This film is part of Free

Finale

A fond farewell to the Marlborough Theatre in North London.

Documentary 1962 10 mins

Overview

This elegiac film marks the sad end of Holloway's Marlborough Theatre after nearly 60 years of services to public entertainment, first as a theatre and music hall, and later as a cinema. This grand building on Holloway Road was one of some 200 designed by prolific theatre architect Frank Matcham, and opened its doors in 1903, with seats for 2,612. It was converted to a cinema in 1918 and was in the hands of the Odeon group from 1942 until it screened its last film in 1957. The bulldozers came in in 1962, and the site is now occupied by the City & Islington College.

Finale was co-directed by Robert Vas and Michael Darlow, who both went on to become major talents of documentary television, at Triangle Films, a small independent production company specialising in arts subjects.