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As films were being made in wide-screen format there was little option for Australian exhibitors but to adapt
their theatres and equipment accordingly. The proprietor of a seven theatre Melbourne suburban chain summed
up the situation succinctly - "We got the cure before we got the complaint."

Apparently the advent of the Regal was not entirely welcomed by the proprietors of the only other Independent
theatre in the Essendon municipality, the Moonee Ponds theatre. Clauses were said to have been inserted in
Howard's contracts with the film distributors, at the instigation of the Moonee Ponds theatre, prohibiting him
from screening films at the Regal until a period of 13 weeks had elapsed from their screening date at Moonee
Ponds. Mr. Howard was reputed to have friends in high places at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and, after a few
months of the original system, successfully made representations for the period of 13 weeks to be reduced to
one week for M.G.M. pictures. The other two supplying exchanges soon came to the party.

The freehold of the Regal was purchased by Mr. Howard in April 1950, for 23,000 pounds. There were some
structural alterations undertaken during the years the theatre was under Howard's control. The shop incorpo-
rated in the east side of the theatre was taken over as an office and a connecting door provided. The windows
which were high on the east and west sides of the auditorium were removed and the resultant spaces were
bricked up and plastered over. Wallpaper was stripped from the auditorium and the interior was then uniformly
painted. Red velour curtains were provided co-incident with the installation of the wide screen.

With some minor exceptions, the film exchanges which supplied the Regal at its opening still supplied it at the
time of closure were Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Associated Distributors (later known as British Empire Films) and
Paramount. B.E.F., as it then was, released its product on the Hoyts circuit for one year probably 1949 or 1950,
whilst the Columbia product came to the Independent chain.

During the 1940's apparently as a result of a dispute with Hoyts, Warner Brothers films also came to the
independent theatre circuit. Warners, however, had to find their own Capital City outlets and did this by leasing
disused or seldom used stage theatres in Perth (Capitol), Adelaide (Majestic) and Melbourne (Kings). Out of
the way cinemas were rented in Sydney (Tatler) and Brisbane (Rex-in the nearby Fortitude Valley area). The
Rex theatre was constructed in the basement of a long disused Foy and Gibson building. What happened in
Hobart I know not- there were but four major theatres there in any case, Greater Union (2), Hoyts (1) and an
Independent.

Some excellent films were screened at the Regal during its 19 and a bit years of operation.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer- Gone With The Wind, Waterloo Bridge, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Wizard of Oz, Na-
tional Velvet, Pride and Prejudice. During the period under review, the famous Hollywood 'star' system was at
its height and it was always M.G.M.'s proud boast that it had "more stars than there are in heaven."

Paramount- Going My Way, North-west Mounted Police, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Ten Commandments,
Five Graves to Cairo, Holiday Inn, Sunset Boulevard. As with M.G.M., Paramount had its "series" films. There
were the famous "Road" group starring Bob Hope, Bing crosby and Dorothy Lamour, Bulldog Drummond,
Hopalong Cassidy and Henry Aldrich. Popeye and Casper the Ghost cartoons. Paramount too, had its news-
reel - always sub-titled "The eyes and ears of the world." Perhaps Paramount's greatest asset was Cecil B. De
Mille, a director, who was responsible for many of the greatest productions ever seen on the screen.

British Empire Films (Associated Distributors) - British Empire Films must surely have been one of the greatest
misnomers of all time as much of the product it handled was produced in the U.S.A.
England:- Ealing Studios, Associated British Productions.
U.S.A.:- Republic, Monogram, Selznick Releasing Organisation, Allied Artists, Eagle Lion (Hollywood).
Warner Brothers As mentioned previously, this product was released on the Independent circuit
for a relatively short period only but included Casablanca, King's Row, Yankee Doodle Dandy and
This is the Army.

Columbia - I can recall nothing memorable among the films made by this studio for the year or so it released
on the Independent circuit unless it was Jolson Sings Again.

No story of the Regal would be complete without reference to the tasteful type of music played before the show
and during intermission; it was always tasteful and never raucous.

Some of the records played impressed me so much that I purchased my own copies and still play them
occasionally to this day- whilst I still have a 78 r.p.m. stylus.

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