LOOKING Back's rewind last month to forgotten films produced in East Lancashire in the 1920s and 1930s made Darwen ancestor hunter Anne Stokes wonder if readers could help her trace another 'local' film in which her late great uncle starred.

It was called The Silver Star and was described as a 'dance craze film' when it was screened in November, 1921, at the Palladium in Darwen, which claimed to be "the finest seated and ventilated cinema in Lancashire."

Shot in the silent-move era at the famous Tower Ballroom in Blackpool when ragtime jazz was all the rage, on its arrival in Darwen it was no doubt accompanied by the "splendid music by the Palladium Orchestra (The Talk of the Town)," boasted of in the cinema's advertisement that week.

Mrs Stokes' great uncle was Robert Thomas Almond, who died at his home in Limes Avenue, Darwen, in 1930, aged only 37. Before moving to Blackpool, he had been connected with the dancing academy founded by his parents more than 30 years earlier in Bridge Street -- a place which, according to his obituary in the old Darwen News, "for many years was a most popular institution in the town."

The News added: "In his early days, the deceased gentleman became a clever musician and an equally clever exponent of Terpsichorean art."

He was also a noted swimmer in his youth, having at one time been the fastest swimmer in the country over 50 yards. But it was his subsequent role as master of ceremonies at the Tower Ballroom that earned him a starring spot in the film and sufficient fame for him to have a "featuring Mr R.T. Almond" billing in the Palladium's ad.

Returning to Darwen, he became the licensee of the Railway Hotel in Railway Road and was associated with the nearby Theatre Royal, where he conducted the orchestra.

"He was a prolific producer of dance music and his compositions were in much demand throughout many parts of the country. In conjunction with his father and the family, he also introduced several new dances," the News reported.

Says Mrs Stokes: "R.T. Almond seems to have been an extrovert and a very artistic soul.

"I have tried to find out more about The Silver Star, but neither Blackpool Tower's archivist nor the North West Film Archive have been able to help. As a result of my family history research, I am in touch with other family members in the USA, Spain and Burton-on-Trent and we would all love to track down the film and view it.

"I hope readers can help with information on finding the film or about the Almonds and their dancing academies -- the one in Bridge Street and another that they had at Bolton." If you can put Mrs Stokes in the picture, drop her a line at 16 Peregrine Drive, Darwen BB3 0JL.

The Theatre Royal in Darwen

The Theatre Royal in Darwen, pictured in 1953 (right), when it was home to the Darwen Soap Company and potato merchant W.H. Basnett, was built in 1877 as a temperance hall. But the venture failed soon afterwards and it became a theatre, with the earliest performances being by repertory companies. It changed its name to the Hippodrome in 1908 and among the old-time stars said to have graced its stage are Charlie Chaplin, playing a page boy in 'Sherlock Holmes,' comedian Dan Leno, legendary escapologist Houdini and famous magician Chung Ling Soo.

The theatre switched to cinema in the 1930s, but closed as a place of entertainment only a few years later and was used afterwards as offices and warehouses. It was demolished in 1961 just a few months after being used as a setting in the Norman Wisdom comedy film There Was A Crooked Man, partly filmed in Darwen, in which it featured as the McKillup Arms Hotel, while several hundred Darweners were extras.