Page 22 - CinemaRecord #77C

s a teenager during World War II and being interested in radio and amplifiers I
Awas curious to see the source of cinema sound. The Western Theatre in Melville
Road, West Brunswick (Victoria) was my local picture theatre and the manager
kindly acceded to my request.

As we climbed the stairs in the dress circle Soon the job of record purchasing officer
a record of Victor Silvester’s music was and filing clerk followed, further relieving
playing. The piece was Poeme (better the assistant operator of some chores and I
known as Moonlight Madonna) which will saw the pictures for free, I think. Anyway, I
Western Theatre. always hold memories of my introduction would have gladly paid just to be there in the
to film projection. atmosphere and the action.
The bio-box was the usual minimal size with a When my parents shifted house to
small record player room at one end, separated Elsternwick, I wasted no time making the
by an enclosed descending stairway. acquaintance of the staff at the privately
owned Esquire Theatre in Gordon Street,
The small rewind room directly behind the Elsternwick (now the Classic with five
projectors was virtually a short hallway screens) including the blonde box-office girl,
exiting directly onto the roof overlooking whom I rather fancied. But she was a few
the tramline. On a hot summer’s night this years older and in those days a girl looked
natural air conditioning from the outside down upon a boy even a year younger.
world was most welcome. Anyway, my interests were more with things
Added to the purr of the projector, the smell mechanical and electrical.
of acetone and the night air was the visual
effect of a beam of bluish white light from a The operator was good natured Alec
hole in one of the arc lamp housings stabbing Harris who rode a 1927 Indian motorbike
into the night sky. with sidecar. The assistant was happy to
show me how to make up newsreels etc.
The tiny record player room, with a porthole so naturally I made sure any golf segments
view of the screen, soon became my domain. were in the program so my father, a keen
Every record played (78rpm) required the golfer, would see them.
needle in the pickup to be changed. It also had
Western Theatre projector. its own sound level/fader control. Ah, such Alec’s good nature was tested one night,
responsibility invested in one so young! shortly before the show, when I was wiping
over one of the projector housings with
cotton waste. Unfortunately, the projector
was running at the time and the cotton waste
became entangled in a shaft which protruded
from the front of the machine and jammed.

Western Theatre projection room. Elsternwick auditorium.

22 2013 CINEM AREC ORD