Page 19 - CinemaRecord #81

7KH ¿UVW ¿OP ZDV 3DUDPRXQW¶V Skylark, with
Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland, which
nd
opened on Thursday 2 April 1942. It was a
serviceable introduction to the new order, but
the public seems to have resisted accepting the
Kings as a picture theatre.

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went dark until the Christmas holidays, and
then it was only revival fare. Much of 1943-44
followed the same pattern, until, unexpectedly,
Warner Bros. brought a change of fortune.

A dispute with Hoyts saw Warners lease the
Kings and open Casablanca there on Friday
th
8 December 1944. This was one year after it
would normally have reached Melbourne. It
ran for 29 weeks, and set the theatre back on its
feet. The back-log of Warner product kept the
Kings busy for the next two years. By August
1945 Hoyts and Warners were reconciled, but
the Kings continued to share in the bounty.

At Easter 1949 the Australian Rusty Bugles, a
run-away hit, raised the possibility of a bright
future for live theatre, but later offerings
could not match it. They included the zany Now Paramount wanted the theatre. Within While this was happening the staff from the
Hellzapoppin, the Australian musical The KRXUV RI WKH ¿QDO FXUWDLQ RI See How They Princess installed a new screen and masking,
Highwayman, and the drama A Message for Run the theatre underwent a massive clean- and replaced the moth-eaten Act Drop with rich-
Margaret 7KH ¿QDO OLYH VKRZ ZDV WKH IDUFH up. Every seat, curtain and drape was either red traveller curtains. Out went the statues of
See How They Run. It ran for two weeks, went shampooed or dry-cleaned. New carpet was $XURUD DQG KHU FKLOGUHQ GHVFULEHG E\ RQH ¿OP
on tour and returned to the Princess for a long laid on the marble steps of the dress circle, and reviewer as “a moronic angel.”
run. It was a return to a pattern used for years: two huge Paramount logos in metallic silver, red
a try-out at one theatre, then move the show into and black were placed on the landings.
another.

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CINEMAREC ORD 2014 19