Page 16 - CinemaRecord #82

BARCLAY

he Barclay Cinema was the last
Tflowering of the traditional cinema in
central Melbourne.
It was the contemporary version, or very close
to it, of the great cinemas of the city: spacious, The Barclay was built within the walls of
well proportioned, and with a balcony. the old Kings Theatre, with room to spare.
Other single screens would open across the Cowper, Murphy and Associates were the
city, none of them showing a commitment to architects, a firm wellversed in cinema design
the old aesthetic. and make-overs. A grid of pseudo-windows
and tiling replaced a neo-classical exterior.
When the Barclay opened in 1958 the prestige Backstage it was still the Kings: the paint
houses – State, Regent and Capitol – and shop, scenery storage and dressing rooms were
The Kings façade and auditorium. most of the lesser ones, still ran four sessions unaltered, even to the names of some former
a day. Around the World in Eighty Days was in stage stars on the doors.
its last month, and Cinerama was about to open
at the Plaza.

When the Barclay closed after 18 years, a new
order reigned. The best-loved theatres were
either closed or structurally diminished, MGM
theatres and Cinerama were memories, and
the former newsreel theatres were screening
feature films. The Barclay effectively bridged
this transition until overwhelmed by the siren
call of the multiplex.

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