The silver screen opened up an exciting new world of action and adventure to country boy Sam Winfield, of Etwall. Over the years he has collected various unusual items of film memorabilia and written a book on the cinema’s golden age. Lynne Brighouse reports.

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Cinema buff Sam Winfield, of Etwall, has many interesting items of cinema memorabilia among his possessions but possibly one of the most delicate is a beautiful coloured picture postcard given to him by his Uncle Alfred about 60 years ago.

The brightly coloured card depicts a happy young couple cuddling up on the back seats of the cinema, ready to watch a film. However, the cinema screen in the drawing which contains the words The Pictures are Fine at Derby is actually a paper flap, which can be pulled down to reveal twelve photographic scenes of Derby city centre.

The views include most of the city’s better known areas such as Iron Gate, St Mary’s Gate, The Arboretum, Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, Ye Old Dolphin Inn, Derby library, the Town Hall, London Road, Victoria Street, Derby River Gardens, St Peter’s Street and the Market Place.

“I’m not exactly sure how old the postcard is but, judging by the fact that it shows an orchestra in front of the cinema screen, I would imagine it was likely to have been produced around the 1930s, ” explained Sam.

“The writing on the back implies that the card was purchased by a friend or relative of my Uncle Alfred’s during a visit to Derby and was later sent to him to say thank-you for making their stay enjoyable.”

The tiny photographs, approximately 2cms by 3cms each, also seem to bear out Sam’s assessment of the period the card was produced. Trolley buses are very much in evidence in the scenes and there do not seem to be any other vehicles on the roads, other than the odd horse and cart.

“It is extremely delicate and I’m amazed that it was not damaged in transit when it was originally posted,” said Sam, who had tucked away the postcard and only recently rediscovered it during a spring clean-out at his house. “My uncle probably passed it to me because he knew I was interested in the cinema and I imagine the card was probably sold in the foyer of one of Derby’s main cinemas.”

In fact, Sam, who is now in his 80s, has been a life-long fan of the big screen and in 1995 published a book about the numerous city cinemas which have come and gone over the years, called Dream Palaces of Derby.

“I grew up in Kirk Langley, which was a very quiet little rural village, so a trip to the cinema was a major adventure,” said Sam. “At the age of just two-and-a-half I was shown a moving picture show of oarsmen rowing across a lake and I was hooked.

“I was completely fascinated by the film and, by the age of 11 or 12, my grandparents began taking me to see silent movies in one of the Derby cinemas, which was a huge treat.

“The orchestra would produce the music and adapt their tunes to suit the tempo of whatever was happening on screen.” Sam remained a huge fan throughout his life, having an interest in the technical aspects of film production and projection, as well as enjoying the plots and the exciting foreign worlds that the cinema brought to life.

“My favourite films were always the action and adventure movies – westerns, war films and anything with a good story and interesting plot twists,” he said.

Sam admits that he is not a big fan of heavy violence, though, and finds some of the modern horror films quite unpalatable.

Despite his advancing years, Sam is still a fairly regular visitor to Derby’s modern multiplex cinemas, describing them as comfortable, even if they lack some of the character of some of the magnificent city picture houses of the past.

“Over the years I visited every single cinema described in my book,” he said. “Some were glorious buildings but others, like the Normanton, must have been built very cheaply indeed as the whole auditorium shook as the audience walked in!”

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