Smallest Show on Earth for real (Mike Williams)

Mike Williams interviewed by Richard Wallace

Projectionist Mike Williams describes a Welsh cinema with unconventional entry policies, comparing it so scenes from the comedy film The Smallest Show on Earth.

They had a manager in Merthyr Tydfil who was a nice guy. But rumours had reached head office in Golden Square in London that this man was not what he was supposed to be. He was in fact running the cinema for his own use. He was giving out free tickets everywhere. You could, I mean you’ve seen it in The Smallest Show on Earth but at the Castle Cinema in Merthyr Tydfil you could literally buy a ticket with a pound of butter or a chicken, literally. The man lived off the cinema. He had a unique system where if the district manager was seen getting off the train the station manager used to ring the. And it would take approximately 20 minutes to walk from the cinema to … or from the station to the cinema. For this the station manager used to get two complementaries a week.

Title

Smallest Show on Earth for real (Mike Williams)

Subject

unconventional cinema management

Description

Projectionist Mike Williams describes a Welsh cinema with unconventional entry policies, comparing it so scenes from the comedy film The Smallest Show on Earth.

Creator

The Projection Project

Source

Interview with Mike Williams

Publisher

The University of Warwick

Date

04/12/2015

Contributor

Richard Wallace
Mike Williams

Relation

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/10210

Format

.mp3

Language

English

Type

Sound recording
interview extract

Coverage

1956-1964

Interviewer

Richard Wallace

Interviewee

Mike Williams

Date of Interview

25/08/2015

Location

Cardiff

Transcription

They had a manager in Merthyr Tydfil who was a nice guy. But rumours had reached head office in Golden Square in London that this man was not what he was supposed to be. He was in fact running the cinema for his own use. He was giving out free tickets everywhere. You could, I mean you’ve seen it in The Smallest Show on Earth but at the Castle Cinema in Merthyr Tydfil you could literally buy a ticket with a pound of butter or a chicken, literally. The man lived off the cinema. He had a unique system where if the district manager was seen getting off the train the station manager used to ring the. And it would take approximately 20 minutes to walk from the cinema to … or from the station to the cinema. For this the station manager used to get two complementaries a week.

Original Format

One-to-one interview

Duration

00:00:45

Bit Rate/Frequency

320kbps

Cinema

Castle Cinema, High Street, Merthyr Tydfil

Citation

The Projection Project, “Smallest Show on Earth for real (Mike Williams),” Cinema Projectionist, accessed March 29, 2024, https://projectionproject.warwick.ac.uk/items/show/402.

Output Formats