Page 20 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2002 #37

theatre to close in Melbourne, as the night the public first saw it. A simplified re-drawing of the original
undermined by the Toorak Drive In, There was no try-out of restricted plan before the 1940’s modifications to
the foyers which brought the Manager’s
only five minutes away. One story says screenings, just light to dark after
office downstairs. There never were
that The Regent’s unstable walls Saturday 14 February 1959. It took 8 toilets in the entrance foyer, a mandatory
hastened its closure, but that’s unlikely. weeks to clear the site. A photo of the requirement by the fifties. The cost of the
Hoyts had fixed the problem. Proof destruction made the evening paper (12) . upgrade may have been another nail in
that the theatre had simply lost its For a moment The Regent was news the coffin for The Regent. (Source: Public
Records Office) ★
audience was that The Regal Harwell, again. I like to think that the church
a theatre more to the tastes of the congregation was as sorry as anyone to
fifties and within 10 minutes of the see the demise of their great rival for
same Drive-in, closed three months hearts and minds.
after the Regent.
At the end the interior was as fresh

At A Glance
Architect: Charles Bohringer
Builder: W. G. Miller, Essendon
Built For: Associated Theatres P/L
Opened: Wed. 23 Sept. 1925
Closed: Sat. 14 Feb 1959
Seating: 1574; then two reductions
(1935 and 1950) to 1417.
Projectors: Powers on a Universal
base
First All Talking Picture:
Monday 27 January 1930
Universal’s Broadway Evelyn Brent
First CinemaScope Film:
Thursday 9 December 1954
The Robe Richard Burton Take a magnifying glass to the original photo and it shows a surprising amount of
Last Program: furniture in the balcony foyer: Jacobean armchairs, side tables, potted palms and two
styles of standard lamp. The view into the stalls was through a balustrade beyond the
Run Silent, Run Deep Clark Gable,
columns. The carpet pre-dates the standard Hoyts design. This now faded photo was
Burt Lancaster, Monkey On My Back.
taken as part of the advertising for opening week. The Herald 24 Sept 1925.
(Source: State Library of Victoria)
20 2002 CINEMARECORD