The cover of Cinemas and Cinema-Going in the United Kingdom features a fairly typical image of the interior of a cinema. Although the overall aesthetics of the cinema's design—use of abstract, geometric patterns, clean lines, and utilitarian furnishings—firmly root it in its mid-century origins, in many respects, the cinema's location could be anywhere. The focus of Sam Manning's book, however, is not on cinema's ubiquity; instead, Manning's analysis focus on two case studies, Belfast and Sheffield, provides further texture to existing accounts of cinemas and cinema-going in the United Kingdom in the mid-twentieth century. Through the examination of these two distinct locations, Manning is able to consider the ways in which the regional variations might help to provide a more nuanced understanding of what is often a fairly uniform account of the decline of cinema-going in the United Kingdom.

Construction of the cinema on the cover of Manning's book, the Odeon on Flat Street in Sheffield, first began in 1938. Construction was halted during World War II but started up again in 1954. The cinema's doors first opened in 1956. In his speech marking the occasion, John Davis, managing director of rank at the time, referred to the need for cinema to reassert itself in the face of the increasing threat of television (114). In many respects, this concern is indeed indicative of the existing narratives of the decline of cinema in the United Kingdom (and elsewhere) that place emphasis on the direct correlation between the rise in television ownership and the decline of cinema-going. However, the Odeon provides an example of a success story in trying times. As Manning describes, it was able to offer first-run films when other cinemas in the city were not able to do so, which provided an immediate draw for cinema-goers, as did the luxurious interiors of the cinema, described by The Star (16 July 1956), as “the most modern cinema in the country” (114). Although the cinema suffered from declining audiences, it attempted to make up for the loss in profits by focusing on the sales of sweets, ice cream and cigarettes, dispensed from two sales kiosks in the main foyer (114–15).

It is this kind of detailed microhistory of cinemas and the cinema-going experience in the two unique geographic locations that enables a loosening of more uniform accounts.

Influenced by the work of scholars in the field of new cinema history cited throughout the book (among them, Daniel Biltereyst, Philippe Meers, Richard Maltby, Annette Kuhn, Judith Thissen, Pierluigi Ercole, Daniela Treveri Gennari, Catherine O'Rawe), Manning's sociological focus and deployment of various methodologies, including the detailed analysis of local press, trade journals, cinema records, box office figures and oral history interviews, enable him to consider the cinema more fully within the wider landscape of twentieth century culture. This includes a reflection on the ways in which the geographic specificities impacted on cinema-going experiences (chapter 1), the decline of cinema-going (chapter 2), the actual cinemas themselves and their relationship to the cities they were situated in (chapter 3), and finally, the practices of programming and exhibition (Belfast, chapter 4; Sheffield, chapter 5). Manning considers a range of factors likely to have influenced cinema culture in each location in unique ways, including wider socioeconomic factors, as well as specific aspects relating to UK policy, such as differences in the implementation of British film quotas and the uneven introduction of television services across the United Kingdom. Although in some cases, the microhistorical analyses reveal what the locations may have held in common with the wider narratives of cinema-going in the United Kingdom, there are also many examples of regional variation—some of which may come as a surprise. For instance, Manning's analysis of special screenings of the Coronation held in cinemas in Belfast serves as a counterpoint to existing narratives emphasizing the Coronation's significance as a televisual event, but also—perhaps more unexpectedly—it reveals that the event proved such a draw that it even led to Dubliners journeying by train to Belfast for the opportunity to witness the spectacle.

Overall, Manning's book makes a distinctive and timely contribution to new cinema history and the field's increasing interest in comparative analyses of historosociological accounts of cinema. Manning's thorough approach to the topic enables new perspectives to emerge. Furthermore, his detailed mapping of the two case studies, pulling together a rich yet disperse constellation of sources, including a variety of useful tables and appendices offering a comprehensive list of cinemas in Belfast and Sheffield, provides a rich resource for future researchers.

Although the Sheffield Odeon, like so many cinemas, eventually ceased to operate as a cinema, the building itself miraculously still stands today. Like many other cinema closures touched on in Manning's book, the building was repurposed. In this case, as a bingo hall. In this manner, it is a story that, like many of the others contained in this book, is one that encompasses both the ubiquitous and unique.