Posted March 2022. These cinephile friends kept a record of the films they saw at the Everyman
In the early 1970s, despite the closures of many local cinemas in London, there was still a wide choice of cinemas showing a variety of programmes. As well as the circuit cinemas (ABC/Odeon/ Classic etc.) there was a range of cinemas offering second run, re-releases and first-run arthouse films. What made the Everyman stand out? At that time, having become ‘seriously interested’ in cinema after university, the most attractive aspect of the programming was the opportunity to see the classic titles that we had read about but not seen in the cinema. The German Expressionist season was an attraction as were the Japanese films and those of Satyajit Ray, Bergman, Renoir and the French New Wave. Once Roy became involved in teaching film, his attention tended to switch to Hollywood, both classical and contemporary, thus the change in the the late 1970s/early 1980s.
The location of the cinema was also important. It was easily reached by tube from anywhere in London and by bus, especially when we lived in Kilburn. Its location in Hampstead also meant that a cinema visit could be part of a longer day or night out with the village, the pubs and the Heath close by.
We liked the fact that admission was then relatively inexpensive and the programme was free of commercial exploitation. It was all about the film on the screen. The rather sparse interior didn’t bother us at all. To be a cinephile in London in 1972/3 was a wonderful experience and very different from today. Repertory cinemas, showing precious film prints from the previous fifty years, were an important cultural resource. There were only three TV channels, no video and only 16mm film releases seen in film societies and education/non theatrical screenings as an alternative. We would travel anywhere across London if there was a film worth seeing, checking the Evening Standard each day and Time Out each week and Sight and Sound every month. The Everyman’s advertising was usually good but it had competition from the National Film Theatre and various cinemas in the Classic cinema chain which also offered forms of repertory programming. Perhaps the most serious competition for us came from the Academy in Oxford Street since it had three screens and could offer repertory and current release arthouse films. Those extra screens have since become key for specialised cinemas. An alternative form of programming had also begun to emerge after Romaine Hart re-opened the Rex at the Angel Islington as The Screen on the Green in 1970. The Odeon Haverstock Hill was demolished and partly replaced by another Hart cinema in 1977 known as The Screen on the Hill. This was the nearest cinema to the Everyman showing contemporary art cinema. Ironically the Screen mini-chain of seven cinemas was acquired by the same company that took over the Everyman in 2008.
We liked the fact that admission was then relatively inexpensive and the programme was free of commercial exploitation. It was all about the film on the screen. The rather sparse interior didn’t bother us at all. To be a cinephile in London in 1972/3 was a wonderful experience and very different from today. Repertory cinemas, showing precious film prints from the previous fifty years, were an important cultural resource. There were only three TV channels, no video and only 16mm film releases seen in film societies and education/non theatrical screenings as an alternative. We would travel anywhere across London if there was a film worth seeing, checking the Evening Standard each day and Time Out each week and Sight and Sound every month. The Everyman’s advertising was usually good but it had competition from the National Film Theatre and various cinemas in the Classic cinema chain which also offered forms of repertory programming. Perhaps the most serious competition for us came from the Academy in Oxford Street since it had three screens and could offer repertory and current release arthouse films. Those extra screens have since become key for specialised cinemas. An alternative form of programming had also begun to emerge after Romaine Hart re-opened the Rex at the Angel Islington as The Screen on the Green in 1970. The Odeon Haverstock Hill was demolished and partly replaced by another Hart cinema in 1977 known as The Screen on the Hill. This was the nearest cinema to the Everyman showing contemporary art cinema. Ironically the Screen mini-chain of seven cinemas was acquired by the same company that took over the Everyman in 2008.
The following is a record of screenings attended at the Everyman Hampstead by Ray Bignell and Roy Stafford, sometimes together, sometimes separately. Between Summer 1972 and Summer 1974 we lived in North London before moving to South London. In Summer 1975 we moved to Reading. Roy returned to South London in 1978. Records were not kept after 1981.
1972
14 July: The Leopard (dir. Italy 1963, dir. Luchino Visconti)
8 December: Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle (France 1967, dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
1973
15 March: The Seventh Seal (Sweden 1957 dir. Ingmar Bergman)
6 June: The Music Room (India 1958, dir. Satyajit Ray)
13 June: Secret Ceremony (UK 1968, dir. Joseph Losey)
27 June: 8½ (Italy 1963, dir. Federico Fellini)
24 September: Leo the Last (UK 1970, dir. John Boorman)
5 October: Ugetsu Monogatari (Japan 1953, dir. Mizoguchi Kenzi)
24 October: Sanjuro (Japan 1962, dir. Kurosawa Akira)
2 November: Le deuxième souffle (France 1966, dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
2 December: La Femme Infidèle (France 1969, dir. Claude Chabrol)
1974
12 January: Nosferatu (Germany 1922, dir. F. W. Murnau)
12 January: Kriemhild’s Revenge (Germany 1924, dir. Fritz Lang)
25 January: Destiny (Germany 1921, dir. Fritz Lang)
25 January: Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (Germany 1920, dir. Robert Wiene)
17 February: The Big Sleep (US 1946, dir. Howard Hawks)
27 February: Days and Nights in the Forest (India 1969, dir. Satyajit Ray)
11 March: The Face (Sweden 1958, dir. Ingmar Bergman)
27 March: Jules et Jim (France 1962, dir. François Truffaut)
2 May: La sirène du Mississippi (France 1969, dir. François Truffaut)
19 May: Tirez sur le pianiste (France 1960, dir. François Truffaut)
19 May: Une partie de campagne (France 1936, dir. Jean Renoir)
18 August: The Magnificent Ambersons (US 1942, dir. Orson Welles)
12 September: Cote d’Azur (France (1958, dir. Agnès Varda)
12 September: Toni (France 1935, dir. Jean Renoir)
20 September: La règle de jeu (France 1939, dir. Jean Renoir)
29 November: You Only Live Once (US 1937, dir. Fritz Lang)
1975
28 July: Paths of Glory (US 1957, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
1976
21 July The Candidate (US 1972, dir. Michael Ritchie)
1977
1978
1979
29 January: Horse Soldiers (US 1959, dir. John Ford)
29 January: The Charge of the Light Brigade (US 1936 dir Michael Curtiz)
1 February: Red River (US 1948 dir. Howard Hawks)
1980
1981 (Precise dates not recorded)
March/April: Boxcar Bertha (US 1972, dir. Martin Scorsese) and Dillinger (US 1973, dir. John Milius)