Patricia Cook
Scottish film expert has an eclectic taste and holds a PhD in early cinema exhibition
As a child, the weekly family outing was going to the pictures every Monday night at our local cinema, The Kelburne (in Paisley, Scotland), followed by a fish and chip high tea in the cinema café. In those days, there was the main feature supported by a so-called “b-movie”. You went into the screening whenever you arrived and sat through the programme until it reached the point where you came in.
My cinema-going has continued. Apart from horror movies, I have an eclectic taste. As a student in Glasgow, I was a devotee of art house movies, attracted by the programmes of new wave films shown at the Cosmo, a family run art deco cinema. Since then my taste has broadened to include most genres and has extended to include early silent movies.
Following retirement from my day job, I have followed numerous courses in the study of film, particularly those offered by Birkbeck College, University of London. A research project into the career of an early film exhibitor in Britain has been published and I am currently preparing a book based on my PhD, which concentrates on early exhibition of film in England and Scotland.
Other posts by Patricia Cook
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)
Jacques Demy's magnificent and extremely original musical returns to cinemas nearly six decades after its original release; our writer Patricia Cook compares her viewing experience in the 1960s with the present - out on Friday, December 6th
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Official Secrets
Dirty and Special Relationship: the UK and the US conspire in order to persuade UN Security Council members to support the Iraq War, in political thriller based on real events - now available on VoD
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Non-Fiction (Doubles Vies)
French comedy starring Juliette Binoche and Guillaume Canet investigates the complexity of old friendships and love, in good conversational style - now also available on BFI Player
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Neither Wolf nor Dog
An author is asked to write a book about a Native American elder's experiences, taking viewers on a fascinating journey through the history and the issues that the Lakota people face - in cinemas Friday, August 23rd
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Photograph
The improbable relationship between two very different people living in the crowded city of Mumbai is the central pillar of this elegantly filmed and effective Indian production - in cinemas Friday, August 2nd
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Rory’s Way (aka The Etruscan Smile)
Staunch Scotsman travels to San Francisco in search of cancer treatment, where he has to engage with his estranged son - auspicious drama starring Brian Cox in cinemas Friday, May 31st
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All is True
A trove of national treasures is both in front of and behind the cameras in this imaginative exploration of Shakespeare's final years - on Netflix on Sunday, January 3rd
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Dear Patricia Cook,
This is a long shot, but could you tell me whether your thesis contained much about Ward’s post Great War career in the run up to its take over by PCT?
I’m researching one of the Ward circuit cinemas, the Palace Cinderford for my post grad in Historic buildings at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester.
Regards
Stephen Howard