The Smallest Show on Earth

They expected to inherit the prestigious Grand cinema from Matt's great-uncle, but the solicitor revealed the actual legacy was the crumbling Bijou Kinema, nicknamed 'the Fleapit.' The Grand had already been sold to Albert Hardcastle, who owned the competing cinema and had been planning to demolish the Bijou for a car park.

They planned to reopen the Bijou as a bluff to force Hardcastle to raise his offer. Since he had originally offered £5,000 but reduced it to £500 due to declining cinema audiences, they hoped appearing committed to running the business would make him negotiate a higher price so he could proceed with his demolition plans.

Albert Hardcastle owned the Grand cinema and had previously offered £5,000 for the Bijou with the intention of demolishing it to build a car park. However, when television viewership increased and cinema audiences declined, he reduced his offer to just £500, making the Bijou virtually worthless in his eyes.

Old Tom was seen quietly carrying a petrol can out of the cinema the night before the Grand burned down. The film strongly implies he set the fire, though this is never explicitly confirmed on screen. This suspicious action becomes key to understanding the film's ambiguous ending.

The Grand cinema burned to the ground between the railway bridges. While it's never explicitly stated, Old Tom's appearance with a petrol can and his later comment 'It were the only way, weren't it?' strongly suggests he deliberately set the fire to help Matt and Jean succeed.

Earlier, Matt admits he wished the Grand would burn, and Old Tom quietly listens.

With the Grand destroyed, Hardcastle lost his primary venue and needed the Bijou as a temporary location while rebuilding. This desperate need gave Matt and Jean significant leverage, allowing them to negotiate the price up to £10,000, far more than the original £500 offer.

Hardcastle and his partners agreed to buy the Bijou for £10,000 only on the condition that Mrs Fazackalee, Percy Quill, and Old Tom remained employed. These three loyal employees had served the cinema for years, and their retention was a non-negotiable part of the deal.

Old Tom's final line implies he deliberately set fire to the Grand as the only way to ensure Matt and Jean would get their financial windfall. His quiet loyalty and possible romantic feelings for Jean may have motivated him to take this extreme action, though the film leaves this ambiguous.

His earlier appearance with the petrol can foreshadows this confession.

The fire destroyed Hardcastle's Grand cinema, forcing him to desperately need the Bijou as a temporary venue. This changed the power dynamic entirely, allowing Matt and Jean to sell the Bijou for £10,000, enough to finally afford their long-dreamed-of trip to Samarkand.

Hardcastle deliberately hid a bottle of whisky in the film reels, knowing the projectionist Percy Quill had a fondness for alcohol. Quill succumbed to the temptation, became drunk during a screening, and failed to properly handle the equipment when a film broke, causing the show to fail and patrons to demand refunds.