Page 14 - untitled

83. The Astor -A Survivor by Ian Hanson and George Florence

Some 17 years ago. in the very fu·st issue of" KINO", a small news item appeared wltich stated that the Astor theatre "was
closed again on the 4/4/82". The cinema. which is a noted landmark in the St. KiJda disnict, is located some 8 kilometers
From the heart of Melbourne. At that time the old Astor theatre had been overtaken by modem technology such as video
and multicultural television. The cinema itself had become rundown and literally worn out. It had survived for many
years as a cinema catering for Melbourne's Greek community.

Astor Theatre circa 1936

Today, the Astor tJ1eatre is a Melbourne institution, noteworthy for its presentation of double features and its interesting
array of vintage film classics in both 35mm and 70mm formats. The Astor is also noteworthy in the motion picture
industry as a great survivor. How it survives is somewhat of a phenomenon. Some of the vintage movies which screen
_here run for two or tlu·ee week seasons and usually attract a large audience. The patrons are generally in the "under 30"
age group, the same group that frequents multiplex-cinemas.

The Astor stands on a site of an early (possibly open-air) silent theatre known as the Diamond which appeared in l908c.
The Diamond was owned by Mr. Thomas Alford. (1) Mr. Alford bought the land in 1894 for use as stables. The Diamond
theatre became the Rex theatre in 1914. However. a letter dated 28th March 1914 from the City of St. Kilda advised that
the Rex theatre was no longer registered as "a place of public amusement" (2) Mr. Alford subsequently sought to renew
his license a few days later and the Rex theatre continued to remain in use as a silent cinema with occasional Vaudeville
acts until 1925.

A few hundred meters north of the Rex theatre, on the opposite side of Chapel street, the new Royal theatre opened in
1911. With seating for 1500 persons and all the latest appointments, The Royal theatre provided the Rex with plenty of
competition. The owner of the Royal was a noted businessman, Sir Stephen Morell, who in addition to the Royal also
conducted the Lyric theatre at Praht·an. Morell had entered into an arrangement with the giant Unjon Theatres combine
to obtain films for his two theatres. llJustrations of his two shows appeared in l 921 as being part of Union Thean·es. (4)
ln 1922, Morell merged his theatres with Frank Thring Snr.'s Associated Theatres company. (5) In addition to being a
14