There are no cinemas in Orpington now but Beverley Saunders talks to a man who recalls when there were ...

Today, Orpington has no cinemas but it used to be home to The Palace and The Commodore.

Arthur Eldridge recalls The Palace, in Carlton Parade, had a stream running alongside it fed by the Priory Springs.

The Commodore was at the other end of the High Street, where McDonalds is now.

Mr Eldridge says a man called Spencer May owned both of them.

The Palace opened in 1911.

According to Mr Eldridge, it looked "very posh" inside but was known as "The Bug Hutch" because it was infested with fleas.

Cheaper seating, at the front, was on wooden trestles and the capacity was 400. Admission prices were between 4d and 6d (2p and 2 1/2p) for two full-length films and a cartoon.

In the 1930s the cinema had its own electricity generator, which could be heard chugging away from within the cinema.

Mr Eldridge recalls going to The Palace previously a roller skating rink and working men's club for the first time. He said: "I can still recall the strong smell of disinfectant inside the cinema.

"The school often took us to see films about different dangers. I must have been about eight or nine when I went with my school to see a film about the dangers of fire."

During the era of silent movies, a pianist would convey suspense and excitement by the speed of the music.

Films were classified A or U and Mr Eldridge says on one occasion an underage friend wanted to see an A-classified film, for which you had to be over 16.

The commissionaire said to the lad: "You don't look 16."

He replied: "Don't I? You look 90 but I don't suppose you are!"

Popular films during the early 20th Century starred Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Rudolph Valentino and the Keystone Cops.

"We couldn't always afford to go to the pictures," said Arthur. "Even in the 1950s, 6d to get in was a lot of money."

The Palace, renamed The Carlton in 1951, shut in 1959.

The Commodore was opened on December 4, 1933, by MP Waldron Smithers. It had a seating capacity of 820 and a restaurant upstairs During the 1940s and 1950s, Mr Eldridge went there once a week to see such films as The Dam Busters, One of our Aircraft is Missing and We Dive at Dawn.

Stars of the era included Michael Redgrave, Richard Todd, Eric Portman, Peter Ustinov and John Mills. Westerns were also popular and the biggest star was John Wayne.

Mr Eldridge said: "You queued in the cold for perhaps an hour but you were lucky to get in because the films ran continuously. People would stay to see a film twice."

Performances ran for three-and-a-half hours and included newsreels and commercials.

There were also variety shows on Sunday nights during the war.

From the mid 50s, television gradually drew people away from cinemas. The Commodore closed on May 8, 1982.

Redevelopment plans for a leisure centre including a cinema were shelved.