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Daughter of Alfred Hitchcock steps in with last-ditch bid to save Kensington Odeon

Patricia Hitchcock O’Connell, daughter of legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock, has stepped in with a last-ditch effort to save the threatened Kensington Odeon cinema.

The historic Art Deco cinema on Kensington High Street has been earmarked for almost total demolition after developers Minerva sealed planning approval to turn the site into 42-apartment residential complex.

The Odeon had its last film showing on 31 August last year.

High-profile stars including David Suchet and Dame Kristin Scott-Thomas have joined The Friends of Kensington Odeon in calling for the cinema, which is nearly a century old, to be converted into a cultural hub called The Hitchcock, in honour of the director who watched films at the cinema when he lived in the area.

The campaign to save the 1,300-seat cinema and have it designated as an asset of community value, has drawn backing from over 30,000 residents as well as film stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Sir Ian McKellen.

Now, the campaign has secured the backing of The Hitchcock Foundation, headed up by Hitchcock’s 88-year-old daughter Patricia.

In a letter to Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, the foundation said: “The Hitchcock O’Connell Family wholeheartedly support Guy Oliver, Bruce Guthrie and The Friends of the Kensington (Odeon)’s campaign to designate that important building as an Asset of Community value.

“Furthermore, we endorse the proposal to create a mixed arts centre on the site and to name it in the memory and celebrate the legacy of my father, a regular at this cinema and a proud resident of Kensington.”

Campaigners say that the imminent move of the Design Museum to the area, which is due to be completed in November, creates a unique opportunity to foster a cultural hub in Kensington.

The council is due to make a decision on the building’s status this year.

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