Page 19 - CinemaRecord #82

BARCLAY

The revamped foyer for Paint your Wagon.

After 12 years
the theatre closed for a
refurbishment on Saturday
evening March 14th 1970.
It re-opened two months later on Friday
18th May as “The Beautiful New Barclay” -
boasting a new lobby and new lighting… and
most notably, the formerly straight curtained
proscenium was given a new gentle curve of
gold curtains in front of a giant screen that
covered the entire west wall.
This was to introduce Paint Your Wagon, in
70mm and six-track stereo magnetic sound, for Stage drapes were now curved – in the modern manner.
four sessions daily. It ran for a year.
In 1971 control passed directly to GU which
introduced films from other companies, mainly
Columbia, into the mix. The theatre now
reigned as GU’s premier house. The last film in
was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which
was moved to the Forum when the doors
closed for the last time on 3rd June 1976. It
had been a classy venture.
GU opened one more single screen, the Bercy
Cinema (1965-83) in Bourke Street, a stone’s
throw away. This decision showed that the
Barclay could have continued on, but its
location, and the fact that it nestled into an area
two-thirds the size of the Kings building, now
worked against it.

The asset was ripe for redevelopment and the
6-screen Russell Cinemas would be the result.

(See CinemaRecord #80 for The Russell story).
Ma�nee crowds for Paint Your Wagon.
References:
Trevor Walters, The Picture Palaces of Melbourne.
Revised edi�on 2009. Personal communica�on with
David Kilderry, Alan Voght and Jon Medlan.
Photographs: From the collec�ons of Graeme
McBain; Kevin Adams; Gordon Turnbull and the
CATHS archives.

C I N E M A R E C O R D 2 0 1 4 19