The Golden Age of Cinema

Cinemas were the most vivid encounter people had with the culture, fashions, lifestyle, and world events of the 1930s-1950s. Many in Scotland would have visited three to five times a week!
"The Cinema with a Charm all its Own."
In its heyday, the Broadway was a lively, vibrant place. Successful cinemas had an impresario or showman.
Publicity stunts were common. Local cinemas would try to out-do each other to get the biggest audiences. The Broadway's first enterprising manager, W. Victor Gillgan, decorated the foyer with everything from a sonic death ray (in support of the film 'Air Hawks'), a display of 'native haggis' (for the film 'Bonnie Scotland') and live alligators and monkeys (for 'Sanders of the River')!
Managers Fred J. Henderson and James C. Ross arranged celebrity appearances during the 1940s. Scottish icon Sir Harry Lauder visited in 1940. In 1947, mass crowds gathered on Main Street as Hollywood star Vivian Blaine made the first stop of a nationwide tour. She sang a chorus of 'You Made Me Love You' on stage. Local residents also remember a visit from Bob Hope during WWII. He performed to US soldiers stationed at Prestwick Airport in 1942.
"I remember seeing Snow White through the projection room portholes in the 1940s, when I was known as the Broadway baby!" - Ruth Anne Henderson, daughter of former manager Fred J. Henderson.