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Star Cinema in Denton Holme, Carlisle was built just before the war by the impresario Leon Gould as part of his expanding chain of picture houses across the north of England.

The Star was the first purpose built picture house in the city. Designed by M. Johnstone it made the most of an unpromising site with its entrance set between two adjacent houses.

But his profitable business came into conflict with the state-run cinemas across the border at HM factory Gretna – the largest explosives factory in the world at that time – which played heavily censored films for a largely young female audience of workers. In a bid to control their morals and productivity any content featuring sex, independence and glamour was banned, but the private run picture houses in Carlisle didn't operate under such restrictions.

The suggestive posters, racy plot lines and promise of a Shangri-La on the silver screen were illusory. But the hype was effective and houses were full of young women sensing their moment of emancipation.

What is interesting is the local watch committee, police and the national film censors clamped down on what could be shown in Carlisle as well. It opened fault lines that created tremors in relatively recent times with local councils banning such films as Life of Brian and A Clock Work Orange.

Now a bingo hall, few would realise how cinema in Carlisle became the battleground for the classification of movies and the power struggle between public and private morality.

Location: Opera Bingo, 72 Denton Street, Denton Holme, Carlisle CA2 5EN
Image: Star Cinema hall during WW1, courtesy of Dr Chris Brader, Carlisle City Archives

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