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CINEMARECORD

lease, the Empire Company was not satisfied wirh the lease admits in two sessions. Mid week went as low as four people. By
arrangement and decided to take over the running of the Theatre April 1968 weekly admissions had gone down to an all time low
themselves once again. Mr Jack Ansellas the Manager until the of 196. In December 1969 it was resolved to recommend that
end of 1955 when he died and his wife took over the management exhibition of film be discontinued with effect from 31 March 1970
until the Empire Company closed the Theatre. She was reputed to and that endeavours be made to make satisfactory arrangements
be very authoritarian and blew a whistle if people were noisy or for other use or disposal of the premises and the property was to be
laughed too loud. I believe the Theatre was very well run but put up for sale. The theatre closed on Tuesday 31 March 1970.
nothing new was ever tried and the policies never changed. At the The 8,00pm session PRESSED FOR TIME starring Norman
end of 1956. the Theatre closed for over a month for major Wisdom with 4 tickets sold at 45 cents and one at 20 cents. The
alterations including the installation of Cinemascope. During this theatre was used the next week by the Te Awamutu Arts Festival
time the wall decoration was changed and plaster peg board Society for a production of BOEING BOEING and other
rectangles were placed in between each pillar. the proscenium attractions. The theatre re-opened to May 1970 by Skip Caldwell
was enlarged and the top and two sides looked like the top of a operating a new screening arrangement with the Empire Theatre
large picture frame, and a new ceiling was put in place with Company. The reopening film was ONCE UPON A TIME IN
concealed lighting and three changes of level. The colour scheme THE WEST. Mr Caldwell eventually took over the lease of the
was made up of pastel shades. grey being the background colour theatre and continued to run it until Sunday 27 November 1975.
with the wall decorations being pink, green and yellow. A large The last programme ever to screen was a double feature THE
error was nearly made by the architects in that the ceiling would SEVEN UPS and MY NAME Is NOBODY. Ian Davidson ran the
have obliterated the beam of light from the projeton room. This theatre under Caldwell's lease for the last six months of operation.
was picked up by the then projectionist, Jack Slater, who Weekly takes had been as low as $28.20. possibly lower. During
presently resides in Hamilton. This is probably why the ceiling this period the circle was closed as the emergency egress was
was higher at the back than at the front of the theatre. At the end considered to be unsafe. In September 1975 an enquiry on the
of 1957 the cooling system was re-arranged to improve terms of sale was received from the T A Light Operatic Society
ventilation and further vents were placed under the projection and it was resolved as follows: ''That the price be $20,000
room. Attendance peaked in 1959. By mid 1964 the admission inclusive of land. buildings, plant and equipment. but not the
prices were: Circle 3/-. stalls 2/6d. In 1963. once again plans for portion of land at the right.The deposit to be $5.000 . 1l1e tenn be
proposed building alterations were drawn for a new service area five years with interest at 7%. Instead TALOS were to lease the
on the empty section to the right of the theatre which would building. In May of 1976 the lease arrangement with TALOS
incorporate ladies and gents toilets, staff cloak room, film store, would not proceed and an offer of $25,000 from Mr. T Sargent for
manager's office and two ticket selling windows. By this time the land and buildings was accepted and the theatre company was
attendances were dropping due to television and this work was to be wound up and the assets distributed. After this. the theatre
never undertaken. Admissions in 1963/64 averaged 200 per was converted to a shopping arcade called the Empire Arcade.
session. In 1964/65 the average was 120. In 1965/66 the average This was never completed to a satisfactory standard nor fully
was 80. In 1966/67.60 and 1967/68.60. 1968/69.45. I969nO. 40. tenanted and eventually closed. In August 1989. the theatre was
HATARI in 1963 had 3.382 admissions in one week Summer sold at a public auction to Cash ·n Carry store partners. Trevor
holiday in 1964 had 2.260 in five days and IT HAPPENED AT Anderson. Noel Harris and Kathy Wright-St.Ciair for $38.000.
THE WORLDS FAIR. 1.667 in three days. By the mid-sixties This was well below the capital value of S 125,000 and land
admissions had dropped to 350 in a week and even the valuation of $90.000. Last year Cash ·n Carry sold the building to
blockbusters were not performing. Some of the top 1966 movies Livingstone Brothers.
were attracting less than 1.000 admissions down to as low as 200 The original ticket office frontage has been restored and placed in
admissions whereas in 1963 they would have attracted 2.000 to Regent 3. the reserved ticket box frontage is now the ticket office
3,000 people. Near the end or 1966. Saturday nights crashed to frontage at the Regent 3 Cinema. The ladies toilet window
less than 100. whereas in 63/64 Saturday allracted 500 to over frontage is now outside Regent 2. The stalls doors are the
1.000 in two sessions. THE SOUND OF MUSIC screened in 1966 entrance to Regent 3 and the circle doors are currently being
at both the Empire and Regent simultaneously and the Empire restored and will placed in Regent I. The total cost will end up
totalled 1.428 admissions. 510 coming on the Saturday with an being approximately $10.000.
unprecedented top charge of 70 cents. The Regent attracted larger
audiences with this film. By the end of 1966 and beginning 1967
auendances were regularly poor with Saturdays down to 80 Thanks Allan for the abOI'l' 'ed'

Left: A pair of C&Ws on RCA heads, all atop Simplex stands in the biobox within the Worracknabea/ Town Hall.
Right: Warrocknabeal Town Hall. Photos: 5. Gunn.

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