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The Embassy Malvern (and me)

by Hartley Davey
as told to and edited by Gordon Evans

n 1936, at the age of 10, I saw my first film
Iwhen I was on holiday with my Aunt in
Ballarat. At the time, I lived in the Melbourne
suburb of Malvern, but I hadn’t been to any of
the local theatres, which included the
Embassy (1935), the New Malvern (1921)
and the Victory (1920).
This was during the Depression and we didn’t
have money to go to the pictures, so the
Britannia in Sturt Street, Ballarat was my
introduction to the movies. I thought it was a
fabulous place even though it was just a huge
tin shed with daylight coming through holes in
the roof. I remember going to a matinee
session of the movie City Lights, starring
Charlie Chaplin. All I can remember of it was
seeing Charlie set a woman’s bustle on fire
and extinguishing it with a soda siphon.

I was eleven the first time I went to the cinema
in Malvern, when my Aunty Emily took me to
a matinee at the Embassy. When the picture
started, I looked back at the projection ports,
more interested in what was happening up
there than what was on the screen. I said to my Embassy Malvern c. 1939 (Image: John Budge collection)
aunty, “that’s where the pictures come from”.
She said, “yes I know, a friend of mine works I don’t remember what was screening. I was Because I was an aspiring musician learning
here. He shows the pictures”. Later, Aunty only interested in what was going on in the piano and organ, I was put in charge of
Emily organised for me to meet her friend, bio-box. I don’t think I slept at all that night, choosing the music for the pre-session and
who was going to show me where the pictures just going over what went on in the box. The interval. I used to select music from my record
came from. operator’s name was George Spencer. I knew collection and that of the theatre, and play it
him as Mr Spencer of course, and he was the on a Saturday night. This was a full time job
Aunty Emily’s friend picked me up in his car first operator. He had previously worked for using the Western Electric sound system.
and took me to the theatre. As we walked in, I the Film Renters Association, inspecting There were two turntables with a fader in the
felt very important going ahead of all the projection equipment to make sure that films middle. Records had to be played without any
patrons queued at the ticket box. We walked would not be damaged. breaks. The music had to be instrumental;
through the upstairs foyer to a door near the vocals were not allowed. The most popular
ladies toilet. Behind this door were steep stairs I used to walk up to the theatre on a Saturday type of music was light classical, or Victor
leading to a heavy metal door. Inside, I saw afternoon and wait for Mr Spencer to pull up Sylvester type music, from the pre-war days.
the huge machines that showed the films. A in his car. I would say, “Hello” and then end Fortunately I had a lot of those. I would play
small platform under the slide machine was up in the projection room. I became a “hanger- a classical piece, like Brahms’ Academic
slid it out for me to stand on and look out a on” at the Embassy. Festival Overture, or the Hungarian Rhapsody
porthole; I stayed there all night. No 2, as an overture at the start of the show.
Embassy Malvern interior c. 1939. Image: Wayne Barnett collection
The theatre had two sets of stage curtains, one
immediately in front of the screen and another
at the front of the stage. They were lit by
coloured lights, giving a light show to match
the music. At the opening of the show, a slide
was projected onto the curtains. The slide
projector had two lenses mounted on arms at
the front - one was for normal slides and the
other, a shorter focal length, made the slide fill
the front curtains.
At the start of the show, first the house lights
were dimmed, followed by all the lights in the
grille work around the proscenium and half
way down the theatre. The coloured lights and
the overture had to finish right on the dot
when the film sound started with a fanfare and
the title “This is an Australian Independent
Theatre” on the front curtains.

10 CINEMARECORD # 91