Page 10 - untitled

CINEMARECORD

The hal l provided an entertainment magnet for the early isolated public halls of the east ... at Boronia or East Burwood. Croydon
settlers at the Kalorama end of the Dandenong Ranges that rise or Doncaster or Templestowe.
directly above Montrose. In its earlier years, films alternated with Other halls still stand. beyond the then fringes of the suburbs (and
a variety of live entertainments.
beyond the scope of this history): such as the Olinda Hall (the
By the beginning of the 1960s regular film screenings were still first home of the Melbourne Film Festival in 1952). the
surviving the impact of television under the exhibitor Brian Athenaeum Theatre at Lilydale and the like. All are reminders of
Dodge, bu t evenLUally even the Saturday night film show a long-vanished time when cinema-going was a more primitive
succumbed as it did in so many small venues in the outer-east of and uncomfortable but definitely a more colourful experience on
Melbourne around about the mid 1960s. the expanding fringes of the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
Independents in the Outer-East References:
Blackburn: A Picturesque History, by Robin DaCosta
All these small public hall cinemas of the outer-eastern suburbs of
Melbourne were in the hands of independem exhibitors. They all Box Hill: Ofticial History. by Andrew Lemon
shared the problem of obtaining films that the independent Box Hill Reporter
experienced in the face of competition from the major circuits like Cinema And Theatre Historical Society Victoria
Hoyts or Greater Union. This meant, inevitably, standing well History of Croydon. by Muriel Givem
down in the ·pecking line' to get a chance at the more popular
History ofNunawading, by Niall Bre1man
box office successes and often having to be content with the
Nunawading Historical Society
failures or 'also-rans· when finding product to program in their
Motion Picture Directory (Film Weekly)
halls (or popuhtr successes only when they'd passed their 'use-by'
dates at other more favoured cinemas). Operating as they did in Nunawading Gazette
tiny halls with modest-sized audiences, one way of coping with Retumed Services League
the problem of diminishing returns was for the same licensee to Ringwood: Place of Many Eagles. by Hugh Anderson
operate several venues. For example. the Box Hill cinemas. the Ringwood: Short Notes on its Development 1857-1963
Regent and Rialto, had interests in the Ringwood Town Hall Templestowe: A Folk History, by Hazel Poulter
Cinema. Or the same exh ibitor might work ou t of several
Windows on Nunawading. by Diane Sydenham
locations: Roy Fam1er is recorded as being the exhibitor at both
the Electra in Boronia and the Loyalty in Upper Ferntree Gully in Special thanks to all who helped with this histo1y, in particular
Eric Yeomans and Marlin Powell.
around 196 I -62. The more sites an exhibitor had. the more he
could keep out any competitor and. presumably. the more
bargaining power he may have had with the film exchanges.
George Kirby and Kirby TheatTes could not be considered a major THE ORIGINAL-PATENTED .
circuit, yet operated a number of venues besides the Ringwood OLDEST and BEST
Town Hall Cinema: other locations included Sorrento, Highett, PROT'EcntD tiY U.S. PA16NT N .. l.l71.n)
Altona, Sunshine. Maidstone and Bacchus Marsh.
Another aspect of co-operation between the independents was the
sharing of programs. with exhibitors switching programs between BROADCAST
adjacent cinemas: once again, like Box Hill with the Ringwood your SCREEN ADS and
Cinema, for example. ANNOUNCEMENTS
on
While some halls maintained pem1anemly set up projection plant.
other independents made use of portable equipment and , RADIO· MATS
according to fonner exhibitor Eric Yeomans, quite an amount of Accept no Substitute
16mm substandard projection gear was used, as at the Croydon
Hall Cinema and rhe Mitcham Memorial Hall alongside standard
35mm plant. Others had to be content merely with 16mm gear
alone, in which case the particular exh ibitor might well be TYPe DallY for:
severely restricted in the range and sources of films for t'-'1\tbnon' Aanotmc·vn.n.at Bccdi:u and Ounty J•c:rfomu.llCt'-'
Loc:al Newt and SocUJ Caltnd~r Chu<dw-Schoob-Y. M. C. A.'•
programming. l..l' c lndiYidwtl Ad"uWin~t 8ht or Humor--Pru.t r~nara.ph.
!»pcci.al S.lu-Priu Contt~U Agluing Unrwir LtgWadon
The Demise of the Public Hall C.t<h Una and D1ily Talb Popular Sona Cbonucs ~nd Jok•
5<r«n "'BBrt,._, .. or BCt. Evtnu Sporu.. El«tion Rcw.ms. Et<
Cinema
As cinemas. the old public halls of the outer-eastern suburbs have - Advertisement -
gone. Some still survive as multi-purpose meeting halls and social
hard to eet
venues for their local communities but regular film shows are
COLLECTABLE VIDEOS!
now only to be found in the ubiquitous mu ltiplexes like Knox,
·Large 188 page catalogue w•th
Forest Hill and the like, or in the smaller multiple cinemas at
9 5 categories of videos to buy
Boronia, Croydon and Belgrave. You have to go well beyond the
• Exclustve! Bi-Monthly Newsletter
suburbs to find relics like the Healesville Public Hall cinema or
• Discounts! - valuable spectal offers
Warburton's Civic Theatre. While the cinema chains are · Mention thts advert for a free Kift!
contemplati ng further multi or megaplexes at Box Hill and WRITE FOR DETAILS
Ringwood (and doubtless elsewhere) one can still imagine that
MOVIE BOULEVARD
the ghosts of old projectionists and the sound and smell of ancient P.O BOX lt30
projectors whirring away must still haunt the few remaining ST KILDA SOUTH, VIC, 3182
(Enclose 2 x 4 5• sL•""P•)
10