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Notwithstanding the great cost, the
management announce that prices for
admission will remain the same.”

“The singing pictures will be screened for a
season of six weeks only, and special box plan
arrangements have been made at the Theatre
café, where tickets for all parts of the house
may be secured in advance.”

The film was the opera Faust, which included
Australia’s Peter Dawson in the cast, and the
sound system was the invention of English
cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth. The
Vivaphone recorded the singers’ voices onto
disc, and the same record then played the
sound, (hopefully) in sync with the lips on the
National Library of Australia “Flashlight of Canterbury Theatre - Saturday evening 16 May 1914” screen . Singing and Talking Pictures was
(3)
presented at the Melbourne Town Hall and at
At first, films at Canterbury were shown only pictures that sing and talk with absolutely Snowden’s Pictures (just across Princes
two nights each week, probably Wednesday life-like animation. it sounds incredible, but it Bridge). Hobart’s newspaper report was
and Saturday. Soon after opening night, an is true.” enthusiastic, but the impact at Canterbury was
ambitious fund-raiser, the ‘Fuji Jitzen Kwai’
was organised by the Congregational Church
committee. The floor was packed with stalls
selling fancy wares and refreshments, as well
as “sideshows of an entertaining kind.” From
the stage, Di Gillio’s Band played each
afternoon and evening. The fair was important
enough to be a two-day event, opened by the
Mayor of Camberwell. What is interesting to
us is the then fascination with Japan, a view
possibly reinforced by the visits of part of
their navy to Australia at around this time. (1)
The film line-up for 1913 included a re-run of
For the Term of His Natural Life, an example
of Claude Kingston’s show-biz acumen.
Although the film was five years old, he had
sensed that it still had pulling power. When
his offer to buy the all-Australia rights was
accepted, Kingston successfully re-launched
the film in the city and suburbs. A few years
later, he joined concert promoters J and N Tait
and, in 1947, became an Executive Director of
J C Williamson Theatres Ltd. (2) The interior - Hoyts style, 1922. Image: Ross King
“For weeks past the whole of the Canterbury something else. One member of that first
The ambitious film event of that year was theatre staff have been engaged in installing audience recalled Faust as a complete failure.
preparation for “Singing and Talking the singing and talking pictures, as a terrible The film and sound did not synchronise.
Pictures”. As The Reporter told it, “…at amount of experimental work has been
enormous expense, Canterbury Theatre will necessary, but it is claimed that absolute In keeping with its charter as a multi-purpose
launch another novel entertainment in perfection has been achieved at last. venue the Canterbury District Camera Club
held a photographic exhibition, and the
newly-formed Canterbury and District
Horticultural Society held a lecture on
growing roses (both 1913). The hall hosted
the formative meeting of the local football
club (1915) and, in the same year, the
management gave over one shop for an army
recruiting campaign. A Red Cross concert in
August 1915 raised £84 (that’s $8,000 in
today’s money).
Manager E J Riggs was a popular figure. He
worked hard to keep his audiences happy, was
President of the football club and involved
himself in other community ventures. On one
occasion, anticipating that the power was to be
cut-off (presumably because of a power
strike), he arranged for vaudeville artists to be
on hand, just in case. There was no black-out,
so the audience was treated to a double-
barrelled treat of films and performance.
Left: Hoyts in Charge, 1922. Image: Ross King

CINEMARECORD # 95 35