars mentioned
Audio-synced interview (3 of 4)
Interview transcript | Listing of cinemas, films and stars mentioned
Audio-synced interview (4 of 4)
Interview transcript | Listing of cinemas, films and stars mentioned

Documents, Memorabilia and Related Links

Harrow home page
Cosy Cinema, Harrow (cinematreasures site)
Trailer from The Mystery of the Wax Museum, 1933 (Youtube)
Jessie Matthews in Evergreen, 1934 (Youtube)