Cairndhu, Cinema, James Mason, Bette Davis, Gene Autry, Lone Ranger, John Wayne, Zorro, Wee Breella loved the cinema, especially a romance or a thriller with a damsel in distress. The films were shown in the Miner's Welfare Hall. On Saturday afternoon it was a serial, often Zorro. On Friday evening the serial was more adult and could be The Lone Ranger. One wet Friday evening, a crowd of us were sitting at the front giving of the smell of wet boys, the Lone
Ranger serial was finished and in place of the Gene Autry film that was supposed
to be in the canister, the projectionist found he had been sent a drama with
James Mason in it. We watched for a while but got bored and began to fidget.
Wee Brella was already upset with Mason. She been warned to keep quiet
after getting up to shout to the heroine, Bette Davis, or someone similar, to ‘get away oot o’ there’ and to threaten
Mason with all kinds of violence.
Fortunately, the screen was on the back wall of an elevated stage that
separated the front seats from the screen and, even standing on tiptoe, Wee
Brella could just get her arm above the stage, high enough to shake her
umbrella and threaten Mason but she couldn’t get near enough to
the evil James to hit him where it would save poor Bette.
She was sitting in front of us and her shouting added to the commotion we
boys were creating. The Welfare Committee member who was on duty came to warn
us all to behave but when Mason felt it was time to push Bette Davis off the
cliff, we were cheering him on.
Our shouts of encouragement were too much for Brella. She lashed about
her with her brolly and about a dozen small boys collapsed in a moving jelly of
yelping and giggling arms, legs, and warm bodies.
The projectionist stopped the show and the lights came on to allow the duty
member of the Welfare Committee to restore order.
Wee Brella got a caution. We were banned from anything but Zorro, cowboys, or
pirates, or John Wayne winning the war, and the projectionist checked very
carefully what was in the canisters after that.
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