our cinema, Our Heritage
Palladium Cinemas A History
We take pride in our heritage
A boutique hotel deticated to a cinema
The History Of Palladium
How The Cinema Came to be.
Palladium’s Opening
Originally owned by Mr Salvu Bartolo, The Palladium Cinema officially opened its doors on the 29th of march 1952. An inauguration ceremony was held with the first speakers being the owner Mr Bartolo and The manager of the Malta United Film Corporation Mr V. Major. The first film shown was ‘SAMSON & DELILAH’. It was a FIRST RUN in Malta, meaning it had not yet been shown in any other cinema on the island.
The Original Staff. Palladium’s Beating Heart
WHo Brought Palladium To Life
We ALl Leave behind a legacy
SalvU BARTOLO – owner
MR. Effie Serge – 1st Projectionist
MR PAul Gauchi – 2nd Projectionist
MR Agostino Bartolo – 3rd Projectionist
MR Lino Bartolo – Final Projectionist
MR GaNNI SCICLUNA – TICKET BOOKINGS
MS LINA BARTOLO – TICKET BOOKINGS
OTHER STAFF & DEDICATED PERSONELL
Services
Interesting Facts
About Palladium
Prior to the official opening, the Palladium held two testing sessions to test out the technology including the sound & projectors. The systems were tested with the films ‘The Jolson Story’ & ‘Annie Get Your Gun’
Films were shown from Monday to Saturday at 6pm & 8pm. On Sundays there would be morning matinee shows at 10am, along with shows at 2pm, 6pm & 8pm.
School Children were taken to the ‘Talkies‘ and could enjoy movies at the Palladium at reduced prices.
Seating Capacity
The Old cinema boasted a seating capacity of 812 for its shows.
First Show
On Inauguration, the cinema showed ‘SAMSON AND DELILAH’ as its first motion picture.
Technology
The teathre featured a Westrex Sound and
Projestion System, state of the art cinema technology for it’s time
Known as TALKIES
Originally, no one called it a cinema. The common slang was ‘Talkies’, an american term which came about during the introduction of movies with sound.
From Our Founder
It closed in spring of 1977 with the last film shown being The Hindenburg.
After the introduction of television as a common household item, cinema ticket sales started declining across the maltese islands. The palladium cinema officially closed its doors in 1977. Nowadays the building is being restored into its former glory and converted into a boutique hotel.
Pricing
Palladium Tickets & Prices
Originally, tickets were priced at 10 ‘soldi’, an old Maltese currency out of circulation. An approximate conversion would mean tickets would have cost €0.09c. Ticket prices were eventually raised to ‘Xelin u 2 Soldi‘ & Then ‘Xelin u 8 Soldi’. In todays prices these would convert to €0.14c & €0.19c respectively, quite a bargain in todays market! Students were able to purchase tickets at reduced prices for ‘8 Soldi‘ or around €0.07c
