Queen's Cinema Advertising Talkies c.1930.

August 12th 1929 is one of the most important, if not the most important, dates in the history of local cinema in Wolverhampton. It was the day when the first talkie 'The Singing Fool' was shown in the town. The film broke box office records, with over 5000 people seeing the film on the first day and 60000 during the next two weeks. The cinema which showed the film was the Agricultural Hall, a seemingly most inappropriate name for a cinema. The Agricultural Hall was built on Snow Hill in 1863. It began life as a corn market but also provided a site for public meetings and exhibitions. A number of travelling cinematographic shows probably visited the venue, but it did not show films on a regular basis until 1913. The Hall had a sloping floor and room for over 1200 patrons. It had a most elaborate foyer and crush hall with fountains. In 1919 it was acquired by Associated Provincial Picture Houses, the owners of the Queen's (the cinema which showed the second talkie in the town 'Weary River).

A few months before the closure of the Agricultural Hall another of the town's main theatres had become a cinema. In 1865 a town centre theatre opened in Bilston Street called the Prince of Wales. It was to have a number of names including the Star, Hippodrome and New Theatre Royal. After a fire in 1913 a new frontage was designed and built. In 1928 the theatre was bought by Leon Salberg, the owner of the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. The success of the talkies led to the closure of the theatre for music hall and variety by Salberg in 1931 and its re-opening as a cinema, later in the same year. It retained the name of the Theatre Royal.

The demolition of the Agricultural Hall began just two days after the closure. The owner of the Agricultural Hall was Gaumont British, the company which had succeeded Associated Provincial Picture Houses. Their intention was to use the prime site of Snow Hill for the erection of the town's first super cinema. The new cinema was called the Gaumont. It was horse shoe shaped and stretched around the corner of Snow Hill (now filled by Wilkinson's store) opposite the Central Library. It was built to accommodate 2000 people, two thirds downstairs and a third in the balcony (circle). There was a very large canopy over the entrance doors and a smaller canopy which ran around most of the remainder of the building (providing some protection for waiting/queuing patrons). There were three sets of swing doors which led into a walnut panelled entrance hall. The walls of the auditorium were fabric lined in a number of pastel shades and the seats were rose red in colour. The lighting of the auditorium was very different from other local cinemas, especially in the elaborate use of concealed lighting. The proscenium was also elaborately decorated and the stage was constructed in such a way that it could be used to host the largest of shows. There was a cinema organ which was concealed below the stage and could rise via an electric lift. The cinema also housed a quite large cafe.

The second of the super cinemas was the Odeon which opened in Skinner Street on September 1lth 1937. It was one of the Odeon circuit of cinemas which belonged to Oscar Deutsch. The Odeon name has often been formed into the five word mnemonic (Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation). His first purpose built cinema was the Picture House in Brierley Hill which opened in 1928 but his personal ambition was to own a cinema in every important British town or city. He employed Harry Weedon to design his cinemas and he was the main force behind the very distinctive architectural style of the Odeons. While the first Odeon was in Perry Barr, it was the Odeon in Warley which was the first typical design. This was followed by others, including the Odeon in Wolverhampton.

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