Kevsbox

• Prev
• Next

The Victoria Cinema

Commercial Road, Portsmouth

1896-1960

The Victoria Cinema, at the southern end of Commercial Rd, survived until 1960. Moving pictures were first shown at the Victoria in July 1896. Most films were more of the novelty type but attracted good-sized audiences for the first month. Films were not shown on a regular basis until 1900. Talking pictures came to the Victoria in July 1929, and the cinema was taken over by the ABC in 1937. Its last film, shown in 1960, was 'Expresso Bongo'