ABOUT THE FECKENODEON
One sad day, a few years ago, the ABC cinema in Redditch closed its doors for the last time. For those of us living in the tiny village of Feckenham that meant that a trip to the movies now entailed a lengthy trek to the mean streets of Birmingham or Worcester. And then the truth dawned. We realised that not many of us really wanted to see the latest action filled gorefest in glorious multi channel deafenoscopic sound. We just wanted a good old fashioned night out at the pictures. And so we tried it.

An experimental showing of "Some Like it Hot" enticed over a hundred locals of all ages to Feckenham Village Hall and the atmosphere was magic. We had another go a few months later with "The Lavender Hill Mob" and "Oh! Mr Porter!". The fact that Will Hay could still captivate a full house sixty years after his film was made convinced us that the idea of a rural Picture Palace was an idea worth following up. We gathered redundant equipment from helpful and enthusiastic independent cinema owners and we spent the summer of 2001 installing the screen, a new sound system, motorized festoon drop tabs and new lighting.  All our films are shown on traditional film projectors on a proper cinema screen - a brand new Harkness-Hall screen was installed in April 2006. Comfortable fully upholstered red plush seating has now replaced the hard plastic chairs - regulars can leave the cushions at home! We wanted to provide a real cinema experience - not just a filmshow in a village hall. Seven seasons of full houses seems to say that we had the right idea!

The FeckenOdeon opened on September 29th, 2001 with a gala showing to a packed house of "The Smallest Show on Earth" and "Duck Soup". The Society can accommodate 120 Full Members and welcomes an additional 20 Guest Members to each show.  Scroll down for a list of films we've already shown. Our eighth season of classic films (starting in September) is now booking -  click HERE for the programme. 

For the technically minded the FeckenOdeon's films are shown on a Westar 2001a 35mm projector with a Xenon Arc lamphouse and stereo soundhead. We use a Westrex tower system for continuous running of films up to 2 hours 45 minutes duration. Newer films are shown with full Dolby Stereo SR surround sound using our CP55 and SRA-5 processors, Yamaha 4 channel amplifier and Peavey loudspeakers. Care is taken to show films in their original formats - we can cope with Academy Standard, American and European WideScreen and all CinemaScope type formats. Occasional films are operated on two Bell & Howell 16mm projectors with changeovers. Some trailers and shorts are shown in projected DVD format. The 20 ft (7 mtr) wide screen has a Harkness Hall perforated, high gain, matt white surface.



"The Sealed Knot of the Golden Age of the Cinema" 
Past Showings:

Experimental showings by Feckenham Entertainments Committee:

November 1999 Some Like it Hot
January 2001 The Lavender Hill Mob + Oh, Mr Porter
First Season
September 2001 The Smallest Show on Earth + Duck Soup
October 2001 The Third Man + Carry On Spying
November 2001 M.Hulot's Holiday + Le Balon Rouge
December 2001 The Boyfriend
January 2002 A Private Function + The 39 Steps
February 2002 The Son of the Sheik + The Two Tars
March 2002 Cinema Paradiso + Sherlock Junior
April 2002 Kind Hearts & Coronets + The Titfield Thunderbolt
June 2002 The Man in the White Suit - Special Show for Redditch Cafe Arts Festival
                           Second Season
September 2002 The Happiest Days of Your Life + Two Way Stretch
October 2002 Little Shop of Horrors + Son of Frankenstein
November 2002 Blazing Saddles + The Man from Laramie
December 2002 Singing in the Rain + St Louis Blues
January 2003 Brassed Off + The Lady Vanishes
February 2003 The Gold Rush + The Baloonatic
March 2003 Mon Oncle
April 2003 Gone with the Wind
                            Third Season
September 2003 Whisky Galore +  Murder Most Foul
October 2003 North by Northwest + Night Mail
November 2003 Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Return of the Pink Panther
December 2003 An American in Paris
January 2004 Waking Ned + Saturday Night & Sunday Morning
February 2004 The General + Boobs in the Wood
March 2004 Doctor Zhivago
April 2004 The Ladykillers (1955) + Brief Encounter
                          Fourth Season
September 2004 Blithe Spirit + A Night at the Opera
October 2004 Shrek 2
Vertigo
November 2004 Calendar Girls + Belleville Rendez-vous
December 2004 Top Hat
January 2005 The Dish + Genevieve
Don Giovanni (1979)
February 2005 Shooting Stars
March 2005 Cabaret
April 2005 The Adventures of Robin Hood + Passport to Pimlico
                             Fifth Season
September 2005 The Wrong Arm of the Law + Ask a Policeman
October 2005 Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Rebel Without a Cause + Animal Farm
November 2005 Hear My Song + The Million Pound Note
December 2005 Gigi
January 2006 Rabbit-proof Fence + The Chorus
February 2006 Wallace & Gromit : The Curse of the Were-rabbit
Great Expectations (1946)
March 2006 The Blues Brothers + The Wrong Trousers
April 2006 Arsenic & Old Lace
June 2006 Carry On Cleo (Charity Show)
                            Sixth Season
September 2006 Kinky Boots + Hue & Cry
October 2006 Cars
Amadeus - The Director's Cut
November 2006 The Big Sleep (1946)
December 2006 West Side Story
January 2007 Catch Me if you Can
February 2007 Flushed Away
Dead of Night + The Card
March 2007 Master & Commander. The Far Side of the World
April 2007 Heavens Above! + Radio Days
May 2007 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Charity Show)
June 2007 The General (Open air show for Feckenham Wake)
                   Seventh Season
September 2007 Mrs Henderson Presents + Fires Were Started
October 2007 Shrek the Third
Casablanca
November 2007 High Spirits + Good Night, and Good Luck
December 2007 The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) + The Ghost Train
January 2008 The Prestige
February 2008 Ratatouille
The Italian Job (1969) + The Castle
March 2008 Topsy-Turvy
April 2008 Our Man in Havana + The Cameraman
                                                    

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