The Ritz Cinema: Cinema gets a new lease of life and some very ritzy new decor

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A cinema where you book your seat by asking for the Bogart and Bacall sofa has to be worth a visit. Business partners Amanda Mundin and Neil Roberts have brought the silver screen back to Belper in a big way – as Pat Parkin reports

WHEN the lights went down at a new cinema in Belper yesterday for the showing of the British classic comedy, The Smallest Show on Earth, fingers were very firmly crossed that real life would not mirror the film’s story line.

But owners Amanda Mundin and Neil Roberts need not have worried, for the Ritz at Belper may be one of Britain’s smallest cinemas but it is as far removed from the fictitious Bijou with its bumbling projectionist Peter Sellers, as The Ritz in London is from a down-trodden, back-street boarding house.

The reopening of the cinema in Belper, which showed its first film in 1919, has been welcomed by the locals for not only is it a leisure asset to the town but the move has also helped preserve part of Belper’s heritage.

The Ritz began life as a public hall in 1882 and had a variety of uses until it became a dedicated cinema in the 1930s. But, with falling cinema audiences, it was forced to close its doors 15 years ago. Now, the renovated cinema with its comfortable seats, excellent programme and cafe-bar environment, has been given a new lease of life.

Said manager Amanda, 35, who runs the business side: “This is a dream come true for us and we hope our patrons feel the same. There hasn’t been a cinema in Belper for 15 years and we felt sure we could make it go. We are both film people and have worked in the business for some years but we always wanted to see if we could open a cinema of our own.”

Amanda and Neil, 26, a former television cameraman and now the projectionist, came across the building nearly three years ago when someone pointed out that the town used to have a cinema.

Excitedly they went to see it and found that time appeared to have stood still since 1991.

“There were filled ashtrays and sweet wrappers on the floor. It seemed as though the doors had just been locked and someone had walked away,” said Amanda.

“It seemed perfect for renovation but there was one problem – it had no separate entrance and there was no way we could put one in. The building had been split in two with a bingo hall downstairs and the cinema upstairs. Access was via some stairs which could only be reached through a hairdresser’s shop which had set up in the old foyer area.

“Then, suddenly, the hairdresser’s became vacant. We couldn’t believe our luck. We got permission to turn the shop into a lovely entrance foyer bar and, from then on, things have just gone like clockwork.”

A grant of £140,000 from Belper and Milford Townscape Heritage Initiative was a great boost, enabling them to go ahead with their £2.5m revamp.

Mention of the fleapit in The Smallest Show on Earth, with its broken seats, threadbare carpets, antiquated equipment and owners who turned up the heating to boost ice-cream sales, brought a smile to Amanda’s face.

“We have only had one instance where things went a bit awry. We show two different films each night and, one night, Neil began the wrong one. He managed to stop it, but it takes a few minutes to sort out, so I went on the stage to make an announcement.

“People were very good and had a laugh. We had a bit of a question and answer session until the right film was ready to run and no-one seemed to mind.

“Fortunately, that’s the only thing which is similar to what happened at that awful little Bijou cinema.”

A nostalgic touch is that all the cinema’s 99 seats have their own name, so patrons will be able to book the Chaplin, Valentino or Marilyn Monroe seat (see below). In age-old romantic tradition, the back row is designed for couples with sofas for two named Hepburn and Tracey and Bogart and Bacall.

Amanda, who was a film script supervisor and also worked in continuity, has made several award-winning films for television. She puts her love of films down to her mother being a wartime usherette in cinemas in Nottingham.

“She used to talk about all the films and I loved the glamour of the Hollywood stars, so this is really a dream come true for me. I think cinema is magical and, by the response we have had, so do a lot of other people.”

Opening the Ritz has been very much a family affair with Amanda’s husband, Tony, and three teenage sons, as well as both sets of parents helping out. “Even my sister tiled the loos,” she laughed.

The cinema is open seven days a week, showing two films each evening. There is a Saturday afternoon children’s show, a classic Sunday film showing and a daytime Saga silver screen special for older people, hosted by film critic Ashley Franklyn.

Do you remember the Ritz in its heyday? Did you work there? If you have any tales to tell, please contact us at the address above.

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