The film at the Bristol Odeon cinema on Wednesday, May 29th, 1946, was The Light That Failed, and the evening show had just begun when a shot rang out through the auditorium. The shot came from the office of the manager, Parrington Jackson, 33, who was found sprawled on the floor. He never regained consciousness.
Mr. Jackson was carrying the days takings to his office when he was shot, but no money was stolen by his killer. Police watched every customer leave the cinema at 9.30 p.m., deciding not to say what had happened, to see if anyone behaved suspiciously.
So who fired the lethal shot? One suggestion was that Mr. Jackson was murdered because he was too familiar with the female staff, but this was dismissed by the police. Another report was that the murder was committed by an American soldier.