Page 24 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2003 #41

Time Technical
For a theatre that seemingly offered
all the latest features, decisions which
affected the projection suite - the part
of the theatre the audience didn't see -
were a bit niggardly.
The first projectors were Powers’
heads on RCA sound-heads, with RCA
amplifiers. Arc lamps were of the
Bramley ‘tin box’ type. ‘Mick’ Bramley
was Hoyts chief engineer in Victoria
and his ‘home-made’ arc was a
common installation in suburban
theatres. Somewhat crude in
appearance, they worked well enough
for films in standard ratio, but their
light output was limited.
They had a fixed-feed ratio for the
carbons, which were 7mm positives and
6mm negatives, so current could not be
increased to get a better light.
There was no motor generator. The
rectifiers were of the selenium type.
For the introduction of
CinemaScope, the Bramley arcs were
replaced by Calder arcs. Simplex
projector heads replaced the Powers
and a Kalee stereo sound system was
An early Powers projector head with exposed gears, always a characteristic of the
installed.
brand. Powers' last model was c. 1925. Image: Harold Aspinall Collection.
The last change of arcs was to
Westrex Fourteens (so-called because
of the diameter of the mirror - in
inches). These were the type with the
‘boxy back’, not the Peerless-style
Westrex Fourteens. At A Glance
In the best of the new designs of the TIME BALWYN
1930s the projectionist was no longer 447-451 Whitehorse Road
the forgotten man. Some of these
Built For: Hoyts Theatres Ltd.
theatres (for example the Village
Toorak) included a toilet for the Architect: Cowper, Murphy & Appleford
operator, but on this and on other Builder: T.R. & L. Cockram
counts, this room wasn’t one of the
Opened: 14 June 1941
best. It was small and pokey, no deeper
than the equivalent of two rows of Seating: 1,176
seats.
Heating: Donach gas-fired plenum system
I thank Alan White and Rick Yorke-
Wynne, former projectionists at the Major Fire: 3 May 1945
Time, for sharing this information. First program: The Mark Of Zorro

Eric White CinemaScope: 16 December 1954 The Robe
Restricted
Screenings: From 22 April 1961

Closed: Sat. 29 Feb. 1964
Last program: Boccaccio 70 Anita Ekberg,
Sophia Loren

24 2008 CINEMARECORD