Page 18 - CinemaRecord #82

BARCLAY

Six months before the theatre was completed
Greater Union had negotiated a long-term
franchise with Paramount Pictures. The
company had enjoyed a long association with
Paramount, and with the studio’s film lineup
as strong as ever, GU planned to use the new
venue as an exclusive Paramount house.

The Barclay opened on 12 December,
1958 with Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten
Commandments. Older filmgoers could have
been forgiven for thinking they were in a time-
The Barclay warp: here was DeMille’s second stab at the
auditorium in 1958.
theme, opening Melbourne’s newest cinema,
with a tag-line The Theatre Perfect which also
played off the original tag for the Capitol.
Once again the new version ran for nearly a
year.

Paramount’s films at the Barclay were a step-
up from the 50s films sent into the Kings.
Audrey Hepburn was at her peak in Breakfast
at Tiffanys and Funny Face; Jane Fonda and
Robert Redford turned hearts in Barefoot in the
Park; the boyish William Holden had matured,
and would never be a bigger star than in World
of Suzie Wong or Counterfeit Traitor.

Richard Burton shone in Beckett and The Spy
Who Came in from the Cold; Clint Eastwood’s
star was still rising with The Eiger Sanction,
while a now solo Jerry Lewis scored big in
eight releases. John Wayne and Kirk Douglas,
although visibly ageing, were still draw-cards
as shown by the success of Hatari and Last
Train from Gun Hill.
The Barclay can claim the award for the best
ever tie-in for a screen advertisement. One
slide at interval said it all: ‘After you’ve seen
Pyscho you’ll say, Make Mine Milk!’
Films from other top directors included
Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and two
masterpieces - Robert Altman’s Nashville and
Coppola’s The Godfather; (in simultaneous
release at the Forum).

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