Silent movies shown at care home’s pop-up cinema

THE SILENT movie era enjoyed a revival at a Huddersfield care home as a pop-up cinema brought classics from the 1920s back to the silver screen.

An omnibus of Harold Lloyd films was shown at Aden Lodge Care Home, Long Lane, Clayton West, for the enjoyment of residents and staff.

Harold Lloyd was a star of early cinema, held up alongside the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, with a career spanning almost 200 films between 1914 and 1947.

Lloyd appeared in a dozen films during the 20s, one of his most successful periods, with titles including Safety Last!, The Freshman and Grandma’s Boy, among others.

A projector was loaned to the care home by maintenance man Steve Grizzell so several of Lloyd’s catalogue of movies could be beamed onto the wall.

Residents ate popcorn and sipped wine as they laughed along to Lloyd’s antics in the lounge turned temporary picture house.

Mary Heeley, 90, said: “As a young girl, it was very rare for families to have TVs, so going to a drive through cinema was a rare treat we used to enjoy once a year.

“When I got married, it was something I enjoyed doing with my husband, so watching the big screen here at the care home made me feel like I was there again.

“The old films are so much better than movies these days. They are much funnier.”

Michael Gore, 73, said: “I used to love going to the cinema as a young lad. I enjoyed watching cowboy films. These old black and white films were a lot of fun though.”

Lisa Mckay, activities coordinator at Aden Lodge Care Home, said: “I was very happy the residents enjoyed the pop-up cinema experience.

“We have to thank our maintenance man, Steve, for lending us his projector. The whole idea for the pop-up cinema came when he offered it to us, as he thought it would be lovely for the residents to make use of it.

“We will definitely be doing the pop-up cinema monthly. I have some film requests already from some residents for the next showing.”