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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17. Acting dynasty
Actor Michael Redgrave at the Cameo Cinema in August 1954. Photo: Unknown
18. Facing the music
United Wire Works employees queue outside New Victoria cinema for a special showing of the film South Pacific in January 1959. The cinema was rebranded as Odeon in the 1960s. Photo: JPI Media
19. Some hope
Bob Hope, who was in town for a show at the Usher Hall, shows what he thinks of a poster from a Bing Crosby film at Edinburgh's Pooles Cinema in 1952. Photo: Unknown
20. Faithful friend
The Skye Terrier dog who played Greyfriars Bobby at the premiere of the film of the same name in the Caley Cinema, Lothian Road, in July 1961. Photo: Unknown