A Q&A with Lynton Cinema's William Pryor

William Pryor, Director and Booker at the Lynton Cinema in Devon talks to DCM on his love of the Big Screen and how he started out in the industry.

How did you end up working in cinema and what do you love about it?

I started out running a mobile cinema in Kent, with my father, and also the Sandria Cartoon Cinema in Ramsgate, when I was in my teens. After that I progressed to the projection room and management at a number of sites including Westgate-on-Sea, Broadstairs, Whitstable, Sittingbourne, Canvey Island, Burnham-on-Crouch, Oxted, South Molton and now Lynton. There is nothing like the cinema trade. You are a showman. I have also worked in live theatres.

What’s unique about your cinema?

Lynton, with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, is the smallest town in England to have a full time cinema open seven days a week.  It is a totally modern cinema, with the charm of a small cinema that existed 60 years ago. There is a personal welcome as patrons arrive and a ‘Good night. Hope you enjoyed the show’ as they leave. All seats can be booked on a personal basis, not through a computer and we have usherettes who show you to a seat with a torch.

Please tell us about any special events or screenings you run at your cinema.

On occasions, we screen a silent film with a pianist and like many other cinemas we have senior screenings, normally on a Monday. We also host concerts at the cinema during the Lynton and Lynmouth Music Festivals. What excites you most about the future of the cinema industry?

After well over a hundred years the industry is still moving forward, building new theatres. With the advent of television in the late 50’s and early 60’s, so many halls were lost. One would never have thought it possible to have the number of screens that exist now – we have to accept digital, even if you regret the loss of film.

Bill Pryor pictured right with the late Gordon Potter in the days of 35mm film

What is your favourite movie and why?

I love films with railways in. One of my favourite films is Oh Mr Porter starring Will Hay. It is possibly the funniest British film ever made and there is a family connection as my father went to school with Billy Hay, Will’s son, so a family friend. My other favourite film is The Titfield Thunderbolt. Again about railways, it showed England as it used to be. Again there is a personal connection as the screenwriter, T.E.B.Clarke, was a personal friend of mine. What film role would you like to play why?

Possibly the owner of the Bijou in “The Smallest Show on Earth”. A tribute to the good old days of the small independent cinema.

What do you think are the most iconic cinema ads and why?

There have been so many great advertisements in the last few years. One that sticks in the mind is the launch ad for Sky’s Bond Channel featuring all the 007’s.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your cinema or yourself?

It was great to screen The Boat that Rocked a couple of years back because I have been on Radio Caroline on a number of occasions, as well as making various visits to Radio North Sea. On one such visit I did a live broadcast for half an hour, talking about the Lynton Cinema from the middle of the North Sea.

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