Page 26 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2002 #37

Occasionally when we had a really demarcation marked) and reel two was responsibilities. By this time I was the
good program, we would run Monday wound around the outside of reel 4. assistant. In 1947 all the shares in
night as well. There was one weekend Long features had lots of reels and Argosy Theatre Pty. Ltd. were sold to
each year when we did not screen. The therefore lots of cans. I well remember Selleck and Ward. Mel Elliott took
local Horticultural Society held its the task of carrying 26 cans of Gone over as manager and projectionist, and
flower show each September and held With The Wind up the almost vertical gave me both the impetus, and access
the priority booking. steps of the projection room and later to knowledge, to gain my licence. And
Film arrived in reels of a nominal having to carry them down again. so we ran for some years as a small
length of 1000 feet - but was always The screen height must have been theatre with two licenced projectionists
less than this. It arrived as a ‘flat,’ - accurate, because as you will on duty for each program and both
just a roll of film, not on a spool. We remember, in GWTW the title moves enthusiastic to improve the place.
had a good supply of wire spools of across the screen from right to left. At In the early years the Argosy did
2000 feet capacity from Austral Argo the Argosy the large letters filled the not use newspaper advertising. It was
and we wound two reels on to one screen without being ‘topped’ or the Selleck group that placed the
spool, joined together but not run ‘tailed’. For the wide screen version of programs in the independent theatres
consecutively. Tails and leaders were 1969 the titles were re-done and the column of The Herald. British films
left intact, and the join was made ‘in height of the words was reduced. were those released through BEF;
frame’ if time permitted. Reel 1 of a Ron Dudgeon came back from the Hollywood was represented by MGM,
feature was wound around the outside war and took over both the Paramount, Monogram and Republic.
of reel 3 (with the point of management and projectionist Briefly from 1942 there were films
from Warner Bros.

A projectionist’s method for measuring distance

At the Argosy we screened with 4 used this method to determine the about the 70 feet throw needed to fill
inch lenses. One of my projection length of the auditorium – 60 feet plus a 14 feet screen.
tables indicates that with a four inch the one foot that the projector lens Compare the author’s calculation
lens and a throw of 70 feet the picture was beyond the rear wall plus nine or of hall length with the scale drawing.
from standard 35mm film is 14.3 feet 10 feet that the screen was set back Spot on!
wide. As well as calling on memory, I from the proscenium level, equals

Internal numbers refer to seat distribution ie 13/16 is 13 rows of 16 seats.
Image courtesy of: Public Records Office/Melbourne Archives Centre.
26 2002 CINEMARECORD