Cinema Pioneers: “The Film that Salford Must not See”

What has now become the oldest volunteer led film society in the country started life as a discussion on a street corner in 1930. Cinema was a new artform, with Hollywood entertainment dominating the cinemas of the day. Look across the road and you will see Cross Lane – where a group of politically engaged men had a discussion following a film screening. They were hoping to view more cinema that fuelled their minds.

This impromptu discussion led to action. A committee was formed, and later that year the Salford Workers’ Film Society held its first official screening at the Prince’s Cinema on Liverpool Street. Salford’s Mayor, who attended, captured the mood of attendees; “A large number of adult picture goers are sick of the Hollywood sob-stuff and want something with more meat in it.” The society’s mission was to lift cinema’s place in society – allowing working people to see films and to see cinema recognised as an artform.

The 1930s were marked by economic depression and sharp ideological debates between fascism and communism, and the society did not shy away from controversy. When the Salford Watch Committee banned Soviet film Storm Over Asia fearing it might incite unrest amongst the working classes, the Society simply screened it across the city boundary in Manchester. The incident increased the profile of the society as people rushed to watch “the film that Salford must not see”. In time, the society’s name evolved to reflect its growing reach across both cities.