Page 14 - CinemaRecord #84

1958. This was highly illegal under Health could deliver and collect their children. Every of consuming vast quantities of the miniscule
Department regulations, but Arthur did not week, without fail, matinees would start at butts which came from the other projectors.
seem to mind, as he had a network of 1.30pm and finish at 4.30pm, regardless of (One does not need long carbon trims when
“spies”around the other cinemas in the city to what film we were screening. Bass had come one only has about 6 slides to screen.)
warn him when health inspectors were about to the conclusion that it was possible to omit
to descend on the area. the second reel from any feature, and nobody During power strikes, when mains power was
would be the wiser. I recall one Saturday when supposedly unavailable for places of
However, business at the Pix Belmont fell the feature was exceptionally long, and the entertainment, Bass would start up his Victa
away quite quickly, possibly because of the support was a 5-reeler. No worries – show the lawnmower, lock it in the shed at the rear of
the cinema, and put a sign out the front stating
that we were operating on standby supply.
Clever, when you don't own a generator.

Occasional screenings of surfing movies on
16 mm took place on Sunday nights to packed
houses. Sunday night also hosted regular
screenings for the local Greek community. On
one occasion, we screened a black and white
film of a Greece vs. Yugoslavia soccer match.
The advertising of the session must have been
very good, as we had a full house of both
nationalities in attendance. All was fine up
until the time that Yugoslavia kicked the
winning goal. Then all hell broke loose in the
auditorium and spilled out onto the street.
Police were called, and the neighbours
witnessed a spectacular brawl. At the outset,
Bass calmly locked the bio door on the inside,
and made the obvious statement that it would
be prudent for us to remain where we were for
the next hour or so. We climbed out onto the
roof via the projection room escape door, and
watched the brawl in the street below, satisfied
Pix West projection room 1995, showing Kalee 19 projectors with towers in the fact that we had, in our own small way,
contributed to the entertainment of these two
introduction of television. As a result, the first and last reel of the support, quick interval, great nations on that night, and all it had cost
theatre closed on 21 March 1959, the final leave out the second reel of the feature and them was the small price of a cinema ticket.
program being The Wayward Bus and The Bob's your aunty!! If there were ever any Where else could one get a soccer match and
Card. After St. Bernard’s Church relocated, complaints, I never heard them. Evening a punch-up for $3.50?
the site was sold to Aldi Supermarkets. audiences were never short changed – they saw
The area where Pix Belmont once stood is now the full film. Occasionally, they were even Bass was also in partnership with Gordon
occupied by the eastern half of Aldi’s carpark. given a bonus. Bass had a few old nitrate McLelland of the Carlton Moviehouse, in a
newsreels, dating back to the 1940s. company named “Statewide Projection
For the next seven years, I satisfied my passion Services”. He would travel around the state
for projection by screening 16 mm film for a The slide projector was a marvellous piece of during the week, putting on screenings for
number of exhibitors, finally working up the machinery, supported on what looked like a schools and other organisations needing access
courage to visit Bass Brownbill at the Pix West very tall sewing machine pedestal. Two to 35 mm film projection, using a pair of
early in 1966 to ask if he would take me on as apertures, two lenses and a rotating drum portable Shinkyo projectors. He was extremely
an unpaid assistant to learn the trade prior to arrangement gave a nice, vertical wipe change proud to have screened the world premiere of
sitting for a projectionist licence in 1967. He between slides. The beast was fitted with a Mick Jagger’s Ned Kelly at the Glenrowan Hall
agreed, and for the next 18 months I worked high intensity mirror arc, and was also capable
with Bass as often as possible. He was an
excellent tutor, and allowed me to perform
tasks which only the projectionist would
normally do. I will always be grateful for his
teaching and support, as it allowed me to sit
for, and pass the licence test on 10 October
1967.

Bass was a great believer in saving costs.
Unlike other projection rooms of the time, one
would never find many carbon butts in the Pix
projection room – Bass had burning butts down
to a fine art. He could end a 2000 ft spool with
at least one quarter inch of carbon to spare, yet
I never knew him to burn a jaw or damage a
carbon holder. It always seemed to be a
challenge to him, and his success gave him
great delight.
Saturday afternoon matinees at the Pix always
proved to be a juggling act in timing. Bass'
reasoning was that parents needed to know the
exact starting and finishing times so that they From left; Jimmy Fenton (Plaza Theatre), Arthur Kishere (Pix Belmont), Bass Brownbill (Pix West)

14 CINEMARECORD # 84