Birmingham cinema that ‘survived Luftwaffe’ before becoming strip club listed

The cinema was the first to show a ‘talkie’ in Birmingham after it opened in 1919The old Wildcats club occupied the old cinema(Image: Historic England)

An old Birmingham cinema that spent years as a strip club and shisha bar has been granted Grade II listed status.

The Futurist, on John Bright Street, has been listed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), aknowledging that it is of special interest.

The old cinema, built in 1919, was the first in Birmingham to show a ‘talkie’ film after years of silent shows, screening The Singing Fool back in 1929.

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Historic England, which recommended the building for listing, say that The Futurist is an ‘accomplished example of early cinema architecture’.

The building, designed back in 1914, has been used as a number of different things in more recent years, including shisha bar Babylon and strip club Wildcats.

Back in 1940, the old cinema was damaged during the Birmingham Blitz, surviving the Luftwaffe air raid.

It reopened to the public in 1943 and remains an ‘accomplished example of early cinema architecture’, with its brick, stone and terracotta dressings on the outside still remarkably in tact.

Arthur Stockwell was the building designer and The Futurist might have opened earlier were plans not delayed by the First World War.

The grand opening finally took place on July 30, 1919 when DW Griffith’s war drama The Great Love was shown to Brummies on the silver screen.

In its later life, The Futurist was known as the Cannon Cinema, though it shut to film lovers in September 1991.

Louise Brennan, Historic England regional director for the Midlands, said: “Given its age, The Futurist still looks fantastic, it has an imposing presence befitting of its pioneering role.

“It survived attack from the Luftwaffe and the redevelopment of Birmingham and now benefits from the recognition and protection of listed status.”

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society which campaigns to save outstanding buildings, added: “Over 105 years of history, the Futurist has been a real survivor: From trailblazing early ‘talkies’ to blockbuster favourites, since closing as a cinema it’s been an ‘adult’ nightclub, shisha lounge, and a seafood restaurant.

“But no matter the times, the value and versatility of 20th century heritage endures.

“It’s wonderful to see this handsome old gent of a building now recognised with national listing.”