Cinema Memory and the Digital Archive

Early in 1995, Cinema Culture in 1930s Britain contacted Heathlands, a retirement home in Prestwich, Greater Manchester catering mainly for Jewish residents, seeking potential participants in the project. Heathlands resident Rachel Tarsky took part in two interviews, joining the twenty-two CCINTB core informants in the Greater Manchester area. Mrs Tarsky was born in Manchester in 1906, one of six children; her father, who migrated to England from Russia, was a shoemaker and her mother kept a grocery shop. She left school at the age of fourteen and worked in the family business. Mrs Tarsky took part in a group interview at Heathlands on 27 April 1995 and was subsequently interviewed on her own on 6 June 1995.

The other participants in her first interview were fellow core informants Nat Frieling and Tessa Amelan, along with Gabrielle Adam (born in Russia in 1907), Samuel Flamholtz (born in Poland in 1922), and another male resident whose name and details are unrecorded. Throughout the interview, speakers check and correct each other's recollections, and in parts of the conversation members of the group speak over each other. Subjects covered include names of stars and films (many of which--including comedies, serials, and animal stars—were made in the 1920s). Saturday matinees are mentioned, along with the cost of tickets for the humbler types of cinema ('bug huts') with their very basic seating (benches). The conversation moves on to the 1930s, as participants pore over photos of stars of the period and exchange comments and opinions. Topics of lengthier debate include Charlie Chaplin and his films, the 1937 version of Lost Horizon, the scandal surrounding Jessie Matthews and Sonnie Hale, and the films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Discussion of films and cinema detours into collective consideration of the lack of availability of post-elementary education for members of their generation, before turning to recollections of the cinemas of central and suburban Manchester, assertions of the importance of the contributions of film producers and directors, and references to animated films of the 1930s (Snow White is mentioned) and foreign films (the Cosmo in Glasgow is referred to).

Early in her second, solo, interview Mrs Tarsky mentions her particular affection for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, whose films and songs are referred to several times in the course of the interview. She also recalls liking “handsome men” stars like Errol Flynn; and says that although she was a regular cinemagoer and occasionally went to live theatre in the city, she preferred reading as a pastime: she got through the eight hundred pages of ‘Gone With The Wind’ in two days, she claims. Discussion reverts to film personalities, with comments and snippets of film world gossip and reference to other favourites, including Shirley Temple (“Whatever she played in was lovely”) and George Formby, who “made you feel happy”, as well as comments on Gracie Fields’s background and working life. She expresses a preference for “dramatic” films and admits to a liking for comedy, too, recalling an occasion when a funny film starring Joe E Brown jolted her out of a depression. She recollects the ticket prices in various cinemas she went to as a child; recalls the names of a number of these local cinemas, setting out an imaginary ‘walking tour’ passing by seven picture houses that were situated within a mile of each other. The interview includes a long ‘aside’ exchange with a fellow resident about a quest to buy cosmetics.

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