Page 34 - CR

Many well-known artists performed at the
Regent, along with the famous. In July 1934,
Jean Batten appeared on stage and gave a 20-
minute talk on her flight from England. The
film that followed was most appropriately
titled Above The Clouds.

For extra-long programs, management made
arrangements with the Tramways for the last
trams to wait outside the theatre until the
show had finished. Trams were also used
for advertising films showing at the Regent.
Each week a member of staff went to the
tram depot to paste on the tram billboards a Staff promoting Paramount week in 1934.
poster for the current program.

Paramount Pictures Week ran from Flush with money from his deal with J. In November 1948 the Ernemann II projectors
September 1 to 8 in 1934, kicking off with Arthur Rank in England, R. J. Kerridge buys and the recently installed high intensity
Alice in Wonderland and then featured a the J.C. Williamson Picture Corporation Peerless arcs were replaced with Kalee-12
different film each day. taking ownership in September l946. machines with G3-•Duosonic sound heads
and amplifiers along with Vulcan arcs. A
The 1930s also saw an excursion train to Paul Kallenberg’s comments are not recorded special slide projector was constructed for
Wellington most weekends. This train left when told that from April 23, 1948 the policy use with the new plant. A novel experiment
Wanganui at 2am and the Regent used to for Kerridge-Odeon in Wanganui would was carried out at the theatre where the
run a special session from 11pm to 1am on change with the Regent taking over the projection port glasses were removed so
Friday for the benefit of excursionists. Majestic releases and vice versa. Majestic that the light beam had an unobstructed
manager Tom Damerell could see no point path to the screen.
At the end of 1942 Mr K. Murray left as to the change. This was no doubt due to the
projectionist, a Mr H. Tapson took over and recent purchase and film hire agreements Both manager Paul Kallenberg and
was replaced by Eldon Burkett who left in the new contracts with recently signed projectionist T.S. Bristol said it vastly
after 15 months. During that time new high with distributors. improved screen definition. To counteract
intensity arcs were installed. the machine noise which percolated into the
auditorium without the glasses, cones were
At this time, the theatre was playing a built from the lens to the port openings.
mixture of major and minor first-release
films and second-string re-runs. These were October 30, 1950 saw Amalgamated Theatres
sometimes a double-feature, sometimes a open their new £100,000, 1028 seat Embassy
single; manager Paul Kallenberg was not Theatre. For the Regent it was business as
generally impressed with the quality of usual, while the Majestic was still basking
product. For instance best of the bunch was in its newly designed foyer, Nibble Nook and
Pink String and Ceiling Wax in November Coffee Bar - which were completed some
1946, but the following month it was The Foyer 1945. twelve months earlier.
Conspirators with Return of the Demobbed.
CinemaScope came around 1956 and on
August 17 the Regent screened Warner
Bros Tiger in the Sky. In the middle of 1958
projectionist Derek Ireland was pleased
to see a new set of Kalee-19s projectors
with President Arcs installed replacing
the old Kalee-12s.

As the 1960s dawned, the river city had
increased its population to 34,694 and was
serviced by three theatres and residents
were spoilt in their choice of cinemas and
films. However changing lifestyles and
the beginning of television saw an overall
decline in attendances. The Regent cancelled
its morning and afternoon sessions except
on Friday, Saturday and school holidays.
No longer was there any need to 'book your
seat’. Jack Valentine had replaced Derek
Proscenium 1945.
Ireland as projectionist.

34 2012 CINEM AREC ORD