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The De Luxe was safe, but typical
of the new cautious thinking, it made a
rather late conversion to sound (August
1929), taking move-overs from the
Regent.
Still showing silent films (now on
first release) were Union’s side-by-side
pair, the Melba and the Britannia. The
Melba was the first to make the change
to sound and took second runs from the
State.
The Britannia, the Bourke Street
theatre with the exterior described by
Ross Thorne as ‘Patriotic Edwardian’
was a conspicuous casualty. Sold to
Woolworths in 1932, possession was
delayed until January 1933 to enable
Union Theatres to move the massive
air-treatment equipment into the
basement of the Melba next door. By
this time the rest of the basement of the
Melba had been converted into
Architect’s proposal for the stage of a re-built Theatre Royal to be known as the Prince
Melbourne’s first newsreel theatrette,
Edward. The drawing is from the Sydney office of Charles Bohringer and is undated.
the Times, which opened in mid-1932
and seated 350. This venture
The Empire temporarily closed,
complemented Union’s State
then re-opened with The Sentimental
Theatrette in Sydney, opened earlier
Bloke, a move-over from Hoyts De
the same year.
Luxe after a record six weeks. It was a
The Paramount and Strand
success at the Empire too, running for
initially took the silent co-features from
another three weeks.
the State. Some of these films were
The Empire closed for good in
also concurrent with the independent
1933. For a short while it functioned as
Empire.
a dance hall, before it was demolished
By the end of 1929 the other silent in 1936 to make way for the Malcolm
screens in Bourke Street were at the Reid furniture store. Its success as the
Strand and the Empire. Dwindling last silent house was said to derive from
interest forced the Strand to ‘twin’. In patronage by the Chinese of the Little
1930 films were shown in the dress Bourke Street area and other
circle and the stalls became a fun immigrants of the inner city, who had a
parlour and then a mini-golf course. poor understanding of spoken English,
Silent films finished at the Strand but knew the universal film language of
because the Motion Pictures Exhibitors’ mime and gesture.
Association objected to films being
Once the majority of patrons had
shown at three-pence (two cents) and
heard a talking picture, they wanted
six-pence (five cents). They wanted
nothing less. Hoyts did not screen some
admission prices to be nothing under
of the silent films that they had
one shilling (10 cents).
contracted for; they simply took the loss.
The Empire management ignored
In the mid-twenties Union Theatres
this pressure for a little longer, and ran
had planned to build a handsome
a cheap ticket policy on revivals
picture theatre between the Star and
supplied by Paramount. This continued
the Strand, a provocative move into the
until October 1931, when the theatre
heartland of JCW Films – Electric
was then taken over by Hoyts Suburban
Theatres and Hoyts. This would have
Theatres as a sub-run house. This
meant five theatres, almost wall–to-
curious arrangement meant that the
wall. It didn’t happen, but Union held
Hoyts Suburban Theatres column
to their dream of one superior cinema
included an entry ‘Melbourne (City)’.
for Bourke Street. Then the Theatre
After a film completed its suburban run
Royal came up for sale, condemned by
it circled back to Bourke Street for a
the Health Department as a fire hazard.
few days at the Empire. The
This popular live theatre, next-door to
experiment did not last long.
the De Luxe, was almost exactly where
28 2005 CINEMARECORD