Page 25 - CinemaRecord #77C

Ron was the designer and builder of the
`Zanda’ solenoid operated changeover
device. Another one of Ron’s enterprises was
an electroplating business during the day.
The workshop attached to the projection
room was handy too. Things progressed to
the stage one Saturday where Ron was in
the workshop, the first assistant was with his
girlfriend in the back row of the dress circle,
and the second assistant, me, was the operator
for the Saturday matinee, intermediate and
night shows. Heaven!
Revealing this now won’t get anyone into
trouble, but in those days you could be sacked for
very little. I was advised for my own protection
to join the Theatrical Employees Union. I soon Hoyts Windsor.
found out why, when one Sunday I went to a
meeting at the Trades Hall where the case of
an assistant operator from the State Theatre Alas, the day eventually came in 1948 when Sooner or later you can rely on something
in Flinders Street, was being discussed. He had I was transferred to Hoyts New Windsor happening to relieve the monotony in any
been sacked for damaging nine feet of’ colour Theatre, Windsor as an assistant operator. job. In this case it meant my only personal
film (six seconds)! injury from an industrial accident, as they
It also was a modern theatre of some size and call it these days.
With union intervention he was reinstated. It was so classified `A’. It was closer to home,
turned out it was only part of a lead-in and but not as much fun, and the attractively I will introduce this by saying I loved `RKO’
did not affect the film’s continuity at all. uniformed usherettes in long burgundy skirts and others whose films were wound on 2,000
and white silk blouses were older than me! foot quality reels in sets of four, carried in
One of Hoyts management’s ideas to large octagonal metal cases. Eight reels
spring-clean and freshen up their chain of My first day at the New Windsor was a would easily contain the average movie.
theatres, and save money at the same time Saturday matinee. Halfway through the
was to have a competition amongst the staff matinee the power failed. The operator In contrast I detested Warner Bros. etc.
for the best springtime theatre. Some might rushed downstairs to start the emergency whose films were in loose, shoe-polish type
remember the jingle `Come on out, spring’s power generator. tin containers in lengths varying from 300 to
about in your Hoyts suburban theatre’. 1,000 feet. This meant joining them up into
By the time he arrived back huffing and longer lengths on our own reels or otherwise
There must have been some Horizon-Grey puffing I had the picture and sound back on. doing thread-ups and changeovers over
paint left over, after the switch room and the It didn’t do me much credit though because twenty times for one film, sometimes with
generator room were given a dose, because for the rest of my time there I only made up only a few minutes to spare.
the cleaners got to and used it to paint film, threaded the projectors (20 seconds in a
between the seats and carpet in the aisles. hurry) and kept the place tidy. What a contrast For a single showing, which usually meant a
to the Padua! At least it had a good-sized Saturday matinee, no way!
It brightened things up all right, too bright! operating room and workshop.
The reflections from the screen and the aisle The minimum work solution was to join
lights were too much for the audience to bear. TV personality Graham Kennedy’s mother them together, without removing the leaders
So all of it had to come off and be re-stained. was the box office lady at the time. Graham or tails, and fit as many as possible onto a
I don’t know who paid for that but I’ll bet the became `king’ of TV nine years later, hosting 2,000 foot reel even to overfilling a few
cleaners didn’t. In Melbourne Tonight. millimetres. At the end of each part A the
`A’ projector would be run forward to the
beginning of the next part A ready for the
Hoyts Windsor. next changeover from `B’ projector and
conversely with parts 1B, 2B, 3B etc.
Some reels were stamped out of sheet metal
leaving sharp edges on the spokes. It was one
of these which flew off the rewind spindle,
hit the bench, hit the ceiling, and was coming
back to hit me when my hand went up to fend
it off, and a spoke sliced my fourth finger
down the middle. I nearly fainted, but with
medical help it was soon mended.

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