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MORE ABOUT …

THE EMBASSY / METRO MALVERN by Ian Smith

he Embassy Malvern
Twas one of 11 theatres
built in suburban Melbourne
between 1934 and 1940 in
response to an offer from
Metro Goldwyn Mayer and
Paramount Pictures to
supply films to independent
exhibitors.
The Embassy was built for
Mr Edward Ambrose Riches
of Brighton Beach. The
Managing Director was Mr
A L Leticq of Grange Road
Toorak. The architect was
Ron Morton Taylor, who
also designed the Astor East
St Kilda which opened
about 10 months later. The
two theatres had similar
layouts with different decor.
Rather than the usual ‘walk-
through’ design, the foyers as “... a jolly affair with plenty of laughs and HV Taylor and his staff had supervised
‘hugged’ the auditorium. At songs in the course of a totally forgettable (amongst other items) a regrade of the floor of
the Embassy the entrance story,” which sounds about the right choice the stalls, a fresh look for the veranda,
doors on Glenferrie Road for an opening night. The support was Fred innovative all-glass doors, improved heating,
were separated by a pillar MacMurray in Men Without Names. A renovated toilets, a projection room enlarged
from those on Stanhope Street. The staircase definitive answer about the opening date to take three projectors (the MGM standard),
to the lounge was at the far end of the foyer. needs more digging. and some bio and stage modifications for
Two sets of doors on the side wall opened into CinemaScope. At the same time the manager,
the stalls. There were five rows of seats in the The Embassy letterhead cribbed the MGM Mr Roy Kirby, was dressing the foyers. After
lounge and 11 rows in the dress circle. The slogan “Theatre of the Stars” and included the making scale drawings of the furniture and its
initial seating was 1,362 (stalls 855, circle sentence, “Exclusive Paramount and MGM placement, he enthusiastically told the Health
507). Pictures Only”. This was true of its Department that he would make “the sofa in
Hollywood product but, as with most of the the centre really something.”
Independent Theatres, the film mix included
those from British Empire Films.

The theatre
changed
ownership in
1948, and not
Management requested permission to open for the better.
the theatre in November 1935, seeking to Trading on
catch the Christmas trade. Whether they did so the popularity
is unclear. For whatever reason, the first of this stylish
advertised program in a daily newspaper theatre, the
appeared in the Independent Theatres column new owners
on Monday 13 January 1936. Usually this milked it for The stage setting boasted a reddish-orange
column would advertise a theatre opening at maximum waterfall curtain with gold fringing. The
least one week ahead, but there was no pre- profit. Even proscenium was accentuated by multiple
publicity for the Embassy. The program was minor maintenance was postponed. Six small bands of illuminated and patterned plaster
an all Paramount show - George Raft and fires in 12 years, and one father’s written extending across the ceiling and down the
Alice Faye in Every Night at Eight, described complaint after his daughter was “…..bitten walls. The so-called Panoramic Screen, and
by bugs...” (fleas?) suggest lax standards. later the CinemaScope screen, was perfectly
defined. MGM had installed better quality,
MGM purchased the theatre on 1 June 1950, more intense black masking than used in most
an event which coincided with the company’s theatres , which meant that there was no
Silver Anniversary. A building in need of a visible ‘bleed’ of the image. The Metro
major upgrade was now in the right hands. Malvern boasted “Simultaneous with City”,
usually with two sessions daily.
The theatre continued to trade as the Embassy
while work proceeded to bring it to MGM’s
exacting standard. On 9 April 1952, it
officially became the Metro Malvern. Over
four years, experienced theatre architect

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