CINEMA HISTORY

1916: George Gouldson brought the first silent movies to Newton Stewart

1933: He bought this plot of land and had plans drawn up which were the basis of this handsome Art Deco cinema we see today. The local people were now able to enjoy moving and talking pictures.

1937: George Gouldson invested in state-of-the-art projection equipment which enabled The Cinema to screen blockbuster films such as The Mutiny on the Bounty.

1953: ’High and Handsome’ Cinemascope was introduced and people thronged to the cinema throughout the fifties to watch big box office successes.

1960: The advent of colour and a wide variety of entertainment on television saw cinema audience numbers falling dramatically.

1968: The last film was shown in May and the cinema was sold by Thomas Gouldson, nephew of the original owner. It was by now showing signs of disrepair and decay. John Forbes-Semple, a film production entrepreneur led public meetings in the town in an effort to buy back the cinema.

In October the Galloway Gazette hailed the news that the cinema had indeed been saved! The reopening was a huge success as the public filled the house and it seemed they were ready to fully support the venture.

1969: The cinema closed for refurbishment.

1970s: The next decade showed a real upsurge in attendance with big box office hits such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Ben Hur and many others.

1980: Attendance, unfortunately, had started to dwindle again and upkeep was proving costly.

1982: in December of that year, yet again The Cinema closed its doors. However, once again public demand ensured it was thrown a lifeline.

A group of local film buffs, chaired by Galloway Gazette managing director Iain Brown, became The Save the Cinema Committee.

Running on a shoe string budget and the services of professional projectionist, George Crockatt, the committee succeeded, against the odds, in showing films for the rest of the 1980’s.

1991: High running costs for the upkeep of a decaying building proved critical to the Cinema’s future as did the Wigtown District’s licensing decision that it would not renew the cinema license ‘without major expenditure on the building’.

1992: The Cinema closed again.

1994: The Save the Cinema Committee was able to purchase the building. After months of negotiation. The committee succeeded in gaining lottery funds and a grant from the Scottish Arts Council to rebuild and refurbish it as a film theatre. There was huge enthusiasm for this project and the business community and individuals from all walks of life raised a further £100,000 to add to the £340,000 grant. Funding also came from the Wigtown District Council, D&G Regional Council and D&G Enterprise Company.

1996: In march the Save the Cinema Committee contracted builders to start the refurbishment. This was started in may and completed by December.

1997: The Cinema reopened in February of that year in beautiful blues and housing seating in the style of The Paris Opera House!