Page 27 - CR

Greater Union’s Strand Theatre,
towards the top of Hunter Street, was
also a good place to see films, but in my
mind not in the same class as the Royal
and Civic. The programming was
generally of a high calibre, with a fair
share of the musicals and blockbusters
of the time that didn’t play the Royal.
Screen presentation, as I recall was
also excellent. A thoughtful feature at
the Strand was a photo frame at the
front entrance detailing the times for
each session. It listed the time each
portion of the programme hit the
screen, such as newsreel, trailers,
cartoon and feature. You always knew
where things were up to when you
arrived. Their newspaper advertising
was similarly helpful, often printing the
popcorn from the booth in the City
feature start times and suggesting that PHOTOS-
Arcade nearby, the best Popcorn I have
patrons arrive on time. Above & Left: The Strand Theatre.
ever tasted.
One of the best things about a trip
Queuing in those days was a fact of
to the Strand was the possibility of
life, particularly at school holiday
being allowed to buy, or have bought
times. What looked to be impossibly
for me, a bag of beautiful coloured
long queues would snake several blocks
down Hunter Street, never moving,
because everyone in the queue had
arrived well before the ticket box
opened! Eventually, the gathered throng
would start shuffling slowly forward
until finally you made it to the head of
the queue. Things were simpler and
quicker then: cash only, no discount
vouchers, no internet bookings, limited
price types. Ticket sellers also had
much better mental arithmetic skills,
and they needed to, this was an era
before calculators and automated
ticketing.
One memorable day at the Strand,
mother and I eventually made it to the
ticket box, only to find the cinema sold
out for a session of Walt Disney’s
Three Lives of Thomasina. What to do?
We hopped on a bus to the other end of
town and caught the afternoon session
of It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World at
the Royal. We missed the beginning,
but quickly caught up and the day was
saved. (Thomasina, by the way, played
for one week only, despite the full
house.)

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