Projecting a secure future

For the last 21 years the movie hall in Teme Street has been run by the Wall family - Andrew Wall was the projectionist, his father Ted Wall ran the box office, and his mum did the sweets.

But now they are retiring and the credits on a huge chapter of the cinema's 70-year history have begun to roll.

For the time being, however, the future of cinema-going is somewhat between show reels.

Since it opened in 1937 the Regal has been instrumental in bringing movie magic to the south Shropshire borders.

So in an effort to save it from going the way of dozens of other disappeared picture palaces, county film fans are desperately trying to make sure that its future is as glorious as its past by urging local cinema fans to come forward with ideas and help.

They are hoping to thrash out a plan with the town council to ensure it is still used for the purpose it was built.

Cast as leading man in the movement to keep the Regal open is Tenbury film fan Ben Bydawell, pictured right. Ben, 56, has been going to the cinema for 25 years and to him it's a place of wonder.

"The Wall family have decided to retire from showing films and I think they are going to show three more films.

"But I am a close friend and when I heard that Ted and Jo were thinking of retiring I said I was keen for the place to keep showing films; I think that it's important to have a cinema in Tenbury - Tenbury is one of the only towns in the area that has managed to keep its cinema."

The Majestic up the road in Bridgnorth is the only other purpose-built, old-fashioned picture house that still has a silver screen. Scores of other movie halls across the county have long since bitten the dust at the 'Not-So-OK Corral'.

The blame, perhaps, is the changing face of movie-watching habits. Multi-screen cineplexes began to affect trade when they opened in the 1980s, offering hi-tech relief from the image of smoky flea pits.

More recently movie fans are taking advantage of home cinema set-ups and the ability to download films from the internet.

However, the Regal, like The Majestic, has gone with the wind of change and has survived largely because of its ability to adapt and cater for the tastes of local audiences.

It presents not only the big box-office releases but classic films. Plus it still offers an unbeatable cinema-going experience.

The Regal is also used as a theatre for operatics and shows. It also has an attached community hall.

Ben's aim is to head a group of enthusiasts who will run the cinema on a co-operative basis, showing films to the general public, special educational groups and schools, and also putting on children's film shows.

However, the cinema itself has faced many uncertainties over the past two years, having been temporarily closed twice for a number of weeks - but it is clearly an integral part of the fabric of historic Tenbury.

A less well known fact is that the Regal was designed with a deliberately low-key frontage so that it did not detract from the street scene.

However, cinema-goers stepping in the from the street entered a magical new world befitting its silver screen links with Hollywood. The picture palace boasted ornate plaster work, murals, a terrazzo floor and other features.

Designed in 1937 and constructed two years later by Ernest S Roberts of Birmingham (he was among the finest cinema architects of the time), the Regal is thought to be the only venue in the country which still has contemporary murals intact. They were painted by George Legge.

The story that the murals were painted by Italian prisoners of war is a fabulous rumour, but "completely erroneous", says Mr Bydawell.

This year the Regal celebrates its 70th anniversary. Reports of it being on its last legs are simply not true. When film enthusiasts were asked to come forward with ideas to keep it open Pat Buckley says 'quite a few people' came forward.

She says: "It's not in jeopardy at all. It would be in jeopardy if no one wanted to carry it on, but that's not the case."

Retiring Jo Wall says her family has enjoyed bringing drama and magic to the silver screen for the last 21 years but the time had come to hand over the reins.

"My son Andrew did the projection, his dad did the box office and I did the sweets," she says. "We've just done it and that's it, it's been a nice family thing.

"We took over from the Ace of Clubs and Andrew's dad taught him how to do the projections. We have made some good friends and a lot of our customers have been regulars; it's part of the community. We wish the best to Ben."

Ben Bydawell, who hopes to take over the Regal next month, is confident about the future of the town's famous cinema and says that a week of celebrations in July to mark its 70th anniversary should be a real "wing-ding".

He says: "I am hoping to keep it going as part of the fabric of the town but it has been neglected for many years and I think that at the moment the Town Council is applying for lottery funding to renovate the building.

"My involvement is only part of the general feeling that the cinema needs to be cherished and used in the community. It is held in affection in Tenbury and it is part of the personality of the town. Keeping it open and vibrant adds to that."

By Ben Bentley