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A TOUCH OF ELEGANCE

- WILLIAMSON FILMS, NEW ZEALAND

by David Lascelles

John Tait (Image: Fairfax Syndication) Frank W. Thring Frank Beaumont (Beau) Smith
s New Zealand commercial cinema flexing their muscles - Australian born direction of Frank Beaumont Smith, a former
Ainterests began to consolidate in the W.R. Kemball and Thomas O’Brien. freelance journalist, publicity manager and
early 1920s, a highly respected Australian respected producer of several Australian
theatrical Company saw an opening in the Williamson Films (N.Z.) Ltd was formed in films, that the Company started a building
field of exhibition. They had a vision, a plan, December 1925 and registered in January and acquisition programme.
the experience, knowledge and money. They 1926 with a paid up capital of £25,000. It was
had done it all before, only on a larger scale. an off shoot of J.C. Williamson Ltd, the Initially it began to acquire a string of
Their idea was to build a circuit of picture theatrical Company. Its founders and theatres in the four main centres, and later in
houses to a standard of comfort and style directors were John Tait, Frank Thring and Whangarei, New Plymouth, Hawera,
superior to anything presently offered to the Frank Beaumont Smith. Wanganui, Marton, Palmerston North,
public. The only major circuit of theatres for Masterton, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru and
moving pictures at the time was Fuller- Although Frank Thring was listed as Joint Invercargill. The man primarily responsible
Hayward, although two other men were Managing Director, it was under the for this expansion was John Mason.
Intelligent and dynamic, he possessed the
energies and foresight to establish some
order out of chaos that prevailed in the
exhibition business throughout the 1920s.

John Hamilton Mason was born 4 March
1900 in Wanganui. His family farmed in the
Parapara area before moving north to
Helensville. When his father was
accidentally killed in 1919, the family lost
everything. During the 1920-21 slump,
Mason joined the Public Works Department,
built a wharf near Opotiki and then moved to
Auckland where he joined a real estate
business. It was while working as a land
agent that he met Beaumont Smith (who by
then had dropped the name ‘Frank’). A little
over a year later, Smith offered Mason a job
as his right hand man and trouble shooter for
Williamson Films. He was soon touring both
islands, arranging for the rebuilding and
redecorating of older theatres, along with the
building of new ones.

In the beginning, most of the theatres were
leased, some in association with local
interests, and most of the first run theatres
were named ‘Regent’. To Mason must go the
credit for the building of a national circuit
and some of the finest theatres in New
Regent, Auckland 1974 - during demolition Zealand.

22 CINEMARECORD # 89