Page 29 - CINEMARECORD-100

Edited by Ian Smith
Story 1 - Bert Harris The word is out to runner B who races back to Note the finish time. Management was happy,
The late Bert Harris was a projectionist at the the Palais to look for the film. He takes a while because their policy was “We do not pay
Regent South Yarra when it opened in 1925, to find it. overtime from 11.15.”
before promotion to the Regent Collins Street.
This hand-written story from Bert was offered At South Yarra we slow the machines to a Example 2:
to CATHS by his daughter Margaret. crawl. The big fight scene is in slow motion, a A delayed starting time to ensure that the
capacity audience was giving it the ‘bird’, audience was settled and even late comers got
The better suburban theatres demanded the best manager on the footpath gnashing his teeth, and their money’s worth when a smash hit had to
films at the same time. Quite often this was 10 the inevitable black-out before Part 9 arrived. be shown first. Bob Hope’s The Paleface
theatres, five north of the Yarra River and five What a night. (1948) was huge in the suburbs; half-full
south of the river, with only two copies of the Monday and Thursday, three-quarters Tuesday
film to go around! The reels were 10 minutes Story 2 - Brian Miller and Wednesday and a capacity house on Friday
in length, rushed from theatre to theatre by This story by the late Brian Miller was and Saturday.
runners on motor cycles. Two theatres could unearthed when a former editor of this
get the film before interval and three after. magazine was rummaging through old files. 8.00 Paramount News
Brian was a projectionist at the Camden 8.08 Two Columbia trailers
Example 1: Beau Geste (1927) with Ronald Caulfield Victoria, an independent theatre. 8.13 The Paleface
Colman. Cinema Richmond start their show Move on to the late 1940s and another aspect 9.43 Interval
at 7.45 with Part 1. It comes off the machine at of switching. 9.53 Cinesound Review
7.55, is handed to the runner who rushes it to 10.00 A Paramount ‘B’ from Pine-Thomas
Regent South Yarra. We have started our The film industry goes through major change 11.00 Finish.
show at 8.05 with a 10-minute newsreel. Part every 20 years or so, and one relic of the past Special trams ordered to take the crowds home.
1 of Beau Geste arrives and it is on the screen that won’t be missed is film switching. Our
at 8.15. Then Part I is sent the Royal Windsor programs were usually strong enough to run for [What Brian does not tell us is how the theatre
which is screening a “B” support and needs Part one week, but this required showing the feature he was switching with adjusted for this late start
1 by 9.05. From there it goes to the Renown first on three nights and then last on the other at the Camden. Either their show started at the
Elsternwick, which is screening a longer first nights. Depending on the status of the theatre, usual time (7.45) with an extra cartoon and
half. From there it goes to Centre Brighton, you might have the feature last for the main newsreel, or let Interval run longer than usual.]
which is having a late interval and will start nights (Thursday Friday and Saturday), but that
again with a 20-minute comedy. privilege had to be shared too. Story 3 - Brian Miller
At the Camden, we were sharing Goodbye
A system like this was a recipe for plenty of Mr. Chips with the Embassy in Malvern, by
black-outs when runners were held up in means of what was called a “single reel
traffic with late-night shopping. If caught for switch”. One theatre began screening at 7.50
speeding, a runner was expected to pay his and, immediately the first reel was finished,
own fine. it was sent down to the office and given to
one of two motor cyclists who raced it off to
Example 2: The film was Rudolph Valentino the other theatre, which usually began
in Son of the Sheik, also shown in Melbourne screening at perhaps 8.20, so there was about
in 1927. It was only a two-way switch 30 minutes leeway between the two
between Palais Pictures St Kilda and the The Hoyts Switching Crew at the ready. screenings.
Regent South Yarra, but both theatres wanted The nerve-wracking switch for projectionist
it in their second half. and motor-cyclist involved was the single reel On the night of my debacle, I was having
switch, a change over every 10 minutes or so, trouble with one of the arc lamps. The
Result: Palais has interval at 9.05 and starts matched by the complexity of the triple switch; automatic feed had broken down and I was
Part 1 of Son of the Sheik immediately. As soon one print and three screens on the one night. forced to feed it by hand. While trying to effect
as the 10-minute reel is off the projector it’s repairs as soon as that projector became idle, I
handed to the runner to take to South Yarra, In the suburbs there were never enough prints had little time to attend to routine matters. My
where a long first half has been arranged, and to go around. The latest film had to be on your assistant brought out a reel of film to load the
the feature is not needed until 9.35. screen as soon as possible. Taking a delayed next incoming machine, showed it to me,
release several weeks later meant that your saying “Part 3”, which indeed it was - but it
Our advice at South Yarra is that the film is in competitors had beaten you to the punch should have been Part 2. Somehow the
eight reels. Okay, we are ready. Part 1 plays at financially. Here are two examples of sequence of events seemed acceptable in the
St Kilda and Runner A brings it to us. Runner B switching, the first involved taking the scissors story. This was the first night and I certainly
at St Kilda waits until Part 2 is off the screen to the news, for a reason explained later. had no time to watch the plot unfold, although
and brings it across, while A is back at St Kilda the audience must have been a little puzzled.
waiting for Part 3, and on it goes. When A Example 1: Still pre-occupied with technical troubles, I did
brings in Part 7, he waves us goodnight, “See Putting the feature on first meant that notice that Mrs. Chips lost her life in a
you tomorrow night.” latecomers missed its start. The Secret Land mountaineering accident in Part 3, and then I
was a strong support, an MGM Technicolor changed over to Part 2 - sounds incredible to
When B brings in Part 8, he bids us goodnight. documentary about Antarctica, narrated by me now, but Mrs. Chips was jumping around
The assistant rewinds 8, and to his horror Robert Montgomery. like a teenaged. Because we were shipping film
notices that there is no end title! Reality hits. 7.45 Metro News (Trimmed to 5 minutes) away to the Embassy immediately it came off
The Sheik is nine reels! 7.50 Words and Music (Feature first) the machine, I had difficulty in finding out what
9.50 Interval I had shown, and what I had not. Worse still,
In the meantime, the Palais show is out and no 10.00 Trailer the Embassy ran out of film and had to close
runner is waiting. The projectionist brings the 10.03 The Secret Land down for about 10 minutes while I sorted it out.
reel downstairs and leaves it on an office table. 11.14 Finish How I avoided getting fired I’ll never know.★

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