Jaws at the Ritz

Interviewee: I remember seeing other big blockbusters at other cinemas. The Ritz particularly was the last one to close in Nuneaton, wasn’t it?

Interviewer 1: Yeah

Interviewee: I remember going to see Jaws there, when that… God, I mean, and that on the big screen, y’know, that was…

Interviewer 2: Quite scary

Interviewee: Der duh, der duh, der-duh der-duh!  That theme, that theme music yeah!

Interviewer 1: I guess you wouldn’t have found out so much about a film before you saw it then either would you?

Interviewee: Well, that’s the thing, no, no you wouldn’t would ya, that’s it. Whereas now, y’know, before you see you probably know most of it don’t ya, because its in…

Interviewer 2:  …seen the scary bits…

Interviewer 1: …so its a genuine shock when you get the shark come out [laughs]

Interviewee: I remember being on the edge of me seat and there were moments in that film weren’t there where you were really like, y’know…

Interviewer 3: Off your seat [laughs]  On the ceiling

Interviewee: Trying to think what else I saw at the cinema.  Ooh, the David Essex films, That’ll Be The Day.  Now, being a young teenager then and ooh, David Essex, phew!  Still lovely even now, actually.  Yeah, still lovely.  But That’ll Be The Day and there was another one, they were back to back the films

Interviewer 3: Wasn’t it Stardust?

Interviewee: That was it. It was another David Essex one, was it called Stardust?  I know that they were on at the same time, I’m sure they were. Yeah, I went with a friend to see that, another David Essex fan [laughs].

Interviewer 1: So how long did you keep going in the mornings on Saturday then?

Interviewee:  Aww, I should imagine by the time I went to secondary school I stopped before that

Interviewer 1:  Moved on

Interviewee:  Yeah, yeah.

Interviewer 2:  I think it was kind of under-12s or something in Barford, the equivalent thing.

Interviewee: Yeah.  Lost interest I think once I went to secondary school.

Interviewer 2: And was it cartoons?

Interviewee: They’d have cartoons first wouldn’t they, that’s right. They’d have a few cartoons first, and then they’d have the main event, yeah, yeah.

This article was published as part of the Warwickshire in 100 Objects project, part of Warwickshire Bytes.