Page 25 - CinemaRecord #79

St Kilda has a long history as the playground
of the city, so it is appropriate to mention its
theatres here.
Palais Pictures
Horace Weber, 1963. A city theatre in all but location, and with the
same management as the Capitol, the live Stanfield Holliday.
Goodman’s tenure as orchestra leader at the shows were every bit as classy as those in the
Capitol began in 1941. Like some other heart of Melbourne, but there was no organ.
orchestra leaders of this time, he had a talent for
mixing classical with popular music in concerts Harry Jacobs enjoyed 22 years as orchestra
and radio broadcasts. leader at the Palais. One of his most memorable
nights as conductor was the Australian premiere
The Capitol and its Wurlitzer will forever be of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, performed
associated with Adelaide-born Horace Weber, by 40 musicians and with two grand pianos
a master of the instrument. Weber played at on stage. For a time during World War II the
the opening of the theatre in 1924 (the only orchestra was an all-girl operation.
Australian to inaugurate a Wurlitzer) and stayed
five years. He was back in 1933-34 and again Victory
from 1938-44. Between times he was in Sydney, Hoyts were in competition with the Palais
as resident organist at the State. on every front, so live attractions were
presented, but a shallow stage precluded major
presentations.
Some other prestige suburban theatres did
include organ interludes, as well as the
occasional feature artist, but that is a story for
Cecil Bois and his Salon Orchestra provided the another time, or for another reader to take up.
musical diversions. The theatre exuded a refined
quality, so the orchestra was small, there were
no stage shows and no organ.
Acknowledgments:
Cecil Bois, with his wife on piano, had opened We are grateful to the authors of two publications
in the pit at the (original) Rivoli, Camberwell in which simplified our research: John Thiele’s masterly
1921. Cecil’s move to the Metro, Theatre of the ‘When the mighty Wurlitzer reigned in the Regent’,
Stars, when it opened in 1934, took him into the (2011) is required reading for every theatre organ
lover, and Ian Hanson’s ‘The Story of the Regent
big time, but Mrs Bois was no longer the pianist. Melbourne’, first published in Kino.
Her place was taken by Aubrey Whelan, soon Frank Van Straten and Kevin Adams assisted with
destined for bigger things at the State. photos & Brian Pearson with additional info.

Harry Jacobs at the Palais Theatre.

Not the only theatre to try all-British films, but CAPTIONS:
the Athenaeum stayed with the policy longest,
and became the best-known outlet for them. It
helped too that it looked like a London theatre,
admirably suited to the Cecil Parkes’ String
Trio, who had contributed the musical sound-
track to an Efftee short in 1931.

The Cecil Parkes Trio.

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