Wellington and 5th, at Verdun, in 1936

Photo courtesy of the Society of history and genealogy of Verdun, “Fifth avenue, 1936”.

Montreal History center and the Society of history and genealogy of Verdun, special Collaboration

Saturday, 24 march, 2018 20:13

UPDATE
Saturday, 24 march, 2018 20:13

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Photo Chantal Poirier

The sound of the Fifth

The Fifth Avenue – at the corner of Wellington and 5th Avenue – is far from being the only cinema in Verdun ! With the Savoy or the Palace, the competition between the rooms is fierce ! The residents of the corner pay 15 to 25 as to relax there. For operators, any way to distinguish it is good to use. It is as well as the new sound system Mirrophonic made his appearance at the Fifth Avenue in 1936. The talkies is still new, but it has completely eliminated the silent movies at the turn of the 1930s. The first speakers are feeling ! But what to say of its Mirrophonic, which uses multiple microphones connected to as many amplifiers ? It appears in 1935 and so we can say that the Fifth Avenue has the latest technology to get ahead of the curve… At least that its competitors have not already ?

The artery of Verdun

The two bicycles are attached to the pole belong to can be to customers in the cinema ? Or so their owners are entered in Grads, face to face, to buy cigarettes. Sharing the road between cars and bicycles does not date from yesterday on Wellington, even if the automobile traffic would be less dense ! Like any major artery, the street Wellington is the heart of the city of Verdun with services, movie theaters, and at the corner of 5th, the pastry Wellington, the local hardware store Leclaire and the living room toilet Grads held by mr. Jubinville and mrs. Carruthers. Funny trade, moreover, which combines the functions of a barber and tabagiste… The street bears this name since 1817, when it was renamed in honour of the conqueror of Napoleon Bonaparte. Before this date, it was called the chemin de Lachine and linking Pointe-Saint-Charles, Verdun and Lachine.

A popular entertainment

Cinema Fifth Avenue plans to the popular films of his era, and former residents of Verdun recall that the output did not go without a meal at the Prince of Wales, close by, or without a pastry from the shop next door. On this day, the film presents The Gay Desperado, a musical comedy, and Murder with Pictures, a drama. These films have in common to films of the ” B-series “. At the time, these films are usually presented in addition to the program of another movie with a larger deployment that benefits players and a known hype well orchestrated. The “series B” means quickly films to smaller budget and lower quality in launching the careers of new actors and directors. Most importantly, they provide a diversity of programs for the smaller distributors such as the cinema, Fifth Avenue.