1953 Coronation – April Past Pavilion

The upcoming Coronation of King Charles III is rapidly approaching with the ceremony scheduled for Saturday 6th May. The last Coronation was 70 years ago (my maths is correct this time!) and was witnessed by people visiting the houses of their neighbours, who were in proud possession of a small black and white television, to watch Queen Elizabeth II being crowned in Westminster Abbey. Television coverage was only available through the BBC, a stark contrast to the variety of channels available today. Technology has made quantum leaps forward since then, but I still complain quite regularly to my long suffering wife that “There is nothing on that is worth watching”!

Television coverage of the Coronation on 2nd June was in black and white. The official film gave everyone the opportunity to view the splendour in glorious Technicolor within the month.

Pavilion, Selsey.

Eighteen Technicolor cameras were used in making "A QUEEN IS CROWNED," showing at the Pavilion, Selsey, for the first three days of next week. Four-fifths of the film is devoted to the service itself and five of the cameras were stationed inside Westminster Abbey. The sound recording of the Abbey ceremony was taken from the B.B.C.'s line. Background music was written by Guy Warrack and recorded under the direction of Sir Malcolm Sargent. The commentary was written by Christopher Fry and spoken by Sir Laurence Olivier. A record will be set up when 800 prints of the film are made. It is to be translated into French, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese. Other versions will be sub-titled. Fifty-two countries will show the film.

Bognor Regis Observer 27/6/1953

The above is not a 1953 “selfie” but an attempt to gain a view of the events by using a mirror as a form of periscope. The other feature film shown in the last week of June at the Pavilion was as follows.

King Solomon's Mines

Feature for the second half of the week is "KING SOLOMON'S MINES," adapted from Rider Haggard's book of the same name. In the leading roles are Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr. The film was made in Africa and there are shots of many wild animals, including a remarkable scene of a jungle stampede. African natives, too, may be seen carrying out their mysterious dances.

27/6/1953 Bognor Regis Observer