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shown for a period Glen: Yeah... we had Sunday Too Far
maybe six or seven Away....great film ... Jack Thompson. The Film
weeks ... and then they Corporation were doing magnificently well...
could be released in until the eastern states started raiding it. Taking
the suburban areas. directors and producers, enticing them to
That protection period Victoria and New South Wales. Once you start
was pretty well “hard losing people, your production side goes down
and fast”...you the drain. They [SAFC] were producing
couldn't bother it. magnificent movies.

Rick: Were there any Rick: Was the My Fair Lady Theatre
stand-out films shown successful? And what do you think led to its
at My Fair Lady decline?
during your time as
manager there? Glen: It was always successful, very successful
in the beginning. But things in the city changed.
Glen: One of the Hindley Street has always been a hotspot of
biggest movies.., apart hotels, weekends, drunks everywhere. When
from My Fair Lady, the government changed the transport, the Port
one particular movie Adelaide buses used to run from the Port right
which I recall was down Hindley Street where there was a bus stop
Robert Redford and right near the Fair Lady. Now when you were
Barbra Streisand in showing a big movie, you ought to see all the
The Way We Were. In people getting off the bus from the Port area.
fact the cinema won a When they cut that out, and changed Rundle
global award... for the Street into the mall, and diverted all the
longest running, single transport, it made a big difference to the Fair
screening cinema, Lady. Jack Freeman, my boss said “those
showing four sessions bastards ... their ruining us”.
daily ... it ran for
13 months. The End of the Fair Lady
Rick: That movie ran The Freemans continued to own and operate
longer than My Fair the Fair Lady theatre until 1985/86, when they
Lady? sold it. Renamed the Classic Theatre, the
venue was used to screen Art-house films, to
The Fair Lady 1986 Image: Les Tod Glen: Oh yes, it had a host functions, and show plays, dance
special award from productions and musical acts. Much of the
(Note: Some of my questions have been altered Columbia Pictures ... It was a terrific film ... it decor and utilities including the air-
in the transcription to make the conversation was a mighty film. conditioning was still original from 1966, and
more coherent and clear.) in need of urgent repairs. The cost was too
Rick: Were there any other films or premieres? much, and the new owners decided to close and
Rick: What would you say your role was [at My sell the theatre. There was a final movie
Fair Lady Theatre]? Glen: Superman ... I was responsible for all the screening held the night before its official
advertising ... on the side wings [of the Fair closure; a preview screening of Pee Wee's Big
Glen: Well... I was manager, and while the Lady Theatre] there was a gigantic Adventure. It officially closed on 21 February
Warner was still operating I was General Superman... that we arranged in Adelaide. 1988, and was demolished in late 1989. Shortly
Manager. There was a guy in Western Australia who used before its demolition, there was a final gig held
photographs ... he could reproduce from there, a music showcase called “Farewell Fair
Rick: What was Warner's connection to the photographs, anything you want ... 20 to 30 feet Lady”.
premiere of My Fair Lady? high. I said "see if we can get onto him, see if
we can get a gigantic Superman". He came back A new $75 million dollar complex was built in
Glen: Warner Brothers were well behind the to us and said, yeah we can do that. We had a its place with multi-storey car parking,
construction [of the My Fair Lady Theatre] 30 foot Superman... Absolutely outstanding. numerous shop fronts, a night club, a plaza and
and the movie as far as Adelaide was People used to say "how did you..???" It was a multi-screen cinema, this new complex was
concerned... My Fair Lady, they were also outstanding, outstanding. It was a long running named the Cosmopolitan and was officially
involved with the Warner because it was movie that one, we did very well from that. opened by Premier John Bannon on 12 April
named the Warner. 1991.
Rick: What was your association with the South
Rick: What kinds of movies were shown [at My Australian Film Corp? Many of the shop fronts were occupied and
Fair Lady]? Were they predominantly Warner Greater Union ran the multi-screen cinema
movies? Glen: Storm Boy was straight out of the [South complex. In 2008, Greater Union moved out of
Australian] film corporation, from the film the complex and out of the CBD. The site was
Glen: Oh, no... we at The Fair Lady had a long studio to us, no distributors ... we were the leased in 2009 by Edge Church and was
run with Columbia; we showed a lot of distributors and the exhibitors. I had calls from transformed into its “City Campus”. Greater
Columbia... Melbourne, wanting to know how they go about Union reopened it as the 6-screen GU Film
getting films. I said "you'd have to go through House on 22 September 2016 ★
Rick: Was there any significance to the films SAFC because we've got a separate deal with
showed at the Fair Lady compared to other them". So there was no one in between. We cut
cinemas? out the middleman.

Glen: It was all generally [the same] ... all the Rick: Was this the case for any other films Article originally published on the AusCinemas
principles.., of city cinemas in particular in [from SAFC]? website and updated for this issue of
those days, was all the big [block]buster movies CinemaRecord
had protection periods on them ... they can't be

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