It’s been a while since I recounted any of the chronological episodes of my life and I left you fairly early in my new role as manager of an Odeon cinema in London – Camden Town to be precise.
It’s strange the period from me going to work for Harry Corbett and my move into cinema management with the Rank Organisation was not a long period compared to my 50 years as a journalist and the period since then in retirement, in fact my teenage years were almost three times as long.
Yet I seem to have spent a lot of time on a miniscule part of my life.
I spent the best part of a year at Camden Town and in all honesty I enjoyed it most of the time. My customers ranged from nine to ninety and in the main they behaved themselves. Some of the Saturday morning crowd could be a bit rowdy (in fact it is one such that eventually led to my next career move, but more of that later) but you tend to make an allowance for youngsters, most of the time.
I have previously described the busy life of an Odeon manager but it did tend to have its lighter moments (and darker ones).
Occasionally we would welcome a guest star to the first showing of a new film and I remember the launch of “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and Burt Kwouk as his man servant Cato.
The foyer was decorated with posters and cut-outs of the Pink Panther and we also had someone dressed as the Pink Panther prowling the foyer and the auditorium.
The best part, however, was that we had Burt Kwouk making a guest appearance, which, of course, gave me a chance to ham it up in the limelight.
Instead of just standing in front of the screen and introducing the celebrity guest I first welcomed the audience and then explained that we had intended to have one of the stars of the film at the launch but he hadn’t arrived yet. Which is why I then pulled the old panto trick of asking them to tell me if they saw him.
Inspector Clouseau (Pete Sellers) fends off another “planned attack” from his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk)
Of course, as I was talking Burt, dressed in black, had crept in and made his way behind me and just before he launched a Cato-style attack the younger people let loose with a mighty shout of “HE’S BEHIND YOU”.
I turned to the right as he went to my left then turned back just in time to see him and step aside as he rushed me.
You know what they say – you can’t keep a ham actor down.
In the same year all the managers and their partners were invited to an advance showing of the latest in the “Carry On” series – “Carry On England”, or, as I call it, the infamous “Carry On England”.
Now I have always enjoyed the “Carry On” films, seeing them as a natural companion to seaside postcards. Somewhat saucy, plenty of double entendres and if Barbara Windsor ever needed a cue then Sid James was always there to give her one.
Just as the seaside postcards had to get closer and closer to the knuckle to combat rivals who whipped away the seventh veil and didn’t turn the lights off so did the “Carry On” films start showing the boobs rather than the image of Barbara Windsor’s bikini top flying through the air to hit Kenneth Williams in the face.
The main thing I remember about the new film was that it was set at a mixed-sex Army searchlight unit. A new CO arrived (Kenneth Connor) and began a surprise inspection in the female barrack room.
When the women sat up to attention the camera focused on one side of the room, the side were they were all topless. A brief shot from the other side of the room showed only the backs of those women.
One side – unknown actors, the other – known. Guess which was which.
Maybe my new management career was not what I thought it to be.
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Robin's Nest 