Hopkinstown New Cinema

A Memory of Hopkinstown.

My father-in-law, Frederick Walter Francis, was projectionist at the Hopkinstown New Cinema (or New Theatre).  It is well known that the first 'talkie' film (with sound) was The Jazz Singer, but before it made its debut in London, the film and equipment were tried out in small locations throughout the country.  Mr Francis related that one of those locations was Hopkinstown, and that he had the honour to be among the first to see (and hear!) the new entertainment medium in England.

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