Behind the Counter at Home Cinemas

In the 1950s, home theatres were for enthusiasts who owned a film projector and knew how to deal with the technical details of setting it up, threading the film path, rewinding the film, and so on. And for films to project, they often turned to “Home Cinemas”, the precursor of the modern day video library. Home Cinemas had a large collection of commercial films which could be rented for showing in the home. Most were on the French Pathé 9.5mm film gauge, which was later overshadowed (at least outside of France) with the Kodak 8mm system.

Denzil worked at Home Cinemas for a number of years and part of his role was the repair and maintenance of projection equipment. His experience as a teenager building a home made projector with his engineer father would have come in handy.

The sign on the counter says “Add Sound to Your Personal Films … You can record a commentary, complete with incidental music and sound effects, to accompany the films you have made yourself”. The photo on the sign is of Denzil’s home recording console — Denzil was offering through Home Cinemas his sound recording and production expertise.