The Paramount Theatre, 139 New Street, Birmingham

Later - Odeon Cinema

Birmingham Index

Above - A Google StreetView Image of the Odeon Cinema, formerly the Paramount Theatre, Birmingham in August 2022. The Entrance to the Theatre gives no indication of the actual massive size of the building - Click to Interact.

The Odeon Cinema on New Street, Birmingham today is an 8 Screen Multiplex but it originally opened as one of seven Paramount Theatres constructed in the UK by the American owned Paramount Theatres chain and is today the only one still in Cinema use. The other Paramount Theatres in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and London have all either been demolished or are in other uses.

Right - The Paramount Theatre, Birmingham under construction in 1936 - From the Birmingham Gazette, 18th of November 1936.

The Birmingham Paramount Theatre opened on Saturday the 4th of September 1937 and was designed in the Art Deco Style by Verity and Beverley who also designed Paramount's other Theatres in the UK. The Theatre was on a vast scale, seating 2,439 people on two levels, Stalls and one Circle, and was equipped with a fully equipped Stage with Dressing Rooms, a Cafe and Restaurant, and its own Compton Theatre Organ.

The Kinematograph Weekly reported on the opening of the Theatre in their 9th of September 1937 edition saying:- 'Publicly acclaimed by the chief magistrate as worthy of the city, the Paramount Theatre, Birmingham, was opened on Saturday in the presence of a large and distinguished gathering which included civic, social and business notabilities of the great metropolis of the Midlands.

The new theatre occupies a portion of the most famous site in the city, that of the old king Edward's School in New Street, and the noble proportions of the building, designed by Verity and Beverley. FF.R.I.B.A., are an outstanding addition to the architectural amenities of Birmingham.

Largest is Midlands

With its seating capacity of 2,600, the Paramount is claimed to be the largest Kinema in the Midlands, and indeed the particular impression conveyed to the opening night audience was one of extreme spaciousness. The general design is a restrained modern style, which combines intimacy with dignity achieved by generous scale in the decorative scheme.

For long hours crowds had assembled in New Street to watch the final preparations for the inaugural ceremony, and when the civic and other guests arrived it was with difficulty that they managed to enter the building.

The Lord Mayor presided over the opening ceremony, which was performed by Sydney Howard, the stage party also including J. C. Graham, managing director of Paramount; Arthur Segal, managing director of Paramount (Birmingham); Sir Alfred and Lady Baker; Arthur Lesser; A. Rose; S. Beverley, the architect, and the Lady Mayoress, who was presented with a bouquet by Miss Esme Holderness, daughter of Leslie C. Holdernes, general manager.

Left - The Auditorium of the Birmingham Paramount Theatre during Construction in 1937 and a cheeky little article on the seating arrangements in the Theatre - From the Evening Dispatch, 26th of August 1937.

In the course of his speech, the Lord Mayor said the new building had arisen as part of the replanning of Birmingham. The general idea was that business and pleasure should monopolise the middle of Birmingham and that social and educational establishments should go out to the purer air of the south-west. There could be no doubt that the site had been replanned and utilised to the fullest advantage. They were present at the opening of one section of the development of the site - the Paramount Theatre. In Birmingham they were, he thought, justly proud of their public entertainments. In the matter of entertainments the city was second to none in the country, and he could say that the Paramount Theatre was worthy of the city.

Charity Gesture

He would like to thank the directors for their generosity in placing at the disposal of the Birmingham Hospitals Centre the entire proceeds of that evening's performance.

Sydney Howard was accorded a great reception and convulsed the huge audience with his series of droll stories.

Right - Leslie Holderness, Manager of the Birmingham Paramount Theatre, receiving a Clock and Crocodile Wallet from the Technical Staff and Secretary of the Theatre on the occasion of the Theatre's first anniversary in 1938 - From the Evening Dispatch, 5th of September 1938.

The excellent programme bore the impress of the skilled hand of Earl St. John, director of Paramount Theatres. It included the Paramount News; "Trees," a musical fantasy in Technicolor; the Popeye cartoon, "Morning, Noon and Nightclub" and a novel form of organ interlude contributed by Al Bollington, of the Plaza, London, in which slide pictures and a graceful ballet ensemble were prominently employed.

A very effective tableau provided a prologue to the main feature of the evening, First National's "Charge of the Light Brigade."

After the programme a large company was entertained in the circle restaurant, and subsequently there was dancing on the stage to the strains of an excellent orchestra.

Left - The FOH Staff of the Birmingham Paramount Theatre wearing Gas Masks in a show of early preparation for War in September 1938 - From the Birmingham Gazette, 26th September 1938.

The Paramount, Birmingham, is fully described in the current issue of Ideal Kinema.'

The above text in quotes was first published in the Kinematograph Weekly, 9th of September 1937.

Above - Photographs of the Birmingham Paramount Theatre on its opening in 1937 - From Paramount International News 1937.

Above - An Article on the Opening of the Birmingham Paramount Theatre in 1937 - From Paramount International News 1937.

Above - A Google StreetView Image of the Side Elevation of the Odeon Cinema, Birmingham, formerly the Paramount Theatre in July 2017 showing very nicely the Theatre's massive proportions - Click to Interact.

The Paramount Theatre had first opened on the 4th of September 1937 but by 1942 it had been sold to Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres Ltd., and renamed The Odeon on the 29th of November that year.

Right - A Press Announcement about Odeon taking over the Paramount Theatre, Birmingham in 1942 - From the Birmingham Mail, 28th of August 1942.

In April 1965 Odeon closed the Theatre for modernisation which sadly involved removing most of the original Art Deco decorations, and it reopened on the 24th of June 1965 with a showing of the film 'Genghis Khan' along with, on stage, a 30 minute musical concert performance by Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

Odeon closed the Theatre again in May 1988 for major conversion to a Six Screen Cinema complex, removing the Compton Organ in the process which was sold on.

Two more screens were added in 1991 using the old Paramount's former Restaurant and a basement bar. Yet another screen was added in 1998 when the Theatre was refurbished again, bringing the total to 8 Screens.

Left - A Google StreetView Image of the Rear Elevation of the Odeon Cinema, Birmingham, formerly the Paramount Theatre in April 2011 - Click to Interact.

Despite all the changes however, at least this Paramount is still in operation as a Cinema because the rest of the seven Paramount Theatres originally built in the UK have all been demolished or put to other uses.

Some of the later information for this Theatre was gleaned from the excellent Cinema Treasures Website where they have a number of very nice photographs of the Birmingham Paramount over the years here.

If you have any more information or images for this Theatre that you are willing to share, please Contact me.