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I had to watch the projectors while George
did the change-overs, threaded up and
trimmed the arcs, because I hadn’t graduated
to that level yet. He said if anything goes
wrong, push that lever, which was the lamp
dowser. If the film broke, a so-called Bramley
device would cause the dowser to drop.

After this, George rang my father and said
Hartley did very well, and was much more
interested in the projectors than what was on
the screen, which was true and still is today. I
don’t care what’s on the screen; the films are
not my interest. I’m only interested in the
technical side of projection.

When I was about fifteen, they started to teach
me to be an assistant projectionist, and I was
given the job of filling in when the regular
assistant was on holidays. (I still have my first
Group Certificate from Stanhope Theatres). I
did this for a few years.
Maintenance was carried out every morning
between eleven and twelve o’clock. The
machines and arcs were kept spotless and the
Embassy Malvern (now renamed the Metro by MGM) c. 1955. Image: Les Tod. Jarrah floor was buffed with tan boot polish to
a mirror finish - everything was so clean. I
The front curtains were then opened, and the wanted to be a projectionist, but I wasn’t also learned how to maintain the DC
coloured lights dimmed to a dull red. The allowed to be. generators for the arc power supply, under
Cinesound News title came on the back cutting and dressing the commutators every
curtains, which were then opened and the One night, George Spencer rang my father and six months, an art which modern
lights extinguished. If this wasn’t done like said that he had a “run through” in the projectionists have forgotten or never learned.
clockwork, the manager would be on the morning, (they used to call previews a run
phone wanting to know what happened. through) and his assistant projectionist, Vin, The Embassy was one of Melbourne’s
was sick. prestige theatres, originally having about 1500
The theatre was leased and managed by seats. However, this capacity was reduced
Mr Leslie Letique, assisted by Roy Winacott. Often the manager would get the print a few when wide screen and CinemaScope were
Mr Letique’s office was off the front foyer days early and have a run through so that he installed. The program changed once a week
and had a porthole into the auditorium, which could decide which reels to drop out. (Because on Saturday night and the screening policy
enabled him to see the screen from his desk. he didn’t like dead spots in pictures, we would was six nights a week with matinees on
There was also a speaker in the office. drop out a reel here and there to tighten it up a Wednesday and Saturday. The Saturday
bit). matinees were for children with the usual
The auditorium volume level was set by a girl serials and shorts, and a suitable feature film.
using a remote control which operated a Back then, you weren’t allowed to operate
solenoid in the projection room. This would unless you had two people in the bio-box The Embassy screened films from MGM,
adjust the volume as required (the solenoid because, with nitrate film, someone had to Paramount and BEF (British Empire Films)
used to make a sound like a machine gun). keep an eye on it. There wasn’t all the hype and the newsreels were from Cinesound. The
This setting could be over-ridden in the bio- about nitrate film in those days; today competing Hoyts cinema ran movies from
box but you daren’t do that. One of the everybody is scared stiff of it. Twentieth Century Fox, Columbia and RKO.
monitor girls used to turn the loud passages so
far down that they could hardly be heard.
Embassy auditorium view from the screen. Image: Wayne Barnett collection
Leslie Letique and Roy Winacott also ran the
Liberty Theatre in Brunswick. I don’t know
who ran it for them, or anything about it. In
those days Brunswick was the other side of
the world and, during the war, you didn’t go
anywhere much outside your own area.

A chap named Harry Doidge used to be on the
door on a Saturday afternoons. He actually
owned and operated a theatre at Ararat. I
could never understand why he took tickets at
Malvern when he had his own theatre. I was
told, “well his picture theatre runs much better
when he’s not there”. Whether that was true or
not, I don’t know.

When I was fourteen, George Spencer said I
should learn more about the business; my
father wasn’t very keen on that idea because
he wanted me to take on a profession. I

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