A man who tried to ‘singlehandedly save the cinema’ by rescuing projectors from doomed picture houses is parting company with his lifetime’s collection.
Malcolm Plant, 77, who built his first cinema in a garden shed at the age of 14 and still has one in his cellar, is selling more than 15 original cinema projectors together with film posters and memorabilia.
His collection captures the history of cinema through the 20th century starting with a Matagraph projector dating back to circa 1898. It’s part of a huge array of equipment sourced over more than 50 years thanks to his movie passion.
Even though being left alone at the pictures to watch King Kong at the age of 12 ‘frightened the hell out of him’, there’s nothing Malcolm loves more than a good film. Better still, bringing that film to the big screen as the projectionist.
However, on January 27 his movie posters and equipment will go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire.
He said: “I’m sad to see my collection go. It deserves to be in a museum. It’s unique and records the evolution of cinema from 1898 through to the 1990s, from silent to sound.”
The collection, which mainly consists of original cinema projectors and movie posters, is expected to sell for around £15,000.
Jim Spencer, associate director at Hanson, said: “It’s unprecedented to see such a good collection of early projectors in one sale, and it’s remarkable they were salvaged by one enthusiast over many years.
“My colleagues told me I’d enjoy going to Malcolm’s Victorian home in Liverpool and that I’d be very impressed, but nothing prepared me for that trip down the cellar. As soon as I opened the door, I could smell the projectors, some sort of engine oil I suppose.
“It was dark and the walls were covered in 1930s cinema posters and original category boards and signs. I was instantly transported back in time and felt like a character in a film noir movie.
“The projectors were beautiful machines, like great steam trains, and I was bowled over by this complete old-fashioned cinema.
“Malcolm very kindly put a movie on for me, and I have huge respect for his engineering mind to be able to operate these complicated machines and bring the pictures to life. There was something magical about the place and it made me appreciate moving pictures more than ever before in my life.”
Malcolm’s love of cinema was sparked by his father. “He used to take me to the pictures when I was a lad and I always wondered what was going on behind the light at the back of the cinema,” said Malcolm. “My imagination was stirred – even though he frightened the hell out of me when he left me to watch King Kong on my own when I was 12.
“I wanted to be a projectionist but dad said it was a dead-end job so I went into engineering. But my love of cinema never went away. From the age of 13, I was interested in 35mm film. I built my first ‘cinema’ in a shed at the bottom of my parents’ gardens. I projected films through a porthole in the shed, across the garden, through a picture window and onto a screen on the lounge wall.
“In the 1960s Liverpool’s Haydock Cinema closed. I went along and bought my first complete cinema outfit for £50. That was a fortune for me back then.
“I decided to try to save the cinema single-handedly by collecting projectors. I mainly bought them at cinemas before they were pulled down. I also found the odd thing at car boot sales. I moved to my current house in 1980 simply to have space for my projectors. I’ve built three cinemas over the years.
“I’d sometimes surprise guests by asking them if they wanted to see a film. They’d be expecting a DVD or video but I’d stun them and start running two projectors. You have to change the reels every 20 minutes and constantly check the focus. It’s good fun. These days projectors are digital and you just push a button.
“I used to know men who were so mad about projectors, they’d go to see a film just to watch the movie borders for rock steady pictures.
“We have lost the old-style charm of cinema. When I was young there were two or three people on the projector box, the cinema was beautifully appointed, staff were in uniform, people were proud to be there and when the curtain opened to reveal the screen, you were transported into a magical world. For the working-class masses back in the 1940s and 50s it was a great escape.
“It will be interesting to see what the world makes of my cinema collection. I know of only one other man in the world who has anything like it, in California, but he’s passed away now. I’ve heard even the Queen had her projector removed from Buckingham Palace.
“I’m parting with my collection now as I’ve not been well and I’ve got no children to leave it to. But I’m not selling everything. I’m going to keep two projectors and put a film reel on now and then.”
Malcolm Plant’s collection will be sold on January 27 at a British Cinematography Through the 20th Century Auction at Hansons, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS. To find out more, email [email protected].
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