Page 8 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2003 #41

At the end of the war the Queen
Elizabeth was refitted for her original
purpose as a luxury liner. The
theatre/cinema on board was for First
Class passengers. Tourist Class had a
more basic version, but it did have a
small stage for concerts. Third Class
passengers had to be content with a
lounge-dining area as their cinema.
The First Class Cinema had a
seating capacity of 338 persons, with
the colour scheme a basic red, white
and blue. The seats were upholstered in
red, the walls were ivory white, and the
carpet blue. On her post-war maiden
voyage in October 1946, the fire safety
sprinkler system was accidentally set
off during a film show. Everyone was
soaked and the cinema flooded.
Sadly, the Queen Elizabeth -
Cinema similar to that of the Normandie. Fire
renamed Seawise University - met a fate
Cinema
gutted the ship in Hong Kong harbour
on 9 January 1972 while she was being
At Sea refitted as a floating university.
At Sea
The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)
launched in 1967,was the last trans-
Atlantic liner to be built in England.
By Ross King This event was the last hurrah for the
British shipping construction industry.
Ships and the sea have formed the lighting, air conditioning and a good- In the late 19th century, 80 percent
basis for countless screenplays, from sized stage for live presentations. The of world shipping was constructed in
Battleship Potemkin to Titanic. Now biograph box was behind the screen, Britain. A major factor in the demise of
reverse the situation and consider the above the back stage dressing rooms the industry was the advent of the
experience of watching films in a and utilised rear projection. supersonic Concorde jet aircraft,
cinema on the high seas. The Cunard liner Queen Mary did providing a high-speed connection
The rise of the golden age of not have a purpose-built theatre/cinema, between America and Europe, along
cinema and the luxury liner were more but after observing the popularity and with the failure of British shipyards to
or less overlapping events, with a success of the cinema on the re-invest and modernise. For example,
destiny to match. A sea voyage, even Normandie, designers included one on the equipment used to stamp the steel
for business reasons, could mean days, the later Queen Elizabeth. During a plates for the QE2 was of 1899 vintage.
possibly weeks of leisure time, and the later refit a cinema/theatre was Now after forty-one years of
necessity for entertainment. With incorporated into the Queen Mary. service, and in its last year of operation,
today’s cruise ships, it’s entertainment The Normandie had a very short the QE2 is to be moored in Dubai,
all the way. Passenger ships and a life. In June 1940 it was berthed complete with its artworks and
cinema were made for each other. alongside the Queen Elizabeth in New memorabilia, restored as an exclusive
Surprisingly perhaps, it wasn’t until York, when France signed an Armistice resort.
1935 and the maiden voyage of the with Germany. The hastily refitted The cinema/theatre aboard the QE2
Normandie - the flagship of the French Queen Elizabeth left New York in has a balcony and stalls with a seating
Line, and the first vessel to exceed November as a troop carrier. One of her capacity of 500. The ivory white ceiling
1,000ft in length (313m.) - that a liner many destinations included Sydney. and wall panels are back-lit with
was fitted out with a complete After the Japanese attack on Pearl indirect lighting. Red, green and blue
cinema/theatre. Harbour, the United States seized the indirect lighting highlights the stage
Prior to the Normandie, and on Normandie and began converting it for apron as required. A stylised motif of
smaller passenger ships that followed, war service. On 9 February 1942 the the Roman goddess Diana is selectively
film shows and theatrical Normandie caught fire at its berth at used on the walls, in gold.
entertainments were conducted in the Pier 88, and rolled onto its port side The comfortable seating is
dining salons and lounges. where it remained until eventually cut upholstered in dusty pink and red
The theatre aboard the Normandie up - a sad sight for New Yorkers for velour. There is also provision for
was designed in the art-deco style, months and a pathetic end to one of the wheel-chairs. The screen is of generous
complete with plush seating, indirect world’s great liners. proportions, approximately six metres

8 2008 CINEMARECORD