Sound & Vision

The first film shown At the Ambassador

A modern-day trailer for Vaudeville (original title: Varieté), a 1925 German film starring Emil Jannings and Lya De Putti.

This film was one of two shown at the opening night Gala on Christmas Eve 1928.

Clip of Reginald Liversidge, the first resident Organist

Edited excerpts from The Organist Encores Episode 353 – Manchester & Möller. It features Reginald Liversidge performing two medleys:

Clip one:    Rhythm Medley: "The Sheik of Araby," "Margie," "Whispering," and "Avalon,"

                    Recorded in 1971 on the Wurlitzer in the Gaumont,  Manchester

Clip two:   The Desert Song Selection

                    Recorded in 1968 on the Wurlitzer in the Paramount/Odeon, Manchester

      Hear more on  The Organist Encores

Vera's Bingo Night at the Ambassador

    Filmed in February 1993 and aired on Coronation Street in July 1994, this clip shows the Ambassador Mecca Bingo, standing in for a Blackpool bingo hall. The video starts just as the camera pans to reveal the auditorium in its Bingo-era splendour.

Click Watch on YouTube for a big-screen experience.

Ambassador Project Site Visits

First visit - 18 Feb 2001

The Ambassador Project team’s first visit to the Ambassador Cinema on Langworthy Road, Salford. Filled with optimism, the team hoped to save the Ambassador, unaware that behind the scenes, the Rank Organisation was working to remove the building's listed status.

Ambassador Project Site Visit 

Second visit - 18 March 2001

    The Ambassador Project team made their second visit to the Ambassador Cinema on Langworthy Road, Salford, on March 18th, 2001. With additional supporters and guidance from Peter Hanley, our optimism grew, believing the project would gain traction. We hoped for the same kind of backing from national and local politicians that Stockport Council had shown when they supported the Plaza Cinema Trust in saving the Plaza Super Cinema—Ambassador's sister venue (the last cinema built for the Ambassador Circuit, the Ambassador being the first!).

    Unfortunately, we were met with indifference from politicians and the relentless trend of erasing Salford’s heritage landmarks. Just as we were building momentum, English Heritage (now Historic England)—who we expected to help save the Ambassador—issued a report supporting the Rank Organisation’s request to delist the building. This led the DCMS to remove its listed status exactly one year after it had been awarded. It was a crushing blow for our preservation efforts.

Site Visit – August 2001

A video featuring short clips and still photographs taken during a site visit by The Ambassador Project group in August 2001.

If you don’t want to wait for the atmospheric organist intro, skip to 1:20.