Page 30 - CinemaRecord #76C

Top and Below: Gala Night at the Melbourne Grosvenor.

an advertising agent for all their Melbourne City
theatres except the Grosvenor so the promotion
was all my own work. The Gala screening
was followed by a large function in the Town
Hall (nearly next door). This event was widely
I then went to the Grosvenor as an acting reported in the press and ladies magazines. GU
manager. I had done an advertising campaign got lots of free press!
for a film in Hobart called Make Mine
Mink and this film was about to start at the Gordon Wright in Adelaide, next to screen Make
Grosvenor. The campaign was sent down Mine Mink, received the campaign details from
from Sydney (as was usual). Sydney. He rang me most unhappy that he had
to follow my campaign for his launch; it was just
The Victorian Heart Foundation was running a for fun. I had to do campaigns for the “Royal
big appeal part of which was the auctioning (or Ballet” film in Hobart and also in Melbourne.
maybe a raffle) of a home donated by a building These were large and very successful. That film
firm. I co-ordinated the fur people in Melbourne ran for months in Melbourne.
and the Victorian Heart Foundation people (who
were also on the Lady Mayoress’s committee) After the Grosvenor I went back to Adelaide.
onto a committee to run a gala night at the Because of television, things were getting bad and
Grosvenor for the opening of Make Mine Mink. the GU owned Clifford circuit was closing theatres
and they had to find work for one of their married
I wrote to J Arthur Rank in London requesting managers. So, being single, I had to find another
that the four major stars of the film send job. George Kimlin (the former Adelaide Regent
telegrams to the National Heart foundation. I manager) and others, in partnership with GU
was reprimanded by Bill Tinkler, the national GU had built the large Starlight Drive-in theatre in
city theatres supervisor, for not going through Mr Canberra. I was offered a job as manager as they’d
Rydge; nothing more came of it. had difficulty in finding a competent manager.
For the Gala we built a catwalk from the stage to I moved to Canberra and had tremendous trouble
about six rows into the stalls. The fur people got finding suitable single person accommodation.
four or five models to model the fur coats. The The best I could get was a hostel where you had
programs included a lucky number underneath to check out and check in every two months.
a piece of fur; the programs were sold in the The public servants in that city seem to have had
foyer. The prize was a fur stole. We sold the best priority on available accommodation.
part of the house to society ladies. The front 8
rows were sold to the Heart Foundation youth That drive-in was probably the most
members. The Lord Mayor and Mayoress came profitable in Australia at that time. It screened
to the theatre. The gala was sold out within a day two sessions a night which caused frequent
by the Heart Foundation. traffic congestion. The restaurant was large
and very busy. After six unhappy months
GU in Sydney got wind of the gala and wanted of trying to find suitable accommodation I
to come down but it was all sold out. GU had returned to Greater Union in Adelaide

Canberra Starlight.

30 2012 CINEM AREC ORD