Page 15 - CinemaRecord #76C

A surprise closure was announced in January
1986. The North Ryde Skyline was closed
on the 5 February. It had been be of the most
th
successful on the circuit, often surpassing
Dundas with attendance and figures.

What made drive-ins close down in such
large numbers? It was not only television, In January 1987 John Merrin called on me with
Naughty Nights
video, hotels and other night-time the announcement that Dundas Skyline was When Hoyts were in control of Dundas they
entertainment, but also had a lot to do with due to be sold to a developer. He was trying introduced a lot of “soft porn” features.
film production itself… to find positions for employees elsewhere These could not be shown at all drive-ins
and he suggested that I take a position at the because of the proximity of houses, but we
Well lit studio sets were no longer the Cinesound-Movietone newsreel library at got away with it.
main locations for productions, with Rozelle… a position I was quite qualified Early-Bird Sessions
filming inside actual houses and buildings for due to my earlier experiences working in When Dundas later came under GU control,
that depended on the available (and often several film exchanges. they introduced “early bird” screenings of
low) light becoming common. This sort family programs during school holidays.
of realism was not favorable for drive-ins A letter from John Merrin dated December When they were first introduced there was a
with the long distances between projectors 15, 1987 stated that the Dundas was to close huge roll up but many patrons believed they
st
and their truly giant screens. on Sunday 31 January, 1988. The letter would be able to stay for the whole evening.
included an invitation from John to join all There was often some delay in starting the
separate regular program.
Many a night I had people come to the other employees past and present (if available)
projection room complaining “can’t you at a luncheon at the drive-in. Present at the event
brighten up the picture a bit more? (by invitation) was John Jennings.
No amount of explanation, even inviting The closure of Dundas left only Blacktown
them in to view the lamp-houses and the and Bass Hill Drive-Ins - both of which
amount of current used could convince were then twinned. Dundas is now the site
people that it was the producer or director’s of numerous flats and housing units.
fault because it was the dim/moody image
that they wanted to create. In all full 23 years at Dundas Skyline there
was only one night that a screening could not
Another factor in the downward turn in drive- take place. This was due to a very violent
in popularity came with the introduction of storm when not one car turned up, so we
Daylight Savings. Later sunset made starting closed. Not a bad record!
time more than an hour late at times.
The Dundas Drive-In may be gone, but the
It had to be dark enough to run the advertising memories live on! H
slides followed by the film ads, and these alone
could account for more than 30 minutes, but one
Manager told me that the advertising revenue Photographs and artwork from the collections
was so good that it paid for all the staff wages! of William Gray, Kevin Adams and John Wilson.

With large family audiences in the peak
holiday period after Christmas, the late starts
would usually make the night far too late for
youngsters to see the whole film.
The move towards multi-screen cinema
complexes that could earn revenue both
night and day didn’t help. The huge tracts of
land that drive-ins inhabited could only be
used for a few hours each night, and the high
value of this land would prove to be their
downfall, their sale often funding the mega-
plex cinema complexes that replaced them!

Bottom and above: Abandoned, derelict and left to the vandals. A sad ending for any theatre.

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