Page 3 - CinemaRecord #79

From the Editor...
elcome to CR Issue#78.. at last! There always seems to be something
Wto “throw a spanner in the works”! This time, unexpected health
issues, hospital and a slow recovery seemingly conspired to bring the work of
this volunteer, one-man band to a standstill!
Also, due the time commitments of a new job, we also lost our talented
“digital re-formatting” whiz, Nick Pilgrim, but welcome Zoe McDonald who
has kindly stepped into the breach to digitally prepare this issue for printing.
Once again, our magazine is bulging at the seams with lots of interesting
reading, but the word on the cinema industry’s lips at the moment must surely
be “digital”! The changes are momentous and with Australia’s last film
laboratory, Deluxe having closed its doors on April 19, the age of celluloid
film prints has now passed. For cinemas across Australia, there is now no
choice on adopting digital projection. It’s simply “do it - or die”.
As always, I am always keen to receive your letters, feedback and articles, but due to space limitations please
remember to keep it Aussie – which is of course in keeping with our role as Australian Historical Society.
Warmest Regards, Kevin Adams

n Sunday 26th May, the Regal Twin
OCinema at Graceville (Qld) held a very
successful nostalgic day including a special
screening of the film Cinema Paradiso. With
permission from Umbrella Films a DCP was
specially created featuring an Intermission.
hether the Memorial Hall in Canterbury
W(Vic) ever functioned as a true picture- A 35mm C&W film projector (ca.1930s)
theatre remained unanswered at the time of with lamphouse and sound head was set up
publication of Almost a Theatre (CR#74, page in the foyer, as was a display of old one-sheet
30). posters, daybills and 11x14 stills from films
Subsequently Ross King established that the such as: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,
firm Casey and Burgoyne did sign a lease to The Deer Hunter, My Fair Lady, Manhattan,
show films there, but the question remained: The Picture Show Man, Dr Zhivago, Play
did Hoyts step in and throttle the plan in order Misty for Me, and Snow White and the Seven
to maintain a monopoly in Canterbury? Dwarfs. The day was certainly a great success!
Tony Crawford
Proof that commercial cinema occurred in Graceville. QLD.
that building has been found in The Argus,
Monday 8th June 1925, which reported
opening night on Saturday 6th. The program hank you for Issue #77 – another great
was Abraham Lincoln and Southern Love. A Tentry into cinema history! The stories and
special military-themed show was then to be photographs were extraordinary!
screened on the Monday night. What a huge era was the period of the
Paramount Theatre at Bundaberg (Qld)
The article reported that the hall trustees and – great cinema days of our lives. The 1939
the council were diffident about allowing picture of the crowds gathering give a good
commercial screenings in a building built to view of the outcropping projection booth, is
honour sacrifice, but permission was granted it any wonder that they were often referred to
on the understanding that the pictures would as a “box”? One can readily see how the term
be of a particularly high standard. Screenings arose; it is though “the box” was the last item
were to be on Wednesday and Saturday nights. to be constructed and not important enough to
be part of the overall design of the interior.
How long this arrangement lasted is not Garden type seats were often a feature of the
known. No subsequent newspaper reference very front stalls of many cinemas. The photos
has been sighted. If that ‘quality clause’ in the showing the various events and promotional
contract wasn’t enough to guarantee a short stunts prove conclusively that Doug Rattray
– term venture, then Hoyts probably found a was indeed a true showman!
way to kill it.
Research Group The Clayton Drive-In Theatre at Narrogin
CATHS. (WA) was just left to deteriorate apparently.
When Consolidated Drive-Ins (Sydney) began
received my copy of CinemaRecord#77 to close down many of their theatres, a fellow
I in yesterday’s mail and must say that I’m projectionist and I sought permission from the
very happy with the way my article on the circuit manager to allow us to collect all of the
Bundaberg Paramount has been presented. I scrap metal available.
hope the readers found it enjoyable. We collected all the Junction boxes, electrical
I’ve had a read of the other articles in the issue wiring, anything else of a scrap nature, and did
as well and they are all very interesting and quite well for our efforts!
informative. It’s great that you are recording All throughout, another fine issue. Thank you
the history of these places, especially the for all the hard work.
regional theatres! William Gray
Peta Browne
Bundaberg. QLD North Parramatta. NSW.

FRONT COVER: An era lost forever. Respected industry stalwart, the late John McKenzie prepares to
make a change-over at Launceston Drive-In Theatre, Tasmania. (1970s).
Photo from the Brian Pearson Collection.

CINEM AREC ORD 2013 3