John Maltby - Odeon Cinemas

Oscar Deutsch first trademarked the name Odeon for a cinema in Perry Bar, Birmingham, in 1929.  By 1939 136 new Odeons has been opened in addition to the cinemas that had been acquired from other owners.  The distinct ‘Odeon style’ was influential as it embraced the Modern Movement and Art Deco.  It also offered working class cinema-goers the length and breath of the country the opportunity to step into a gleaming, luxurious world they had never previously experienced.

In 1935 Deutsch commissioned a London-based commercial photographer, John Maltby, to photograph all his cinemas.  This work, comprising some 1,200 photographs of more than 280 buildings, now forms a substantial part of the John Maltby Collection held by the National Monuments Record.   A selection of photographs from the collection follows, but many more can be seen online at www.english-heritage.org.uk/Viewfinder