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He was in touch with each of the How The West Was Won started on June 1965. The next day, Mad, Mad
four projection rooms by intercom. He New Years Day, with some fanfare, World opened in ‘single lens’
started the equipment by remote control, courtesy of M.G.M., and a visit to Cinerama, with a grand premiere at
was able to monitor the speed of each Melbourne by one of the film’s stars, 7.30 pm. There was a parade of
projector and adjust it if necessary to Henry Fonda. It was a huge success glamorous models with Mad, Mad
correct the synchronisation of the world-wide and ran in Melbourne for World hairstyles while the Red Onions
projectors, and keep an eye on general almost two years. Jazz Band played. Then on Friday 4
picture and sound quality. June it was back to three sessions a day.
He was also responsible for the most The Plaza never closed for its
important and spectacular moment in the conversion to single-lens Cinerama,
show, the changeover from the though there were no day sessions on
conventional 35mm prologue to the day of the premiere. This was quite
Cinerama. His booth was partly an achievement, as the centre projection
screened off from the audience, but he room had to be enlarged and a pair of
still had to make his way through the 70mm Cinemeccanica Victoria Eight
seats to get to and from it, trying to projectors with Ashcraft lamphouses
avoid being accosted by small boys installed. This was done in special pre-
(such as myself), ready to plague him show shifts. Some seats had to be
with obscure technical questions. Such sacrificed. The capacity was reduced
questions were always answered from 865 seats to approximately 811.
graciously, however. Cinerama supplied custom-built
Cinerama ran a tight ship. Such a projection lenses capable of achieving
technically complicated system required an evenly sharp focus over the deeply
discipline and team work and there was curved screen. All of the three-strip
no room for individualism in the equipment stayed in place, though
technical crew. The projectionists were presumably Hoyts were no longer
all highly experienced and used to paying rent on it. There was little point
running their own projection rooms, so It was followed by The Wonderful in removing it. Cinerama now had a
some found working for Cinerama World Of The Brothers Grimm. This had great surplus of plant and to send it
irksome. The compensation lay in the not met with the same success as How back to the U.S. would be needless
fact that city projection jobs were The West Was Won overseas, but still had expense. The three-strip prints also
prized. They paid a little better than the a respectable six month run in stayed in Australia. Though it never
suburban rate, and there was not the Melbourne and did very good school happened in Melbourne, in some
necessity for constant night work. Even holiday trade. M.G.M. decided not to go overseas venues, there was the
so, after a year or two, some of the any further with Cinerama. They had occasional revival of a three-strip show.
projectionists chose to move on and just had a bad case of production horrors Now the Plaza projection crew was
were replaced by fresh faces. In Britain with the Brando version of Mutiny On reduced to the conventional system of
by contrast, Cinerama projectionists The Bounty and were still recovering. staffing, with one projectionist and an
were very well paid and the job was Cinerama held hopes of being used assistant on each shift. Places were
highly sought after. The same applied in for Cleopatra and The Greatest Story found in other theatres for the
Europe and the U.S.A. Many regarded it Ever Told, but it was not to happen. superfluous staff. Ted Sharry stayed on
as the ultimate projection job. High production and presentation costs as ‘chief’, with Don Albon on the
For some years, things ticked over had caught up with the medium just at opposite shift.
in a routine way, with each of the six the time block-buster films were no Though single lens Cinerama was
Cinerama ‘travelogues’ enjoying long longer bringing in the money they once not as visually effective as the three-
runs. In early 1960, however, Nicholas did. The era of three-strip production strip system, audiences took to it. Mad,
Reisini of Robin International, took for Cinerama was over. In Melbourne, Mad World ran for over a year and
over all of Stanley-Warner’s interests. the Plaza’s projection staff were started the wave of big-screen slap-stick
Reisini entered into an agreement with advised about one year in advance that comedies of the sixties. None of the
M.G.M. to co-produce two narrative- no more films would be made in the later 70mm Cinerama films did quite as
style Cinerama films, How the West medium. Future Cinerama films would well. The average run was three to four
Was Won and The Wonderful World Of be photographed and projected in the months. Battle Of The Bulge, Grand
The Brothers Grimm. Meanwhile he 70mm format, commencing with It’s A Prix and Khartoum were some of the
also took over the Cinemiracle Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. There shows. 2001: A Space Odyssey ended
company, developers of a process very were a couple of three-strip films that the continuous, ten year, Cinerama run.
similar to Cinerama, and with it, their never reached Melbourne in that form. Many people found Space Odyssey
one and only production, Windjammer. They were Holiday In Spain and incomprehensible, and it ran for less
This film was then presented in Cinerama’s Russian Adventure. Neither than three months. It probably made the
Cinerama theatres. It was effectively did that well anywhere. (Russian best use of the process of any of the
the end of the travelogue format. Adventure had a brief run in 70mm at Cinerama films, however, and is now
Windjammer finished its season at the the Chelsea in 1966.) considered a classic.
Plaza on 31 December 1962. The Wonderful World Of The The Plaza found itself temporarily
Brothers Grimm finished its run on 2 without a Cinerama feature when Space

16 2004 CINEMARECORD