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The Magic Box:

Australasia’s Innovators Of Image And Sound

By Tim Armstrong
In an age which takes for granted demanded by WE was something that “Meantime, (my rival) Fray was
that everything is imported, it may only the large theatre chains could building the Fraytone sound system
come as a surprise to learn that contemplate. The small exhibitor, using the popular 78rpm discs. In 1935
projectors, sound systems and lamp- perhaps with one or two theatres or a I sold my shares in Cuff & Thomson
houses of world standard were designed circuit of country halls, needed Ltd to Fray, so the Cutone became the
and made in Australia and New something more affordable. Enter the Fray-Cutone (and later the
(2)
Zealand in the 1920s and 30s. Some local innovator. Fraytone.)”
American firms even licensed local Unlike many of its competitors, The Makers and Their Machines
manufacture. For example, the Small Raycophone Ltd. enjoyed reasonable The length of the lists may surprise,
Arms Factory of Lithgow, NSW turned financial stability and the support of but many of these companies,
out Western Electric Universal bases theatre owners, politicians and trade especially those claiming a sound
and sound-heads in the 1930s, and unions. Not surprisingly it was the first system, went little further than
Centrex projectors in the 50s. local company to market a
registration of a name, perhaps a
As interest in silent pictures took commercially viable sound projector. A
prototype machine and maybe a few
off, it wasn’t long before Australian and Raycophone sound head on a
orders and installations. Most were
New Zealand firms were manufacturing Cummings and Wilson (C&W)
under-capitalised and unable to weather
projectors. One of them, the Australian projector with Raycophone lamp-house
the Depression. The lists are not
Biograph Company turned out that was a winning combination.
complete, and the NZ component is
long-lived workhorse, the C&W.
sketchy, but they do show the scale of
According to a study by Brian local ingenuity. I invite our Kiwi
(1)
Yecies , the next step - local sound readers to write in with more
systems - had its beginnings when information.
Leslie Rowson and Charles Ward, both
engineers and projectionists from New 35mm Projectors
Zealand began work with De Forest Benbow: The work of William Viking
Phonofilms. The company had In New Zealand, Kelvin Cuff scored Benbow is a story for another issue.
established a subsidiary in New a remarkable first. In a magazine Bond: A silent projector made in
Zealand in 1924, and in Sydney one interview years later Mr. Cuff told how Melbourne. Bond himself was a
year later. Ward subsequently he developed the Cuton silent projector projectionist.
developed Auditone, and Rowson was while employed by Harringtons, the Centrex: An exact copy of an
the original patent holder for leading supplier of cinema equipment. American Century 35mm projector,
Raycophone. Yecies claims that the De With the advent of sound, major NZ made under license at the Small Arms
Forest influence can be seen in the exhibitor Henry Hayward asked Cuff if Factory, Lithgow N.S.W. Founded in
development of 18 Australian sound he could convert the many Cutons in 1901, this factory was Australia's first
systems, including the most successful Hayward theatres. high-precision, mass production, peace-
- Raycophone. Cuff took one to the USA. “I found time facility.
As a business, De Forest Phonofilm that Western Electric had the monopoly Cummings and Wilson (C&W): The
was short-lived. A contract with Union by linking up with Simplex, but RCA Australian Biograph Company (N.S.W)
Theatres resulted in some city theatres who had a very good sound system, had turned out the silent C&W, and later
showing sound-on-film shorts in 1927 - no projector mechanism that could teamed successfully with Raycophone
in Melbourne at the Majestic - some easily convert, so when I turned up sound. Marketed as the Junior for light
eighteen months before The Jazz with ours, I was able to make a deal duties and the Senior for heavy work,
Singer. with them. I gave them our New different models were branded with
Production of the sound head and Zealand machine in exchange for their letters and numbers. The model P series
their own talkie shorts seemed to be the sound system. - P4, 5, 6 - were mainly for small
extent of Phonofilm thinking. Contrast “I was able to work out how we theatres and touring shows. The last of
this approach with that of Western could adapt our mechanism with the these plants in use in Melbourne were
Electric, working with two Hollywood necessary sound-head and yes, the at the Progress Coburg, and Union
studios. Rival RCA Photophone special large turntable for discs as the Theatre, University of Melbourne.
negotiated an agreement with Western first sound films were on disc. So as For the change-over to
Electric to cross-license patents and soon as I got back to Auckland, I was CinemaScope, Hoyts fitted out many
develop compatible systems.W E and able to get the factory busy, first to make Melbourne suburbans with second-hand
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) the sound-head to attach to our C&Ws from their Sydney theatres -
vigorously pressed their claims to projectors and to Simplex and Kalee mainly models G and H - after
supply ‘quality’ sound equipment. The machines, and then to build two units adaptation for lens mounts.
upfront cost and ten-year service fee into one mechanism, hence the Cu-Tone.

22 2008 CINEMARECORD