Loving the cinema - The Granada Theatre in Tooting
One of my favourite South London buildings to photograph is the Granada Theatre in Tooting. You can find the building at 50 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NA.
Built by Cecil Bernstein's Granada Theatre’s chain of cinemas, Tooting opened on 7th September 1931 with the Paramount Picture "Monte Carlo" starring Jeanette MacDonald & Jack Buchanan. It was the third purpose built Granada in the chain and became the flagship of the circuit. The first and second cinemas were Dover and Walthamstow. The Granada Theatre, Tooting had a total seating capacity of 3,104 in stalls & balcony levels and on opening night over 2,000 people were turned away!
The building was designed by noted cinema architect Cecil Aubrey Massey, with Russian theatre set designer Theodore Komisarjevsky creating its stunning Spanish Gothic Revival style interior. The façade is in a Moderne Italianate style which dominates Mitcham Road. Inside the building the main foyer is set like a baronial hall. Above the entrance was a small café, which had an 'all electric kitchen'. There is a Hall of Mirrors which serves as a balcony foyer & waiting area. In the auditorium on the side-walls at balcony level are painted panels of Medieval figures, the work of artist Alex Johnson, after the originals painted by artist Lucien Le Blanc. The theatre boasted a large car-park and a pram park for mothers with children!
The theatre is equipped with a Wurlitzer theatre organ which was originally installed in 1926 in the Majestic Theatre (later Mission Theatre) Sacramento, California. The instrument originally had 4 manuals (keyboards) and 12 ranks of pipes. When it was installed in the Granada it was enlarged to a 4 manual, 14 ranks specification and it was opened by organist Alex Taylor. It is considered to be one of the finest Wurlitzer organs to be installed in the UK.
The Granada Theatre boasts a stage 58ft wide x 30ft deep (17.67m x 9.14m), with an orchestra pit and fully equipped fly tower and dressing rooms. In the early years, variety acts appeared on the stage as part of the film programme.
Over the years the stage has been well used, featuring a circus in the mid-1930's (with live elephants and other animal acts), an annual Christmas Pantomime (from 1936 into the 1950's) and in 1948 productions such as "Goodnight Vienna" & "The Dancing Years" played for one week runs.
From the late-1940's the Granada Theatre hosted concerts by world famous artistes such as: Danny Kaye, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra (two shows on 14th June 1953, his first UK performances), Guy Mitchell, Eddie Fisher, The Andrews Sisters, Betty Hutton and Carmen Miranda, all from America. From the UK David Whitfield, Max Bygraves & Dickie Valentine entertained Tooting audiences. In the late 1950's and into the 1960's pop concerts brought a new wave of stars to the theatre: Johnny Ray, Frankie Laine, Pat Boone, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard. On 1st June 1963 Dusty Springfield. Marty Wilde, The Rolling Stones were big hits and The Beatles supported by Roy Orbison played to two packed houses. The last live show on the stage was a concert by The Bee Gees on 28th April 1968. The theatre was equipped to screen closed circuit television and on 6th August 1966 the Muhammad Ali vs Brian London boxing match was broadcast live from Earls Court (Ali won with a KO in the 3rd round). Live wrestling was also staged for while.
By 1971 times were getting hard for cinemas and attendances were dropping. The Granada Theatre was pulling in around 600 patrons a week! Something had to be done, and Granada Theatres put forward plans to demolish the theatre and build an office block. The London Borough of Wandsworth stepped in and placed a local preservation order on the theatre and refused planning permission. In June 1972 the theatre was given a Grade II Listed status by English Heritage. Sadly, Granada Theatres decided that the theatre wasn’t viable and it was suddenly closed on 10th November 1973 with Richard Crenna & Stephen Boyd in "A Man Called Noon" & Ursula Andress & Stanley Baker in "Perfect Friday". The building stood unused for almost 3 years awaiting its fate.
Granada decided a used building was better and more profitable than a closed one and it reopened as a Granada Bingo Club on 14th October 1976. In May 1991 it was taken over by Gala Bingo and they were re-branded Buzz Bingo in Autumn of 2018. Theatre seating in the stalls has been replaced by tables, the sloping floor has been stepped level, the orchestra pit covered over and the stage reduced in size (all these alterations are reversible).
On 28th September 2000, English Heritage upgraded the Listed status to their highest honour Grade I Listed. The Granada Theatre is the first 1930's cinema to be awarded this honour and it joins such notable buildings such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge!
Restoration work was completed on the Wurlitzer organ in Spring of 2007. The first public concert on the instrument since the early-1970's was held to a packed house seated in the balcony on 22nd April 2007. Unfortunately, the organ chambers located under the stage were flooded during a heavy thunderstorm in July 2007. The instrument was rendered unplayable and in 2019 and it is hoped restoration will eventually begin again.
My thanks go to Ken Roe for the detailed historical information included in this blog. Ken is a Founder Member of the Cinema Theatre Association (1967) www.cta-uk.org and a Volunteer Theatre Editor of Cinema Treasures http://cinematreasures.org
My photographs of the cinema are available to purchase and are included in my new book Wild About Tooting and Furzedown. The Tooting book is available now.
Amy