In the first of two volumes tracing the history of Britain's most famous cinema circuit, Allen Eyles looks at its creation in the early '30s by Oscar Deutsch and colleagues, the evolution of the distinctively modern house style in the hands of its key architects, the takeover of other cinemas, the start of the Odeon circuit release, and the impact of World War Two. This book pays tribute to some of the best buildings erected in Britain in the '30s and to Oscar Deutsch, whose long battle against ill-health culminated in his early death in 1941."Odeon Cinemas" is lavishly illustrated with interior and exterior photographs of almost all the new Odeons and draws extensively on unpublished material including the notes of some of Deutsch's associates and company records. It includes a detailed list of all the cinemas that were part of the Odeon circuit in Deutch's lifetime.A second volume will follow, covering the years from 1941, when J. Arthur Rank took over control, to the present day.