Torbay Picture House restoration unearths rare link to 1960s film classic

A rare film poster highlighting the links between Paignton and one of the biggest cinema hits of the 1960s has been unearthed.

Restorers working to return the Paignton Picture House to its former glory made the find while working on the roof of the historic building.

They found a large hand-painted poster announcing the fact that two of the lions used in the making of the film Born Free had been relocated to an enclosure at Paignton Zoo.

“It’s a striking example of mid-20th-century promotional signage, and a tangible link between cinema, wildlife, and local history,” said a spokesperson for the Paignton Picture House Trust.

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The film tells the true story of Elsa the lioness, orphaned in 1956 and raised by conservationists Joy and George Adamson before being successfully returned to the wild. Following filming in 1967, lions used in the production including a lioness who doubled for Elsa, were moved to Paignton Zoo.

“To find this poster, tucked away during restoration works, feels especially fitting in a building so rooted in shared cultural memory,” said the spokesperson.

In the cinema itself, work is continuing towards a planned re-opening later this year. The cinema dates from 1914 and is thought to be one of the oldest remaining purpose-built cinemas in Europe.

Agatha Christie was a regular cinema-goer at the Picture House, and had her own reserved seat which will be restored and reinstated as part of the project.

It closed in 1999, but the ambitious renovation will see it screening films again as well as opening up for community events. Torbay Council has committed more than £2million from its Future High Streets fund towards the work.

Among the latest stages, specialist plasterers have been at work in the balcony, while the auditorium ceiling has received its first coat of paint.

“It’s an exciting moment,” said the spokesperson. “It’s the first real hint of how the space will feel once it’s fully dressed again.”