John Barrymore in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde *****
Well, this was a night to remember (thanks I should add, to swimming pals at Tooting Bec’s one and only live-wire South London Swimming Club) – a viewing of the 1920 silent film of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde starring John Barrymore at his most wild-eyed, white eye-balls disappearing into his back forehead somewhere.
What a terrific film, truly thrilling but what made it even more glorious was the magnificence of the Troxy Cinema (once the home of the Royal Opera House’s London Opera Centre), opened in 1933 to seat over 3000 people and still intact, Art Deco features still in their full unblemished finery. Absolutely extraordinary in this day and age when everything that can possibly be bulldozed or go under the hammer, goes under the hammer. Continue reading