Page 11 - CinemaRecord #86

The Barkly 1930s: Firmly in the Hoyts camp.

Barkly there were plenty of them. Hoyts was
instructed to widen the entrance and doorways,
So popular are films in war-time, the Trocadero runs widen the ramp from the circle to the foyer,
two sessions daily. increase the size of the bio-room, and upgrade
all the toilets. This work was in the hands of
Hoyts owned a site in Barkly Street closer to
the Grand. This was the Royal Hall attached
to the rear of the Royal Hotel, now made-over
as apartments. The Royal was Footscray’s first
(7)
theatre, dating from 1876. Hoyts finally
abandoned the idea of a new theatre, deciding
instead to revamp the Trocadero and make it
their premier Footscray outlet. The makeover
was completed in 1939 after which the Barkly
slipped down the release hierarchy.

A top film would run for a week at the
Trocadero, skip the next weekend then run for
three week nights at the Barkly. It became
home to a stream of lesser product, changing
twice weekly, with Fright Night or Ranch Night
taking over as the Wednesday staple. However,
this demotion was not set in stone.
In 1940, Hoyts commissioned architects H.V.
Taylor and Soilleux to make modest
improvements, including a re-alignment of the
staircases which made a little more space in the
entrance foyer.

The YMCA took a lease on two of the theatre’s
shops and turned them into a recreation centre
for women working in munitions and other
factories. “Members of the Footscray
community are aware of the need for a place
where women war workers may have the
opportunity to relax and meet their friends,
partly owing to the fact that a large number of
them are living in crowded conditions. We feel
that such a place is necessary to maintain the
health and morale of the women who are
serving our country”. ((5) May 1942)

By 1946, cinemas were coming off their best-
ever years. The Health Department began to
enforce regulations long deferred. At the

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