Page 5 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

followed by a selection of historic 3 1/4 theatre slides. We found a new theatre organist among our members
and we'll hear more of him later. With the afternoon was getting on, and with 245kms back to Melbourne it was
time to go, but not before expressing our thanks to Keith and Norma and the presentation of a CATHS-V
Certificate. A great weekend convention with the usual comment, "When are we going to do it again"?

Happenings Concluded By Fred Page

Due to Alan Windley's illness which Graham mentioned, we were fortunate that Stan Gunn was willing to take
over the film entertainment at short notice to round off our 25th August meeting. Stan treated us to a mixture
of black and white, colour, and widescreen, ranging from the historic to the comparatively recent. Thanks Stan
and to the Rods for running Spysmaster.
Incidentally, since the above event Stan has had serious heart problems which put him out-of-action for
some time but by late October was recovering well.

The inspection of Her Majesty's Theatre on 5th October was a real winner. Assistant Manager Gil Whelan gave
us a comprehensive tour of the public areas and part of the back stage area. Due to contractual arrangements
we were unable to go on stage or into the dressing room area, but with the assistance of the stage technician
many members saw control equipment and we were given an insight into the facilities the theatre has for highly
technical productions. Most expressed surprise at the remarkably good condition that the theatre is now being
maintained at. Almost everything is freshly painted, the seats exceptionally clean and the only eye-catching
item in need of replacement is the Dress Circle foyer carpet.

Following the 27th October meeting we finally saw the fate of Spysmasher's enemies in the concluding episode
of the serial. Thanks for this long running serial Rod. We understand the next one is on 35mm. The program
ended with another reel of Alan Windley's theatre movies. It was great to see Alan back to form and the film
showed many theatres, including the Westgarth at the time the Valhalla was moving in, historic shots of the
Adelphi Carlton, Regal Hartwell, Merri North Fitzroy, Austral Collingwood, Odeon and Bercy Melbourne.

The theatre night at the Regent for "Sunset Boulevarde" gave the forty-five participants the opportunity to
admire the restoration of the theatre as well as to enjoy the spectacular show.

This is my last "Happenings" column for now. Good luck to my successor and "Seasons Greetings to all".

Letter to the Editor by Gordon Evans, Box 114, Sandringham 3191

I read with great interest the article by Ken Tulloch about Technicolour in issue 13. I believe that there is a
simplification, not Mr. Tulloch's, for it is in his first reference concerning the problem given to the fledgling firm
of Kalmus, Comstock & Wescott about flicker in motion pictures. Dr. Kalmus wrote in his autobiography that
K,C. & W. were engaged by a William Coolidge to examine the feasibility of "a new kind of movie projector
called a Vanascope". The inventors claimed that it would eliminate the irritating flutter in motion pictures. After
an investigation, K. C. & W. did'nt find the device to be a promising investment, but suggested to Coolidge that
he might help improve movies by backing them to work on the colour process which ultimately became
Technicolour.

I was disappointed that Dr. Kalmus did not elaborate in his book on any details of the Vanascope, although
another book, "Glorious Technicolour" by Fred E. Basten, mentions that it had rotating mirrors, and part of my
purpose in writing this letter is to see if any readers can supply any further information on the projector. It was
actually built and its principles similar to those used in cameras and viewers, with continuously moving film and
optical compensation by means of rotating prism blocks.

Coming Up In Next Issues

Grosvenor Melbourne Theatres of Box Hill Ivanhoe Theatre Mcleish Circuit
Lyric Bendigo Astor Shepparton Dendy 3 Brighton Melba Cobram