Page 34 - CinemaRecord #81

The refreshment area on the left of the main
Above: Plaza Theatre Plan.
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34 2014 CINEMAREC ORD
Peter Yiannoudes, in his book Greek Cinema
entrance was removed, creating a wider entrance Across Australia: Behind The Scenes
with two new steps up from street level. The Cosmopolitan Motion Pictures details
1956 plans also proposed the remodeling of that Cosmopolitan Pictures purchased the
the male toilets on the left of the foyer and Paramount in February 1966 and took it over
female toilets to be added adjacent to them. WKH QH[W PRQWK $ &HUWL¿FDWH RI 5HJLVWUDWLRQ LQ
The space at the right hand side of the foyer, WKH 3XEOLF 5HFRUGV ¿OH GDWHG 0DUFK JLYHV
where the original ladies toilets were, was to be the seating capacity as 1386.
a refreshment kiosk. Whether the changes to the
toilets were actually made is unclear, but likely. During 1966 a combination of English and
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By the late 1950’s the Health Department was ODQJXDJH ¿OPV ZHUH PDLQO\ RQ 7KXUVGD\ DQG
requiring some changes to the Plaza Cinema. Friday evenings with matinees on Saturday,
Harold Kitchen wrote to the Health department and still advertised in the Regional Theatres
asking for some of these to be delayed pending FROXPQ DQG IRUHLJQ ODQJXDJH ¿OPV RQ 6DWXUGD\
decisions being made about the future viability evenings. From 1967 Greek and other foreign
of the cinema. ODQJXDJH ¿OPV ZHUH VFUHHQHG DQG FRQWLQXHG IRU
Like many cinemas at this time the introduction many years.
of television was beginning to take its toll. The
Plaza had its last screening on Saturday 11 Peter Yiannoudes says that “since this cinema
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February 1961 with the double feature The was some distance from the centre of Melbourne,
Student Prince and The Affairs of Dobie Gillis. it became a rendezvous for the Greeks in the
On the same day Kitchen wrote to the Health area and the backbone of our company for the
Department informing them that the Plaza had SURSHU XWLOL]DWLRQ RI RXU ¿OPV”
8
ceased operating as a picture-theatre.
Projectionist Ken Lemmon worked at many
7KH +HDOWK 'HSDUWPHQW ¿OHV VKRZ DQ DSSOLFDWLRQ theatres in his career and went to the Paramount
was made for conversion to 6 squash courts for a three week relief but ended up staying for
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on the 7 March 1961 and these subsequently twelve years. Ken shared the part time screening
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opened on the 26 May 1961. with his friend, Sid Smith, when the Paramount
was showing Greek, Indian, Turkish and
The Paramount Theatre continued to advertise *HUPDQ ¿OPV RQ :HVWHUQ (OHFWULF SURMHFWRUV
daily movies in the Regional Theatres column and according to Ken the theatre was pulling in
in the newspapers. J & R Kitchen were listed as big crowds. Television was not a big threat to
the exhibitors. WKHDWUHV VFUHHQLQJ IRUHLJQ ODQJXDJH ¿OPV ZKHUH
there was a large migrant population, and of
Meanwhile, in 1958, three of the most course videos were yet to come.
successful Melbourne-based distributors of
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*UHHN ¿OPV 'LRQ\VRV 6WUDWKLV 5DIWRSRXORV On the 10 0D\ ¿UH JXWWHG WKH DXGLWRULXP
New World (Peter Yiannoudes) and Olympia of the Paramount, when it was hit by lightning.
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(Andreas Papadopoulos), decided to join forces 7KH ¿QDO VFUHHQLQJ WRRN SODFH RQ May 1979
and formed Cosmopolitan Motion Pictures ZLWK WKH ¿OP Our Love (E Agapi mas) and The
and began an ambitious programme of cinema Community Treated Us Unjustly (E Kinonia mas
purchases. Adikise). The former movie was a 1968 remake
by Greek director Kostas Karayiannis of A Star
Is Born (1954).
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were not damaged. The brick walls were still
standing and in good condition, as were the
foundations.
7KH 3XEOLF 5HFRUGV 2I¿FH ¿OH LQGLFDWHV DSSURYDO
was given in 1980 for Cosmopolitan Pictures to
rebuild the cinema as a twin cinema with a 582
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VHDW DXGLWRULXP RQ WKH WRS ÀRRU $FFRUGLQJ WR
Peter Yiannoudes “the cinema was rebuilt with
two separate auditoriums but was never used as
a cinema again”.
In June 1983 the building was still boarded over.
Lack of funds seemed to have halted the project
and Oakleigh Council building inspectors
commented that the owners had made tentative
enquires to get a permit to lease some of the hall
for used furniture sales.
In July 1985 Cosmopolitan Theatres sold the
building.