Question for the English
Jul 10, 2016 07:56:02 #
My wife and I were in London for four months in 1974. Whenever we went to a movie, they always played "God Save the Queen" before the film began, I think. Do they still do that? If not, when and why did they stop, and was there controversy over stopping the practice?
Jul 10, 2016 08:31:25 #
1974? Are you sure? That custom was abolished years before then and no, obviously it's no longer played.
Jul 10, 2016 09:13:17 #
GARGLEBLASTER wrote:
1974? Are you sure? That custom was abolished years before then and no, obviously it's no longer played.
Positive. We were there from Jan through May, and we saw lots of movies. Everyone stood while the music played. I don't recall that ever happening at plays, though.
Jul 10, 2016 10:50:01 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Positive. We were there from Jan through May, and we saw lots of movies. Everyone stood while the music played. I don't recall that ever happening at plays, though.
I wasn't living in the UK in the 60s but I was almost sure that the custom had died out before then. I did an Internet search and came up with this:
"The custom for last house audiences to stand to attention for the national anthem died out with the culture of deference in the early 1960s. Previously, it had been considered bad manners and disrepectful to the monarch to leave as soon as the action ended. Moreover, with the credits coming at the beginning of a picture, it was easy for cinema managers to play the anthem before anyone could reach for their coat.
However, in the late 1950s, disregarding the anthem came to be seen as an act of socio-political protest among students and efforts to play God Save the Queen before the main feature were abandoned as latecomers ignored it to find their seats before the picture started. With British movies being dominated by angry young men in kitchen sink sagas that reflected the reality of everyday life, the anthem ritual becoming increasingly anachronistic and exhibitors simply gave up trying to impose decorum on their patrons."
However, others seem to remember it being played even in to the 90s. In some places the custom of playing the National Anthem BEFORE a perfomance in concert halls and opera houses seems to have persisted for some time.
I'm glad that the custom has more or less died out, it is far too servile for my taste.
Jul 10, 2016 11:55:23 #
GARGLEBLASTER wrote:
I wasn't living in the UK in the 60s but I was alm... (show quote)
Interesting story, but not surprising. My wife and I were taken by surprise when we first came upon that.
Jul 11, 2016 06:19:14 #
It still goes on at our local village pantomime and I've seen it at a few other small events, I'm not sure I've ever known it at a cinema.
Jul 11, 2016 08:40:09 #
Canonuser
Loc: UK and South Africa
I suspect a main reason it was stopped was the inglorious scramble to get out of the cinema at the end of the film before it was played. You could get trampled in the crush and in the end very few stopped trying to get out even whilst it was being played. As there is no way to make people stand respectfully whilst the anthem is being played, I suspect that ceasing to play it became the sensible and only alternative option. It is still played at the end of performances where it is known it will be respected.
Jul 11, 2016 13:12:55 #
Brian in Whitby
Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
It seems to me the last time I watched a baseball game, the National Anthem was played. What is the difference?
Jul 11, 2016 13:21:08 #
Brian in Whitby wrote:
It seems to me the last time I watched a baseball game, the National Anthem was played. What is the difference?
Different words and different melody.
Jul 11, 2016 15:23:08 #
Brian in Whitby wrote:
It seems to me the last time I watched a baseball game, the National Anthem was played. What is the difference?
I'm a Braves fan. We need something respectful and entertaining.
Jul 13, 2016 12:42:13 #
I distinctly remember a friend standing to attention at the National Anthem in Leeds, Yorkshire after a film in 1974.
Jul 15, 2016 13:15:52 #
I posted this question on another forum and someone replies with what seems to me to be a logical answer to the question.
"The cinema is complicated because it was only played at the end of the night, not at the end of the matinee. It was noticeable that film credits moved to the beginning of the films during the 60s because people knew they could use the time to get out before the anthem ! Now they have moved back to the end again. I remember the anthem was definitely still going in the 70s in Leeds but I think the exact finish point depended on the cinema chain owners."
"The cinema is complicated because it was only played at the end of the night, not at the end of the matinee. It was noticeable that film credits moved to the beginning of the films during the 60s because people knew they could use the time to get out before the anthem ! Now they have moved back to the end again. I remember the anthem was definitely still going in the 70s in Leeds but I think the exact finish point depended on the cinema chain owners."
Jul 15, 2016 14:27:17 #
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