Page 27 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2002 #37

We didn't do much over that side of the going right up to Omeo and showed a good slide. I left them a
city, but we did try the Dandenongs. We Benambra. That's as far as we went transformer and the whole thing
showed at Mount Evelyn for a while, with circuits. working. My offer for the plant was
but it wasn't much good. The next move was to £400 I think.
I used to drive around the circuits Korumburra. One day I stopped there The show at East Malvern was in
every now and then to see how to have a look at the Mechanics Centenary Hall/The Verne. It had
everything was going. I went to Erica Institute Hall, I knew it had a bio box. been used for pictures before us and
to see an old bloke who had a hall It was a building on the site where Jim wasn't too bad; there was even fuel
there with a single machine in it. It had started in pictures. The hall was fired heating. We went there because
was closed down because it was silent losing money and the secretary of the everything was booming during the
you see. The projector was a Kalee 11 Mechanics Institute wanted me to put war. It was all right for a while.
I think. I gave him £25 for it. I brought in a show. Right or wrong he wanted Eventually the bio box burnt out and
it down to Melbourne and put it in the us. At first I wasn't keen because the hall filled with smoke. We closed
garage for a while. Korumburra already had a theatre, so I down at East Malvern and that meant a
Then I thought - get another sound went away to think about it. spare plant on our hands. We tried it at
head and make up a plant to go in the In the meantime we had a little Cheltenham for a while but that was
Pakenham Theatre. Jossie thought this show running at East Malvern. This was not successful either. The Cheltenham
was a good idea so I went along to see during the war. The plant had come Memorial Hall on Nepean Road was
Fred Bevans again. He happened to have from Manresa Hall/Apollo Theatre in terrible. The ticket seller was in an
another Kalee which he'd picked up Burwood Road Hawthorn beside the open porch in front of double doors
somewhere or other. He had no use for it church on the corner of Glenferrie and into the hall. When the doors were
so I said, "Right-Oh Fred, make us up a Burwood Roads. The plant was a opened the wind blew a gale in.
plant for Pakenham and we'll buy this old couple of old C.&.W projectors with Sometimes we had to lean our
projector from you." He fixed the whole Fred Bevan's sound. It wasn't turning shoulders on the doors to close them.
thing up and we installed it at Pakenham. out a bad show. When it closed down I There was no heating in that hall.
So then we had permanent plants at both went along and saw one of the priests. When Cheltenham proved to be
Berwick and Pakenham, and two unsuccessful we took the plant
touring circuits. out and installed it at
Opening night at Pakenham Pakenham. The old plant from
was Tell Me Tonight with the Pakenham was brought to the
tenor Jan Kapiura. It was a very Korumburra Mechanics Hall
popular picture in the suburbs, when we eventually opened in
so when it got to the country 1935. Our rival at the theatre
everyone wanted to see it. It wouldn't pay for good pictures.
really dragged in the crowds. He was buying cheap stuff. It
For some reason we couldn't was foolish because it was an
take delivery of Fred Bevan’s open invitation for someone to
modified plant until the come along, and that's what we
Saturday morning that the place did. We had a supply of first
was to open. That left no time rate pictures, and that's what
to try it out, we just unpacked it The quonset frame of the Valley Theatre. The hanging kept us. We didn't draw huge
and put it all together. figure was a dummy which caused a commotion in town. crowds, but we had enough. I
Fortunately it worked. Photo courtesy of Mr. Mal Lawrence used to go up there every
After the theatre opened we still Saturday night and operate it
showed in the Pakenham Mechanics We looked at the plant together and I myself. One day the fellow who was
Hall for a while, always two pictures, made him an offer. He said he would running the theatre rang us at home in
a main feature and a supporting film. have to find out more about it. Canterbury. "What are you fellows
We'd start with the main feature at the The dispatch manager for going to do with that show you've got
theatre and the supporting film at the Columbia Pictures in Queen Street was running in the Mechanics Hall?" I told
Mechanics Hall, then at interval we'd Bill Power. He was an ardent Catholic him that we proposed to continue with
swap them over. and a good fellow. One day Bill said to it. "If that’s the case I'm bust." As soon
About this time there was a chap me, "I hear you're looking at the plant as he moved out, we found the agent in
running a circuit up near Sale who in Manresa Hall. The Fathers have Melbourne and asked him what rental
wanted to sell out. We thought it been in touch with me to find out what they wanted for the building. "We'll
looked all right. We bought him out – to do. What are you prepared to pay take anything because it's a white
plant and his Fargo truck, solid as a for it?" I told him and he said that he elephant." I think the rental we paid on
rock, but it cost a fortune to keep on would pass this on. that theatre was £7/10 per week. We
the road. We had to find some one to Next thing I knew we had a deal. I did very well because we had good
run it and we also bought another could have the plant at my price pictures. We ended up buying that
R.C.A. portable plant for it because provided that I set up a projector in the theatre.
they were so easy to run. So now we hall to show slides. I made up a frame
had three circuits and more towns and set up a type of magic lantern. It

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