There was a time in Edinburgh's history when it seemed there was a cinema on every corner.
The Ritz on Rodney Street opened in 1929, as Scotland’s first cinema purpose built for the talkies, first showing Al Jolson in The Singing Fool.
The theatre operated successfully over the next 50 years, with the Canonmills venue finally closing its doors in November 1981 - showing The Exorcist II and the original Mad Max.
Now a block of modern flats, the one-screen picture house was owned by ABC cinemas.
ABC had four cinemas across the city; the first being the Savoy in Stockbridge, as well as the Lyceum in Slateford, along with the Regal on Lothian Road as well as Rodney Street's Ritz.
The cinema was built by Scottish Cinemas and Variety Theatres, becoming a much loved haunt for cinema-goers of all ages.
Unearthed footage from 1929 shows the construction of the Ritz cinema, shown below.
Children would dash in dozens to enjoy the legendary Saturday morning matinees, with many couples enjoying a first date at the Ritz.
Between 1927 and 1938 some of Edinburgh’s major cinemas were established as the talkies rose in popularity, though not all lasted the test of time.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Second World War saw an increase in cinema attendance.
Across the country, theatres saw ticket sales reach highs of 1,635 million as the war raged on.
By the late 40s while Britain was recuperating, purse strings tightened and cinema tickets were not a priority.
From the 50s onwards, many of Edinburgh’s theatres began to make way for supermarkets, warehouses, leisure centres, or indeed left to rot - though the Ritz remained.
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The cinema was modernised in February 1969, with updated seating in the stalls area and seating in the circle removed - reducing capacity to 1,200.
When Grease opened in 1978, the Ritz saw queues out the door for the first time in years - with people coming back day after day hoping to get in.
Before the ease of swiping through Tinder when people still used the phrase ‘courting’, many got to know someone through the magic of cinema - sometimes in the back row if you were lucky.
The Living Memory Association published a memorial of old Edinburgh cinemas in 2018, and claimed the Ritz was a popular choice for a flirty first date.
They said; “The Ritz on Rodney Street was a courting cinema.
“You would go on a Wednesday night, and the walk home was the courting walk, time for a couple of kisses and cuddles.”
By the late 70s, the introduction of the VHS was posing a threat to cinema.
Prior to this, the affordability of the television and record players was keeping people indoors and out of cinema chairs.
Additionally, changing moral outlooks meant that young couples didn’t need to hide out in cinema screens anymore lingering in the back rows - they were welcomed into the home more often.
With more choices at their disposal people simply were not heading to the movies so often, and this spelled trouble for the Ritz.
The final showings were played on November 28, 1981.
Applications to convert the building into a bingo hall were refused, and the cinema was demolished in 1983.
