When film nights meant a hair-raising walk home

Your photo of the Rex Cinema, Wolverhampton, in July 1959 brought back memories to me. This cinema was originally named the West End and was sited in Coleman Street opposite the Round House public house.On Saturday mornings it ran special programmes for youngsters. For the princely sum of two old pence we were given at least two hours entertainment of films, featuring the likes of Charlie Chaplain, the Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy, together with weekly episodes of serials such as The Lone Ranger and his Indian friend Tonto, or Flash Gordon and his trip to Mars. These must all have been rated "U" certificate because we were without adults to accompany us.

However the evening performances featured "A" or possibly "H" certificate films, which meant we were not able to purchase tickets from the box office ourselves. Entrance could only be obtained by tendering our six old pence admission charge to kindly adults and asking them to purchase our tickets with theirs. Once done we disappeared into the darkness on our own.

There were films like The Shape of Things To Come, romantic films and horror films involving Dr Frankenstein and Count Dracula. One such evening featured both Frankenstein and Dracula on the same bill.

This was a must for us and we followed our usual method to obtain admission. Leaving at the end of this programme for us was quite an ordeal. We had to walk home in the dark!

We lived in Carter Road and the nearest way home meant walking about two hundred yards along Dunstall Lane, which at that time was an unlit, unmade track with one or two trees. On reaching it we decided we would follow Gorsebrook Road, which was lit by electric lamps and enter Carter Road from the other end, which itself was only lit by four dim gas lamps. Our pace increased quite quickly as we covered the last bit of our journey.

This always reminds me of the West End, later the Rex. Thanks for this reminder.

Don Turner, Fontwell Road, Fordhouses.