It's a little known fact that the cinema used on location was Hale Cinema, Nr Altrincham Cheshire. It's no longer in existence and therefore maybe this is not just an entertaining children's programme but also a historical document. I was a child of 13 at the time when this was made and I remember meeting Melvyn Hayes outside the cinema as I lived just round the corner on Victoria Road. What struck me back then how was how many TV stars used to live in Hale, Norman Rossington was a regular visitor so too was Bob Greeves, Fred Talbot and Michael Lavelle. I hope one day they put this to DVD as I have many fond memories watching them set up the television equipment and seeing the actors perform. I used to attend Hale cinema as a 7 year old to watch the Saturday Matinée. This is one of the best made for TV children's programme ever made and I was disappointed that it only ran to 8 episodes.
3 Reviews
Pure popcorn entertainment
ShadeGrenade24 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A delightful children's comedy series with a similar premise to the Peter Sellers classic 'The Smallest Show On Earth' ( 1957 ). Peter Potter ( Eden Phillips ) inherits a rundown flea-pit of a cinema when his Aunt Mattie dies. The eccentric staff includes doorman Sidney Bogart ( John Comer ), projectionist Melvyn Didsbury ( Melvyn Hayes ) and usherette Joan Biddle ( Angela Crow ). Seething with indignation is evil cousin Reggie Turpin ( David Lodge ) who sets out to stop Peter making a commercial success of the place. He enlists the aid of incompetent Frank Plank ( Colin Edwynn ), who knows every dirty trick imaginable, but bungles when he tries to carry them out.
The cinema's only regular customer is 'The Kid' ( Bruce Watt ), but he was replaced in the second season by the brat Desmond Bagshaw ( Mark Dempsey ). Turpin was gone too, though Plank remained.
The late Brian Finch wrote ten of the thirteen episodes, 'Grange Hill' creator Phil Redmond managed one, and 'In Loving Memory''s Dick Sharples another. 'Palace' was fond of taking the Michael out of movies, such as the 'James Bond' series and the recently released 'Star Wars', often with the Palace's staff playing the original's characters. The 'Bond' spoof, for instance, had Melvin as 007, Crow as a 'Pussy Galore'-type heroine, and - if you can believe this - Comer as 'Oddjob'. For the 'Star Wars' sketch, Hayes was 'Luke Skywalker', and Comer the villain. They came face to face not aboard the 'Death Star', but a greenhouse. "Are you Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith?", asked Hayes. "No!", replied Comer: "I'm Fred. Bloke what looks after the vegetables.". He then held up his 'light sabre' - and it turned out to be a pocket-sized umbrella!
If the B.B.C. one day decides to set up a channel specially devoted to classic children's programmes ( and I hope it does ), its a fair bet that 'Potter's Picture Palace' will find its way there, along with 'Rentaghost', 'Vision On', and 'Graham's Gang'.
The cinema's only regular customer is 'The Kid' ( Bruce Watt ), but he was replaced in the second season by the brat Desmond Bagshaw ( Mark Dempsey ). Turpin was gone too, though Plank remained.
The late Brian Finch wrote ten of the thirteen episodes, 'Grange Hill' creator Phil Redmond managed one, and 'In Loving Memory''s Dick Sharples another. 'Palace' was fond of taking the Michael out of movies, such as the 'James Bond' series and the recently released 'Star Wars', often with the Palace's staff playing the original's characters. The 'Bond' spoof, for instance, had Melvin as 007, Crow as a 'Pussy Galore'-type heroine, and - if you can believe this - Comer as 'Oddjob'. For the 'Star Wars' sketch, Hayes was 'Luke Skywalker', and Comer the villain. They came face to face not aboard the 'Death Star', but a greenhouse. "Are you Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith?", asked Hayes. "No!", replied Comer: "I'm Fred. Bloke what looks after the vegetables.". He then held up his 'light sabre' - and it turned out to be a pocket-sized umbrella!
If the B.B.C. one day decides to set up a channel specially devoted to classic children's programmes ( and I hope it does ), its a fair bet that 'Potter's Picture Palace' will find its way there, along with 'Rentaghost', 'Vision On', and 'Graham's Gang'.
Superb kids' television!
davidransome5 September 2017
This was one of the best kid's TV programmes of the year. Made more interesting to watch as I was working as a stand-in manager and occasional projectionist (for a Mr Hamilton) at Hale Cinema (between Hale and Altrincham in Cheshire - as it was - now Trafford.) at the time. I had to be around some of the time as the set 'decoration' was being constructed, such as the dummy walls just outside the cinema entrance, and was an occasional background extra. I lived in Byrom Street back then, a short distance from the cinema, now sadly demolished.
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