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Westrex sound was installed and
Stalls view under the balcony. The view into the auditorium, and vice versa, minimizes
any sense of confinement. Hoyts Archives.
A heavy-duty spotlight and slide projector Special tram hired by Manager Edgar Betts to publicise Brisbane's Mary Maguire in That
were part of the original equipment.
Light.' (Both films Warner Bros. 1937) Hoyts Archives.
provision made for 4-track stereo
sound.
As in each of its interstate cousins,
films for this Regent came mainly from
the major Hollywood studios. In its
early years, these were Fox Films,
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Warner Bros.
United Artists, RKO and Columbia.
Features from F. W. Thring’s Efftee
Films were the first independent
productions screened at the Regent, and
many of his short films were shown
there as well. By 1934, MGM no longer
exhibited through Hoyts, and more
films from United Artists were shown.
This was essentially the situation for the
life of the theatre as a single screen. In
the 1970s, films from some independent
distributors such as 7 Keys and
Filmways appeared.
A Grand And Gala Opening!
The official opening on Friday 8
November 1929 was preceded by pages
of publicity, and a full list of invited
guests ran in the Brisbane papers. They
included parliamentarians, civic
leaders, and local personalities. Among
them were Mr. and Mrs. James O'Neil
Mayne, (on whose land most of the
theatre was built), and the Joint
Managing Directors of Hoyts, F.W.
Thring and George Griffiths. The first
manager, Mr. Edgar Betts was sent
from Sydney to oversee the opening.
He stayed on in that role for many
years.
Man's Here Again. The front of the tram reads 'Errol Flynn and Anita Louise The Green
CINEMARECORD 2005 17