Today there are around 25 cinemas to choose from in Edinburgh – ranging from the tiny screen in The Banshee Labyrinth pub to the huge multiplex Vue at Ocean Terminal.
But in the recent past there was barely an Edinburgh neighbourhood that didn’t have its own local film house.
In the first half of the 20th century there were more than 120 cinemas opened in the capital.
It was the heyday of the silver screen when there was no other way to see your favourite actor’s latest performance or the new must-see awards contender.
And there was plenty of local talent on show – from the wee dog who played Greyfriars Bobby, to Sean Connery making the role of James Bond his own.
Many of the cinemas ended up being demolished or were turned into bingo halls from the late 1960s when people started to stay at home in front of the television instead.
In the week when it’s been announced that the Edinburgh Filmhouse is to close we take a trip back to what was happening in Edinburgh’s cinemas over 50 years ago.
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5. A lot of bottle
Dorothy Kent, who was preparing to take a milk bath in the foyer of the New Victoria Cinema on the opening night of Cleopatra in January 1964. Photo: Unknown
6. Raising a glass
The closing down party of Edinburgh's Poole's Synod Hall Cinema in 1965. Photo: Stan Warburton
7. Fire damage
The damaged interior of Edinburgh's Gaumont Cinema, in Canning Street, days after a fire in May 1962. Photo: Unknown
8. Face lift
The New Victoria Cinema at Surgeons' Hall, that was set to be renovated and renamed the Odeon in February 1964. Photo: Unknown