ST KILDA

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Publisher: The St Kilda Historical Society, P.O Box 177 Balaclava, 3183

General: www.vicnet.net.au/~hsosk

Publications: www.skhs.org.au

The St Kilda Historical Series is an ongoing project, which is published in hard copy and/or on www.skhs.org.au and will eventually include:

Orders: Books can be ordered via www.skhs.org.au or P.O Box 177 Balaclava, 3183. Add $2 for return postage by mail.

The St Kilda Historical Society acts to promote, protect and improve the unique heritage of St Kilda.

To join the St Kilda Historical Society, please access the membership form via www.vicnet.net.au/~hsosk . Alternatively forward $18.00 to the Secretary, P.O Box 177 Balaclava, 3183 enclosing name, address, and contact detail and a receipt will be provided by return mail.

February 17, 1950 to May 23, 1992

I would like firstly to thank the late Nancy Newell of the St. Kilda Historical Society for encouraging me to write this book on St. Kilda cinemas and Meyer Eidelson for finally enabling its publication after all these years.

Without the Appendix to Carol Matthews' book on the Palais which detailed most of the earlier theatres in the area, my task in tracking down these venues would have been much more difficult. Thank you, Carol, for all your work.

Peter O'Reilly of the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society (Victoria) undertook the laborious task of transferring my typescript to computer, which has facilitated the installation of this book on the Internet.

To my teachers and supervisors at Monash University and my fellow students in the Public History course between 1989 and 1994, I wish to give thanks. These include Chris McConville, Tom Griffiths, Mimi Colligan, Graeme Davidson and Daniel Catrice - the author of "Cinemas in Melbourne 1896-1942". Sincere apologies to any whose names I may have, through lapse of memory, not included here.

John Adey of the Australian Cinema and Theatre Society Inc. was most helpful in suggesting that I submit my material on "The Astor" for publication in the Autumn 2000 edition of "Kino".

The management and staff of the Palais, Astor and National Theatres were most generous in their time and information on the history of these theatres.

The staff at the Performing Arts Museum, La Trobe Library, St. Kilda Historical Society (and Library) and the Geelong Historical Records Centre went out of their way to help me in my search for the histories of long-gone venues in St. Kilda and nearby areas.

Finally, I would like to thank those of my friends and acquaintances who not only kept a lookout for relevant material, but also endured my temporary monomania on St. Kilda and its theatres during the writing of this book!

Peter A.D. Fogarty

Geelong, Victoria

May 15, 2003.

As a teenager in St Kilda, I always missed having a local cinema. The Memorial in Acland Street, also known as the fleapit, was long since closed. There was a Greek cinema at the Astor but I never braved the entrance past the posters of swarthy men with moustaches clutching swooning women wearing bright red lipstick. Today, of course, we take for granted our easy access to two marvellous general cinemas, the George and the Astor.

So, it was with great surprise that I read the detailed manuscript, sent to us by our member Peter Fogarty, which revealed the amazing role that St Kilda had played in the formation of Australia's early cinema. It is an admirable work done by a writer with enormous knowledge and passion for his subject and we decided that it was essential that the book be made accessible to the public. Appropriately each chapter is named after a classic film.

Peter O'Reilly of the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society (Victoria) generously provided us with an early layout by that Society. Writers Becky Aizen and Richard Peterson contributed additional material on the George and the Astor. However the book would never have achieved publication without the skill and devotion of Diane Boyle who voluntarily took on the job of skilfully completing the editing and laying out of the book for publication both on the web and in hard copy. St Kilda owes her an enormous favour.

The book is the second publication of a St Kilda Historical Series intended to reveal the richness of one of Australia's best loved and most visited places. Enjoy!

Meyer Eidelson

President

St Kilda Historical Society

The present work has been written at the suggestion of the St. Kilda Historical Society, and the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society of Victoria, in an endeavour to both add to and preserve as much information as possible about the history of cinema in St. Kilda. As there have been quite comprehensive conservation studies published on many buildings in St. Kilda, including the cinemas still remaining, ² the information gathered does not have conservation or planning as its primary purpose.

The information is firstly for the records of both historical societies, and secondly for the use of anyone, especially residents of the suburb or anyone else interested in this area, who may wish to learn more about the history of cinema in St. Kilda. A lot of the fine detail may be of interest only to St. Kilda residents or film-buffs, but these and other interested groups are the ones to whom the work is particularly aimed. This has influenced the writing to the extent that, after giving a general overview of some aspects of cinema, the focus has then gone to its manifestation in St. Kilda.

One must consider however, the wider background of other relevant writing. In "Hollywood Down Under" Diane Collins has given an account of film culture generally in Australia. ³ Ross Thorne, in "Cinemas Of Australia Via U.S.A." ⁴ and "Picture Palace Architecture In Australia", ⁵ highlights the influence of the United States on cinema design in this country. Daniel Catrice’s "Cinemas In Melbourne 1896-1942" ⁶ describes the growth of the cinema industry in Melbourne and its suburbs during that period. Carol Matthews has written a superlative study of the Palais Theatre and its effect on the cultural life of Melbourne which also includes invaluable work on the early theatres in St. Kilda. ⁷ In the history of Australian film and filmmakers there has been the work of Graham Shirley and Brian Adams ⁸, with additional information from David Stratton. ⁹ In looking at Australian popular culture generally there is the early work of Hal Porter ¹⁰ and the more recent work of Richard White. ¹¹ For the historical background of St. Kilda there are the two volumes of J.B. Cooper for the period to 1931 ¹² and the more recent volume of Anne Longmire. ¹³

The perspective of the author has also been influenced and informed by a long association with cinema-going from the early 1950's, frequent visitations to St. Kilda cinemas from the early 1960's, working in the suburb in 1965, living in the municipality from 1971 to 1992, and being fortunate during these periods to have sometimes been witness to many of the events described herein.

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In David Bick’s "Discover St. Kilda’s Heritage", published in 1985, the author in describing the suburb in the period after the Second World War writes that "...with the other inner suburbs, St. Kilda went into a decline." ¹⁴ In this he is referring to locations regarded as undesirable for residential purposes by the newly-affluent, who wanted to escape the older run-down inner-city areas, with all their memories and connotations of the Great Depression of the 1930's, for the more spacious and modern outer suburbs. ¹⁵ However, if one applies the concept of "desirability" to a place that people want to go to for reasons other than residential, it can be said that St. Kilda has never ceased to be desirable to visitors from Melbourne, its suburbs, and elsewhere. This has been so from its earliest days as a seaside resort up until the present time. St. Kilda has always been a place for those seeking sport, recreation, leisure, the arts, and other - sometimes more dubious - pleasures. At no time could St. Kilda have been said to be dull.

Through all of this period, there has been a greater or lesser focus on the entertainment available, be it amateur dramatics, vaudeville, concerts, music and films. The forms of these entertainments have either changed or died out over the years in either style or presentation, not the least motion-pictures and their places of exhibition, as from the early days of the twentieth century cinema has played a part in both satisfying the entertainment requirements of local residents (being often a source of employment for them) and of attracting people from elsewhere to St. Kilda. From almost the time of its introduction to Australia, the cinema has remained a constant thread in the history of the area.

St. Kilda, therefore, being an entertainment centre as well as a residential area, can be regarded as one of Melbourne’s unique suburbs in its connection with cinema. Over the last ninety-odd years it can be said to have experienced in microcosm all of the changes and developments pertaining to cinema, particularly that of exhibition.

In the following chapters there will be an attempt to examine these changes within the general context of describing the history of the various buildings used for the exhibition of motion pictures. This will include such factors as improvements in film technology, demographics, modes of transport, social changes, education and the changing patterns of leisure. Reference will also be made, where relevant, to picture-theatres in adjacent areas, as well as overseas influences and events both effecting and being reflected in cinema in St. Kilda, not to mention the often ambivalent relationship that cinema, in common with other forms of entertainment and leisure in the area, has had with the local council, churches, businesses and residents.

Finally, in examining the history of cinema in St. Kilda, I hope to show that Buchan’s "Historical Moment" does not apply merely to one period in the area, but rather that a succession of "Historical Moments" with distinctive characteristics can be seen to occur in St. Kilda in various periods. Some suburbs may settle down to one style of life, but St. Kilda has always been in ferment, with the leaven of cinema playing an often substantial part.

The first sales of Crown land in the new village of St. Kilda were held in December 1842. ¹ From the very beginning, the area was looked upon as a place for recreation and leisure as well as residence, with the government auctioneer at this first land sale describing St. Kilda as "... a panoramic El Dorado that will replace the bloom on the pallid cheek and restore vigour to the weak." ² Its favourable location soon attracted people from other parts of Melbourne to either take up residence, as did the original merchants and professional classes, ³ or else later, as methods of transport improved, to holiday there for a time or make day trips to its beaches.

The first swimming baths were established in 1853 ⁴ and getting to them was facilitated by the opening of the railway from Melbourne in 1857. This latter event prompted the Melbourne Morning Herald to write: "Melbourne transports a very large portion of itself to that locality by means of a three-mile railway and a ten-minute ride." ⁵

In addition to swimming there was yacht racing on the bay and the Albert Park lake in the 1870's ⁶ as well as hunting and horse and greyhound racing. ⁷

Cultural activities were also popular in this new village, with the presentation of dramatic, musical and other entertainment taking place in various locations and at different times. A room adjoining the Junction Hotel was often hired by both professional and amateur entertainers in the 1860's, ⁸ and in the following decade the St. Kilda Dramatic Club performed "grand amateur entertainments" in the Grey Street Assembly Hall, a venue often used by other actors and actresses who were local residents. ⁹ This period also saw the frequent giving of lectures in the old Town Hall on the corner of Grey and Barkly Streets.

Away from the St. Kilda hill and on the northeast corner of the Upper Esplanade and Robe Street stood Mooney’s Hotel, known also as the Royal. It had a large room attached commonly known as "the theatre at Mooney’s Hotel". ¹⁰ This room was hired out for meetings, dancing and other entertainments from the 1850's onwards.

Both cultural and popular entertainments grew and flourished as the population expanded in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The roads improved, tramways were added to the existing rail access in 1888 and the number of visitors correspondingly increased. More sea-baths, hotels and boarding houses were constructed to cater for this increased trade. The resulting concentration of both people and facilities soon established St. Kilda as the playground of Melbourne and its suburbs.

Like sea-resorts everywhere, the sea-based attractions were seasonable by their very nature. A great many of the indoor theatrical entertainments however, could function independently of climatic conditions. This was a situation which continued, and even improved, when picture-theatres were first built in St. Kilda in the early years of the twentieth century, not long after the invention of moving pictures.

The first commercial exhibition of a motion picture anywhere in the world was presented by the Lumiere Brothers on December 28 1895 in Paris. ¹¹ Less than twelve months after this, the first exhibition of a projected (as opposed to an Edison Kinetoscope) film in Australia was presented at Harry Rickard’s variety theatre, the Melbourne Opera House, on Saturday, August 22 1896 by the American magician Carl Hertz. ¹² Soon after this an agent of the Lumiere Brothers, Marius Sestier, arrived in Australia. In partnership with Walter Barnett he began making short films in Sydney and also opened the first purely cinematic venue in Australia, the "Salon Lumiere", on September 28 1896. ¹³ That November in Melbourne, Sestier made the first newsreel in Australia when he filmed the finish of the Melbourne Cup, the arrival of the race train and sections of the crowd which included the then Governor of Victoria, Lord Brassey. ¹⁴

The initial enthusiasm for moving pictures subsided for a time and the general public still continued to seek its popular entertainment in the live vaudeville theatres, with the occasional film being interspersed merely as a novelty. The reasons for this decline of interest in films were the shortage of equipment, filmed material and the fact that at this time films mainly showed scenes of everyday life. The cinema had to wait until the coming of the narrative film and the subsequent growth of a film-producing industry before audiences could be attracted to venues that specialised in exhibiting films alone.

This began happening shortly after the turn of the century, resulting in films gaining an ever-increasing share of the theatre-going public. Films began to tell stories, a film-making industry began which ensured a constant and regular supply of films, and as the demand for films increased due to the exposure of more and more people to this new product, more capital investment was attracted, resulting in a continuous expansion of film-making.

In the introduction to Garth S. Jowett’s article "Movies And Their Audiences", the observation is made that "Movies were not really born until they recognised their audiences". ¹⁵ These early audiences were predominantly drawn from the urban lower-middle and working classes who were attracted to the cinema by its cheapness and easily understood storylines. The increasing leisure of the working class in this period also enabled them to devote more time to recreation in general. Women were also now having smaller families and, once married, only constituted ten per cent of the workforce, a fact not overlooked when picture-theatres began operating in the cities during the daytime. ¹⁶

The special effects possible in films as compared to the scenic limitations of the stage were also a factor in attracting audiences. In addition, in a country such as Australia, isolated as it then was from the main centres of British, European and American culture, films could promise and deliver a view of this wider and remote world.

While the first films were shown in existing "live" theatres, makeshift halls, improvised outdoor venues and even tents, there soon arose the construction of buildings specifically for the exhibition of motion pictures. The first of these were built in the cities, with those in Melbourne being West’s Olympia, Snowden’s Pictures and Spencer’s Pictures in St. Kilda Road. They were in close proximity to Princes Bridge and to each other. ¹⁷ These theatres were huge, seating between 2,000 and 4,000 people, with West’s New Olympia being at that time the largest picture-theatre in the world. ¹⁸ In contrast to "live" theatres that were limited in size by both the dimensions of the human figure on stage and the limitations of the projection of the unaided human voice, picture-theatres were not subject to these restraints due to figures on the cinema screen being larger than life and, in this first stage of film-making, silent. Because "live" theatres were shallow and relied on height (and often extreme steepness) to fit in the maximum number of seats, many of the cheaper seats were quite uncomfortable. With a building specifically constructed for films, more comfort could be obtained because of the possibility of fitting more people into a larger space.

Out in the suburbs though, people had to put up with the old makeshift and often uncomfortable conditions of seeing films for a little longer. Many entrepreneurs still thought that motion pictures were a passing phase and this attitude, while it lasted, tended to inhibit capital expenditure. As a large amount of capital was needed to build picture-theatres in a number of suburbs, and as the first movie-exhibitors were mostly independent operators, it was not until certain groups, individuals and existing "live" companies amalgamated - spurred on by the success and organising ability of the American J.D. Williams - that this capital became available. ¹⁹

The first permanent picture-theatre in the Melbourne Metropolitan area was the Lyric Theatre on the corner of Chapel and Victoria Streets Prahran. Seating 2,500 it was opened on Christmas Eve 1910. ²⁰ Soon after this, the Royal was also built in Chapel Street in October 1911 opposite the Windsor railway station. ²¹

It was not long before picture-theatres were built in other suburbs, especially in the City of St. Kilda where, because of the area’s long association with entertainment and holidaymaking, they multiplied rapidly. Some of these early St. Kilda picture-theatres only lasted for a season or two, but others were more substantial. Apart from the St. Kilda Theatre in Fitzroy Street, the Barkly on the corner of Barkly and Acland Streets and the Diamond Theatre at 1-3 Chapel Street, most of them clustered around the Upper and Lower Esplanade.

Apart from the Palais and Astor Theatres, nothing remains on the other early sites to give indication of their use as places of entertainment, with blocks of flats in 1996 occupying most of these locations. To avoid confusion in describing the cinematic venues of this early period - as often the name "Palais" was used for different locations at different times and also because of the practice of giving different names to the same structures over different seasons - the method in the following chapter will be to look at each site in turn and try to cover all of the theatres erected on them, with descriptions of the buildings and their dates of opening, closing and demolition, and the relevant details of their ownership and links with other nearby theatres.

In the season of 1905-6 the building of entertainment venues in St. Kilda began to accelerate. Although the area had long been popular with Melburnians, and although access was facilitated by the construction of the cable-tram service in 1888, it was the sea and sporting activities that continued to be the main attractions. The end of the 1880’s land boom and the subsequent depression of the 1890’s also meant that there was little money to be spent on improving the seaside. Commenting on this period, The Star in 1921 wrote: "St. Kilda beaches had remained practically unexploited, not so much for want of foresight as for lack of population which could return a profit on any amusement venture." ¹

Then a number of things began to occur. On October 25 1895 the new Governor of Victoria, Lord Brassey, landed at St. Kilda pier on his way to Melbourne. This established a precedent of vice-regal and other notable arrivals at St. Kilda. The Duke of York (later George V) arrived there in May 1901 to open Australia’s first Federal Parliament, and Sir George Clarke, the first State Governor of Victoria, landed on December 10 1901. This continued over the next two decades with the result that St. Kilda achieved great publicity. ² In 1905 a Vaudeville troupe called the "English Pierrots" began performing on the beach at the end of Fitzroy Street. ³ They leased their space from the Lands Department for the almost token rent of two pounds a month. ⁴ This proved so popular that other companies began leasing space on the beach wasteland. In that season of l905-6 the council income from "The Poster King" and "Biograph Advertising" was thirty shillings in addition to the annual rent of eighty pounds paid by Baxter’s Merry-Go-Round. As The Star later jokingly commented: "... this stimulated thoughts of colossal enterprise". ⁵ The result was the establishment of the St. Kilda Foreshore Committee on June 22 1906. The area under their control was the beach between Fraser and Dickens Streets, with their main function being the reclamation of land and the beautification of the shoreline. The designs for the landscaping were by Carlo Catani and revenue was to be raised by the rental of reclaimed foreshore land and funds from the St. Kilda Council, the State Government and private donations, with the overall concept being the creation of a Mediterranean-style resort along the lines of Cannes and the National Park of Naples. ⁶ With the erection of a pavilion by the English Pierrots and the attraction of the foreshore for other entertainers, the rent obtained by the Foreshore Committee in its first year was 456 Pounds. ⁷ As Cooper commented in 1931: " ... the English Pierrots ... unknown to themselves ... proved that the shorelands were a potential source of revenue, if sites were rented to showmen". ⁸

Methods of transport to St. Kilda had also improved prior to and during this period. St. Kilda Road had been improved at the turn of the century, partly owing to "princely visitations and the growing needs of residents in other suburbs for more facilities." ⁹ There was also the growth of the number of tram-routes leading to St. Kilda. The "Electric Street Railway" from St. Kilda Railway Station to Brighton was opened on May 5 1906 ^l0 and by 1913 St. Kilda By The Sea could justly say "Luna Park is the objective point of the electric tramway system" - from Kew, Hawthorn, Malvern and Caulfield - and the cable system from Melbourne ¹¹ and adding the following year, when considering the further extension of the tramway system and the growth of the motor buses, "The whole of the eastern suburbs (is) brought into direct communication with St Kilda Esplanade." ¹² As well as bringing people from other areas to St. Kilda, the tramway systems also led to an increase in the population of the city itself. The line from St. Kilda to Brighton encouraged subdivision along its route and brought about an increase of residents in the Elwood area. ¹³

From these disparate events - Vice-Regal arrivals, more money available to both the St. Kilda Council and the general public after the end of the 1890’s depression, the great success of the English Pierrots, the recognition of the financial benefits of promoting entertainment, the formation of the Foreshore Committee and the improvement of transport facilities - a climate of optimism was created in St. Kilda which led to a burgeoning of entertainment venues as various large and small entrepreneurs sought to prosper there, in large part responding to the business phenomenon known as "Clustering" in which "firms selling similar products attract each other in primary locations." ¹⁴ There were successes, failures and eventually many amalgamations - especially in the area of cinema - in the period now under examination.

The St. Kilda (Bioscope) Theatre was opened at what is now 145 Fitzroy Street on April 11 1911. ¹⁵ At the rear was a studio for both making and processing films. This was the first, substantial, purpose-built picture-theatre in St. Kilda. The builders were Millard Johnson and William Gibson, film-makers who, before the building had been completed, had joined with J. & N. Tait to form Amalgamated Pictures, a company described in the Encyclopaedia Of Australian Film as "Australia’s first major film monopoly fully owned and controlled by Australians." ¹⁶

It was this company that owned and operated the theatre and made films in the studio until it was absorbed by Australasian Films in 1913. As Australasian Films was the production arm of Union Theatres, which later became the Greater Union Organisation in 1931, this made the St. Kilda (Bioscope) Theatre the first in the Greater Union chain. ¹⁷

"The St. Kilda Picture Theatre, then the finest place of the kind in the state" was its later description in The Star of 1921. ¹⁸ The width of the theatre was 52 feet and the total length was 130 feet; the hall itself being 90 feet from the dress circle to the stage, with the remainder allotted to the backstage and studio areas. ¹⁹ In 1915 the theatre was redecorated and renovated by its then lessee Cedric Johnson, the son of Millard Johnson. As he also managed "The Broadway" open-air theatre on the Upper Esplanade, an arrangement was made by which on hot nights the patrons of the Fitzroy Street theatre could transfer to the Broadway, with the reverse applying on cold nights. ²⁰

By 1920 the lessees of the St. Kilda Theatre were Griffith and West, and in March 1922 they came to the aid of the Sacred Heart Parish when the Grey Street church was damaged by fire. David Moloney wrote of this: "Messrs. Griffith and West... responded generously to the plight of the West St. Kilda Catholics. They placed their building at the disposal of Fr. Byrne, the only charge being for lighting and cleaning. Every Sunday for the next eight months, the altar boys rearranged the theatre and set up the altar for Sunday Mass. There are memories of the spring seats rattling like machine-guns when the congregation knelt or stood up. Parishioner Mrs Leila Hassett was caught out one evening when she went to see a film at the theatre and genuflected as she entered the row of seats." ²¹

Films continued to be exhibited at the theatre until 1933, when the whole structure then became "Studio Number Three" of Cinesound, which had taken over Australasian Films. ²²

There appears to be some confusion as to the actual location of the St. Kilda (Bioscope) Theatre. In the December 1985 edition of Kino, Les Todd has written that the building survives, with shops at the front making it unrecognisable. ²³ However, if one compares the rare photograph reproduced in that issue with the photograph of Fitzroy Street taken in 1930 in Cooper’s history, the theatre - with its almost obscured name - is just discernible between what is in 1996 the "Regal" boarding-house and "Rivoli Buildings", now called "Danish Blue". ²⁴

In May 1939 Theatre News reported that Bert Matthews had "converted the Cinesound Studios... into a unique rendezvous... named ‘The Barn’." ²⁵ This new coffee-lounge did not continue for long, as the building was demolished soon after and the block of flats on the site in 1996, "The Banff", was erected in about 1940. ²⁶

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In 1909 an open-air theatre known as "Pictureland", under the direction of Johnson & Gibson, was operating on the northwest corner of Alfred Square and the Upper Esplanade, ²⁷ a position later described as being "... the site of the oldest picture-theatre in St. Kilda." ²⁸ This became one of the assets of Amalgamated Pictures when Johnson & Gibson formed that company in 1911 with the Tait Brothers. It thus became linked to the "Paradise" on the other side of Alfred Square as well as to the St. Kilda (Bioscope) Theatre in Fitzroy Street.

On October 7 1914, it was opened as the "Palais Cinema" by J. Steventon, becoming the second theatre to use the name "Palais" in St. Kilda. An illustration in St. Kilda By The Sea in 1914 describes it as "The Summer Location Of The Palais Cinema (Late In Luna Park)." ²⁹ J. Steventon had operated a picture-theatre in the Palais de Folies at Luna Park in the winter of 1914 and he transferred his trading name of "Palais" to the Upper Esplanade site until March 1915 and his occupation of the former "Elite" skating-rink in Barkly Street.

The theatre was then remodelled for the summer season of 1915-16 and the name changed to the "Broadway Theatre". The new operator was Cedric Johnson, and the reciprocal arrangement with the St. Kilda (Bioscope) Theatre, as described previously, was applied. For this 1915-1916 season the capacity of the Broadway Theatre had been increased to accommodate 1,800 - 2,000 customers. ³⁰ That summer, unfortunately, was a particularly cold and wet one, and not even the option of the alternative Fitzroy Street venue could make the continuation of the Broadway Theatre an attractive proposition. It was closed at the end of the season, ³¹ and the site reverted to being the "Symposium Tea-Rooms". ³² A block of own-your-own flats is in 1996 located there.

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In October 1991 the Hotel St. Moritz (in 1996 "Novotel Bayside Melbourne") was opened on the northeast corner of the Upper Esplanade and Alfred Square. A large hotel, it covers an area once occupied by a block of flats and two theatres. Right on the corner was the "Paradise Of Living Pictures" and at the rear of this was a live open-air theatre, the "Follies". This corner site had a long association with cinema (in both exhibition and production) in St Kilda from l908 until early 1938.

The Upper Esplanade frontage was 157 feet and that facing Alfred Square was 51 feet. It was leased to J. & N. Tait in l908. After the gardens were laid out, W.J. Lincoln became the manager and later the sub-lessee. The theatre was opened by Johnson & Gibson for the 1908-09 season, and each year additions were made, leading to it being described in a retrospective in The Star of 1921 as "one of the prettiest picture-resorts possible". ³³

At the time of its opening it was one of the first purpose-built picture theatres in the Melbourne area. It could accommodate 2,000, of whom 600 could sit in a brick pavilion at the rear, while the remainder sat under the stars on ground that sloped to the screen. Tables and chairs were set up on lawns at either side of the pavilion where patrons could obtain refreshments during the film, with this area being illuminated by coloured lights. ³⁴

When Amalgamated Films was formed in 1911 by Johnson and Gibson and the Tait Brothers, the "Paradise" became part of a company that had as venues the new St. Kilda (Bioscope) Theatre in Fitzroy Street, the Follies at the rear, and Pictureland on the opposite side of Alfred Square. When Amalgamated Films was absorbed by Australasian Films, the ownership of the Paradise was transferred to its former manager, W.J. Lincoln. In partnership with G. Cass, films were made by the new Lincoln-Cass Film Company which were shown at the Paradise, as well as the films made by Amalgamated Pictures in their Fitzroy Street studios. ³⁵

In 1913, after five years of continuous operation, W.J. Lincoln - in protest at St Kilda Council’s banning of Sunday picture-shows - claimed that of the 190,000 patrons of the Paradise in the preceding twelve months, 70 per cent had been local residents. ³⁶ During the winter of 1914, the Paradise merged with the adjacent Lyric, the latter now possessing a floor after having been roofed over the previous year. ³⁷ In the summer season of 1914-15, with a new entrance near the Alfred Square corner, it was operated by R.D. Houldin under the name of "The People’s Paradise". ³⁸

At the end of the First War the Phillips Brothers leased the venue and, under the management of Palais de Danse, advertised it as "The Rivoli". ³⁹ In the January - February 1921 edition of The Star it was announced that "Paradise Gardens have re-opened with pictures. Some years since they were not only popular but payable." ⁴⁰ In 1922 the site was purchased by the "Wattle Path Palais de Danse & Cafe Ltd." and the former Paradise was dismantled. The building then constructed was the one that remained there until its destruction by fire in 1982.

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The site next to the Paradise was advertised as the "Lyric Summer Picture Gardens" for the season of 1912-1913. This new open-air picture theatre exhibited first release pictures and featured live performers, as well as the Lyric orchestra. ⁴¹ The open-air theatre was not as successful as was anticipated, so the lease was taken up by Callen and Stuart and the theatre converted for winter use. ⁴² It then seated 1,400 in the ground area and 300 in the dress circle. ⁴³

For the season of 1913-14 the emphasis was on live shows, with pictures providing a half-hour "overture" before the main live show "Butterflies". ⁴⁴ In the winter of 1914 it merged with the adjacent Paradise. ⁴⁵ For the 1915-16 season the advertisements stressed that in inclement weather - a most important point in that cold and wet summer - the theatre could be completely covered. ⁴⁶ For that season also a floor was laid, heating installed, and tip-seats provided, making it in effect now an indoor theatre, with only the ability of the sliding sides to be opened in appropriate weather as a remnant of its earlier outdoor status. ⁴⁷ It continued as a theatre, with either films, live shows, or a mixture of the two - in association with Cremorne Gardens - until the early 1920s. ⁴⁸

In 1924 "Esplanade Theatres Ltd" was formed with the intention of building a picture theatre on the site with a cafe in front. Although Bert Howell from the Victory and Australasian Films took an interest in this proposal, it did not eventuate due to lack of finance, with the company being wound up in 1929.⁴⁹

In 1928 a dancing saloon replaced the Lyric. The front was later reconstructed in mock-medieval style by the Eureka Trust Company and the venue operated as the "Mayfair Theatre". In 1932 the name was changed to "Earl’s Court" and it re-opened as a dance hall. ⁵⁰ It intermittently showed films but its main use was as a dance hall and nightclub, using the names "Palm Grove", "Sergios", "The Taxi Club" and "The Venue" until its demolition in the late 1980’s. The new building on the site (which is also called "Earl's Court") provides public housing accommodation for elderly people and its design complements the adjacent Novotel Bayside Hotel.

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"The Belvedere", a striking Spanish Mission style block of flats, stands at number 22, Upper Esplanade on the northeast corner of Robe Street. It was built in 1929 and beside it, further along Upper Esplanade, are blocks of flats built at about the same period. The Belvedere occupies the former site of Mooney’s Royal Hotel. The land adjoining the Royal Hotel was used mainly for live shows, but for short periods films were shown there. In 1913, St. Kilda By The Sea wrote that prior to 1909 the site was "Then used as an open-air picture show", ⁵¹ and the Sands & McDougall Directory of 1909 describes it as "Living Picture Gardens". ⁵² The Star of March - April 1921 however, writes of the opening of "Arcadia" there on October 29, l909 by Edward Branscombe’s "The Jesters". ⁵³ It would seem that the venue was officially called Arcadia, but because of its identification with the Jesters vaudeville troupe it became informally known to its many patrons as "The Jester’s Theatre" and was even listed as such in the Sands & McDougall Directory of 1911. ⁵⁴

In 1915 the site was named the "Corso Picture Theatre" by its new owners J. Dixon and F. Malvin. Their company, "The Corso P/L", was later absorbed by Palais Cinema Ltd. when Dixon and Malvin became co-directors of this new company, which also included J. Steventon and W. H. Tierny. ⁵⁵

It was "Palais Cinema Ltd." that constructed the new open-air "Le Cinema Boulevarde" for the summer season of 1915-16. With seating for five thousand it claimed to be the largest open-air picture-theatre in Australia. ⁵⁶ The illustration in the Prahran Telegraph of October 16 1915 gives some indication of its size and layout. ⁵⁷ Because of the continuation of the war and also the bad weather of that season, Le Cinema Boulevarde ran for one summer only and was subsequently dismantled. The site was then used for the "St. Kilda Fair" under the control of Palais Cinema Ltd. That company was wound up in 1919 and the blocks of flats in 1996 on the site were erected about ten years later.

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Wickliffe House was located on the corner of Pollington Street and the Upper Esplanade, and in 1912 it was converted into a cafe with a theatre, the Arcadia - the second theatre of that name - constructed at the rear. ⁵⁸ Although this venue did not exhibit films, its connection with Pat Hanna’s "Diggers" relates it to early cinema in St. Kilda. Although an al fresco theatre, it could be protected from inclement weather and therefore advertised "Every night, wet or dry". ⁵⁹

In November l918 Pat Hanna (l888-1973) had been made "O.C. Entertainment and Recreation New Zealand Division on the Rhine" ⁶⁰ and his "Diggers" company had evolved from the necessity of entertaining the troops occupying Cologne after the Armistice. The "Famous Diggers", after a successful tour of Tasmania, opened at the Arcadia Theatre about the middle of October 1920. ⁶¹ The live performances throughout the 1920’s of the "Famous Diggers" are outside the scope of the present work, but in the early 1930’s Pat Hanna made three films at Efftee Studios using material from the live shows. The first of these "Diggers" (Premiered November 6 1931) was directed by Frank Thring Snr., but because of disagreements between Thring and Hanna on the order of the three stories within this film, the remaining two were directed by Pat Hanna himself, using the facilities of Efftee Studios. ⁶² Despite their success with the public, the financial returns were low, so Pat Hanna returned to live performances and some recorded work. ⁶³

In the meantime, the Arcadia Theatre where Pat Hanna had introduced the "Diggers" to St. Kilda had closed around 1927. ⁶⁴ After being the location of a service station for many years, the site is in 1996 occupied by a high-rise block of luxury flats called "Arrandale" which were built in the 1970’s.

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The third picture-theatre bearing the name "Palais" was situated on the corner of Acland and Barkly Streets where the St. Kilda Market stands at the time of writing this book. In the 1860’s a large house had been built there with gardens laid out by the designer of Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens, Baron von Mueller. The house "Oakrood" was later purchased by F.P.C. Beyer. ⁶⁵ In the gardens of that house he built the "Elite Roller-Skating Rink" which opened on April 15 1911. ⁶⁶ According to Beyer’s grandson, Dan Clifton, when the skating craze faded "grandfather became interested in pictures". ⁶⁷

The result was that the venue became known as the "Elite Skating Rink And Biograph" from 1912. ⁶⁸ The premises were later leased to J. Steventon and W.H. Tierney in early 1915. They had formed the company "Palais Cinema P/L" on February 19 of that year and began operating their new Palais Cinema (which seated 2,000) as from March 27. ⁶⁹ According to Dan Clifton, his grandfather was a victim of anti-German feeling at the beginning of the First World War, so this may have prompted his leasing of the building to others. ⁷⁰

"Palais Cinema P/L" was absorbed by "Palais Cinema Ltd." in September 1915, the new company adding J. Dixon and F.M. Quinn to the directors of the previous company. The purpose of this new company appeared to be the buying of the Palais Cinema and the Corso Pictures. It was wound up in 1919 due to its liabilities, but prior to that it had sold the Palais Cinema to V C. Marshall in 1917. ⁷¹ In association with his musical director Bert Howell, the programming was improved and attendances doubled, with the venue being renamed "The Barkly" in January 1918 and having the exclusive rights in St. Kilda to films from the top American studios. ⁷²

The success of this venture led to V.C. Marshall, in partnership with F. L. Nelson, opening the "Victory" as part of a proposed chain of theatres in the southern suburbs, during the construction of which they operated the Lyric on the Upper Esplanade.⁷³ The Barkly operated as a Hoyts theatre after this, ⁷⁴ but by 1924 the theatre had closed and the site was used as a motor garage until its transformation to the St. Kilda Market. ⁷⁵

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On a roughly triangular piece of land bounded by Shakespeare Grove, Cavell Street and the O’Donnell Gardens - and just touching the Lower Esplanade - stands Luna Park, whose entrance is one of St. Kilda’s best known landmarks. In 1906 St. Kilda’s first amusement park, "Dreamland" was opened there, built by a travelling entertainer, E.S. Salambo. ⁷⁶ The venture ran for one season only, however. ⁷⁷ Six years later, on December 13 1912, the present structure, Luna Park, was opened, having been built for the J.D. Williams Amusement Company. ⁷⁸ In July 1913 Luna Park was incorporated, its directors being J.D. Williams, H.F. Phillips, G.H. Robinson and John (later Sir John) Monash. ⁷⁹ There appears to have been some strife between the directors in the first few months. According to G. Searle "...within a few weeks Monash was threatening resignation unless business was conducted on proper lines". ⁸⁰ Soon afterwards J. D. Williams returned to the United States and John Monash controlled the company as chairman of directors.

In the "Palais de Folies" building within Luna Park, the "Lounge Theatre" was opened by J. Steventon in 1914. This picture theatre operated during the winter of that year when the rest of Luna Park was closed. It soon became known as the "Palais Cinema", ⁸¹ being the first of that name in St. Kilda, the name being later transferred to the former Pictureland site when Steventon moved his operations there for the summer months, (the name of this second Palais being "Palais Cinema - Late Of Luna Park - Summer Location"), ⁸² before this in turn was transferred to the former Elite site on the corner of Barkly and Acland Streets. Because of the war, Luna Park was closed after its limited operation in the 1915-16 season ⁸³ and did not re-open fully until October 1923. ⁸⁴ By this time the Phillips Brothers had established a new picture theatre across the road, the "Palais de Danse Pictures".

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The site on the corner of the Lower Esplanade and Cavell Street, in 1996 occupied by the Palais Theatre, was first built upon in the season of 1906-07. A "Figure 8" scenic railway was opened on January 26 l907 by a Mr. Robson. ⁸⁵ This proved to be an extremely popular attraction, only closing when Luna Park opened with its much larger scenic railway in 1912. ⁸⁶ The managing director of Luna Park, Herman F. Phillips, then began building a hall on this site in 1912. He applied to licence this as a dance hall in November 1913 and, in spite of the opposition of local people, obtained the licence and opened the Palais de Danse soon after on December 20. ⁸⁷

It functioned as a dance hall for less than two years, for on September 20 1915, Herman Phillips re-opened it as a picture-theatre. There would appear to be at least two reasons for this. There was his belief "...that moving-pictures were the way of the future and that films could be a positive educational force" ⁸⁸ and there was also the growing effect of the First World War on people’s attitudes to entertainment.

The projectionist Albert Wright has said that "...after a while complaints were voiced about dancing while our men were overseas fighting for us. Phillips was conscious of this...". ⁸⁹

For the rest of the war and for a short time after therefore, what was now the "Palais de Danse Pictures" presented shows six days a week from Monday to Saturday. The auditorium seated 4,000 and there was a pit for a twelve-piece orchestra, the projector being housed in a bio-box built to resemble a Swiss Chalet. ⁹⁰

In 1920 The Star wrote: "Luna Park gave birth to the Palais de Danse, converted by the Phillips Brothers during the war into a picture-theatre, and now entirely rebuilt, whilst alongside they have erected a new Palais de Danse which from a structural point of view, is the finest of any show building in St. Kilda." ⁹¹

From contemporaneous photographs, a certain sequence of events can be observed. The new Palais Pictures was actually built around the old, which was then dismantled and re-erected next door as the Palais de Danse and a new facade constructed. ⁹² The facade of the original was left in front of the new theatre. The photograph reproduced in S. Brand’s book shows the result, as well as giving a useful comparison of the height and width of the old and new theatres. ⁹³ The difference in length can be gauged by another photograph (courtesy S. Marshall) which shows the framework of the new Palais Pictures around the old. ⁹⁴

This second Palais Pictures did not survive for long though, for while work was in progress on its renovation and restoration in 1926, a fire broke out on February l0, resulting in its total destruction. ⁹⁵

It was replaced in 1927 by the present Palais Theatre.

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For a few years, until the construction of the Palais de Danse in 1920, the site next to the Palais Theatre, 10 Lower Esplanade, was occasionally used for film exhibition. In December 1913 "The Casino" theatre opened there. It could accommodate 3,000, with 1,000 under cover and the remainder in the open air. ⁹⁶ It was noteworthy though for its experiment with two new ideas: showing films in daylight and in the night using a technical novelty called "The Optical Stage".

Daylight pictures used the technique known as "back projection", the projector being behind the screen and the space between masked by a black cloth. Because of this there was no need to darken the rest of the theatre, so it was possible to screen films in the open during the day - as well as eliminating the "improper" conduct that a darkened auditorium was thought to encourage. ⁹⁷ The "Optical Stage" was an attempt to combine back projected film and live actors. The Prahran Telegraph commented: "There is nothing ghostly about the figures; they have precisely the same solid appearance as any ordinary group of actors ... it makes the incredible possible." ⁹⁸

In addition to this, a "first class" orchestra was provided as well as tea and refreshment rooms. The venture proved to be unsuccessful however. St. Kilda By The Sea wrote in 1914 of the reluctance of people to attend films in daylight on days that weren’t holidays, and the all-too-frequent breakdowns of the Optical Stage apparatus. ⁹⁹ (Whether the lack of opportunity to indulge in "improper" conduct because of the then inhibiting effects of daylight contributed to the theatre’s lack of success can only be a matter of speculation).

In October 1914, J.A. Lipman changed the name of the venue to the Comedy Theatre and opened with a live show. In January 1915, with John Garvin now in charge, more live shows were staged, but films were eventually restored to the theatre to end the season. ¹⁰⁰ In December 1915 the St. Kilda Patriotic Committee and the Y.M.C.A. opened the Wounded Soldiers Lounge in the old refreshment room at the rear of the theatre, and in 1916 this was extended. ¹⁰¹

When the Palais de Danse Pictures building was dismantled and re-erected on this site as described previously, it became the "Palais de Danse". In 1962 the Melbourne Film Festival was transferred to the Palais Pictures and the Palais de Danse was also utilised, with extra screenings being held there in a small temporary theatre constructed within the dance hall. ¹⁰² On December 27 1968, the Palais de Danse was burned down, ¹⁰³ being replaced by "The New Palais" which opened in October 1972, the name of which was later changed to its present one of "The Palace". ¹⁰⁴

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Away from the seafront - but close to the Prahran shopping centre with its cluster of picture theatres - where the Astor in 1996 stands, "The Diamond", later known as "The Rex" operated for a few years. Its first listing was in 1913 at 1-3 Chapel Street as the Diamond Theatre, and it shared the premises with Fowler & Co. (Confectioner) and S.T. Alford (Livery Stable). ¹⁰⁵ In its last listing of 1918, it was called the Rex Picture-Theatre, with Messrs J. Puller (Confectioner) and S.T. Alford (Livery Stable) as the co-occupiers. ¹⁰⁶

Following 1918, Pullar and Alford continued to occupy the site, but all references to a theatre there cease, and by 1924 the site was occupied by Alford’s Motor Garage and Taxis. ¹⁰⁷ It would appear that the Diamond was predominantly an open-air theatre utilising existing structures ¹¹⁵, and it is of interest that it provided a "bridge" between the site’s use as a livery-stable and a motor-garage - a link between the old and the new.

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In considering the theatrical and cinematic activity between l905 and the 1920’s in St. Kilda, certain patterns can be seen to emerge. The first is the transition from makeshift and temporary structures to the construction of more substantial, permanent and purpose-built venues. As The Star wrote in 1920: "Although the al fresco theatres in St. Kilda have suffered a close-up, four houses are showing pictures nightly with one large theatre building." ¹⁰⁸ Also apparent is the way that cinema grew from being almost the poor relation of vaudeville and live theatre interests (e.g. J. & N. Tait, J.C. Williamson’s, the Fullers and the Carrolls) to a position of greater dominance.

As this was occurring, the independent operators and filmmakers, by a process of amalgamation and absorption, were replaced by larger combines. This happened in tandem with live theatre amalgamations involving J.C. Williamson and J. & N. Tait. ¹⁰⁹ All of this mirrored trends in the United States where, as in Australia, greater amounts of capital were needed in order to both build the better picture theatres that the public now demanded and also to make films of greater technical and logistic complexity that the public also now expected. ¹¹⁰

What is most striking in St. Kilda though, is the combining and re-combining during this period of these people: Johnson, Gibson, Griffith, West, Lincoln, Cass, J. & N. Tait, Houldin, Stuart, B. & J. Fuller, F. P.C. Beyer, J. Steventon, V.C. Marshall, F. Thring Snr., J.D. Williams and the Phillips Brothers. As The Star commented in 1921: "In a business sense there is much moving in movieland. Amalgamations and re-arrangements being many, while a number of our prominent picture-men have gone to America and elsewhere on business visits." ¹¹¹ This comment would have had equal validity throughout the preceding sixteen years.

By 1920 The Star could say: "We are a much more sedate people in St. Kilda nowadays. It is becoming a city of flats. The accommodation both for residents and visitors has become too limited." ¹¹² It went on to say though that "How important St. Kilda has become as a showplace may be inferred from the balance sheet of the shore committee which deals only with the foreshore for the past twelve months just issued. From the rent of site for entertainment was derived 1,444 Pounds." ¹¹³

Two months later the following was written: "St. Kilda Council has set its face against the erection of advertising screens for moving-pictures on sites on the Upper Esplanade. In point of fact, the available sites on that Esplanade are really too valuable for such purposes ... Questions of leasehold hinder improvements in some instances, but there are openings for the erection of theatres and other structures more in consonance with this popular locality." ¹¹⁴

As it turned out, the Upper Esplanade eventually became the place for dancing and ice-skating rather than for film-exhibition, with the remaining sites - even that of the old Royal Hotel - being used for the new flat dwellings. The new, large and substantial picture theatres were built elsewhere as will be seen in the chapter following.

The period between the early 1920's and the late 1950's was the heyday of cinema in Australia as in most of the rest of the world. During this period attendances remained consistently high - except for a comparative fall-off during the years of the great depression - and picture theatres continued to be either built, modernised, enlarged or otherwise improved. These national and overseas trends all affected cinema in St. Kilda, and what happened there can be considered as a reflection in miniature of worldwide events.

During this period all the picture-theatres (apart from the 1994 George Cinemas) that remain in St. Kilda of the 1990's were built. In contrast to the earlier structures - which were often quite Spartan in their design and amenities, - there was no expense spared in attempting to make the "Palais", "Astor" and "Victory" as decorative and as comfortable as possible. The "Broadway" in Elwood was remodelled in the 1930's and nearby picture-theatres such as the "New Windsor" were constructed. The "Memorial" in Acland Street was not quite up to these standards of luxury, but that did not keep the patrons away. It was also in this period that the custom of "going to the pictures" became a virtual ritual, with many seats being permanently reserved by individuals, couples and families.

The distribution of films to these theatres was further rationalised by the formation or extension of chains such as Hoyts, and this was financed by overseas interests which invested in Australian picture-theatres as a means of providing a suitable showcase and outlet for their films. Although these patterns affected (and reflected) cinema in Australia generally, there were still certain aspects which were peculiar to St. Kilda. As well as being a major centre for exhibition, films were made locally at the studios of Efftee and Cinesound. Just as in the nineteenth century when the area had been compared to Brighton England, ¹ St. Kilda in this period could be said to have had cinematic aspects of Hollywood and New York in that there existed facilities for production as well as distribution. This period will now be explored, beginning with the building of the structures that still stand in St. Kilda at the time of writing this book.

Under the heading of "New Theatre In St. Kilda", the following article appeared in the July - August issue of The Footlight Star in 1920:

At this period in St. Kilda, most of the entertainment facilities (with the exception of "The Barkly" on the corner of Acland and Barkly Streets) were located on or around the area of the Upper and Lower Esplanades. Because of this concentration of theatrical facilities, the difficulty of obtaining a block large enough for the building of a theatre the size of the proposed "Victory" can be appreciated. Although it could have been considered a slight risk to establish a new theatre in an area away from the by now traditional entertainment precincts, perhaps the new location was also an attempt to distance it from what some now considered the "en deshabille environs of the Upper Esplanade". ³ It could be misleading to over-emphasise this point however, as the same source also described the adjacent Lower Esplanade as now having "an appearance of smartness formerly missing". ⁴

At the time that the Victory was being built, other picture-theatres were either under construction or else being planned in what was to be the second stage of their expansion into Melbourne’s suburbs, when the earlier existing makeshift venues were giving way to more substantial purpose-built structures. Other picture theatres being planned or built at this time were in Bay Street North Brighton, Church Street Middle Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham and Carnegie. ⁵ Also, before the opening of the St. Kilda Victory in April 1921, the other link in the proposed chain of Victory theatres (in Wattletree Road Malvern) began operating on October 20 1920. This Malvern Victory was about half the cost and capacity of its St. Kilda counterpart, being built at a cost of 20,000 Pounds and seating 1,800. ⁶ It is also worth while to consider that all of these picture theatres were located in what were then - and often still are in 1996 - regarded as highly respectable suburbs.

When the Victory was opened by the Mayor of St. Kilda, Councillor S.T. Alford, on Monday April 18 1921, the Argus reported it as being the second largest picture-house in Melbourne and its suburbs and praised both the excellence of its sight-lines and the acoustics of the building. ⁷ The Age wrote that "Mr. V.C. Marshall, director, in outlining the policies of the theatre, said the best films obtainable would be produced, and a special feature would be made of the music." ⁸ The director of the orchestra was Bert Howell, who had earlier been associated with V.C. Marshall in the operation of the nearby Barkly. The Victory also had a motor-park with room for eighty cars and provided free lockers for the motorists’ rugs and overcoats. ⁹ These facilities, apart from being quite an innovation in those early days of motoring, indicate that the theatre was not only hoping to attract patrons from outside the locality, but also assumed that these would have been patrons of some means.

Contemporary descriptions of the theatre make much of both the lighting effects - "... as the stage curtain is drawn back the lights automatically dim, until they eventually go out" ¹⁰ - and the ventilation system which was able to pump 59,000 cubic feet of fresh air into the auditorium per minute. ¹¹ The Argus described it as being designed on modern principles ¹² and the Age wrote of the good taste of the interior decorations in the handsomely appointed theatre. ¹³ An examination of an aerial photograph of the area taken about 1922 shows a building that dominated the locality by its sheer size and also gives some clues to the extent of the exterior changes resulting from the reconstruction of the theatre in 1928. ¹⁴

The program for the opening night consisted of both live entertainment and film. The main feature was "Conrad In Quest of His Youth" and there was a Christie Comedy "Two A.M." and a "Gazette". The orchestra played Friedmann's "Slavonic Rhapsody" and a Miss Pauline Bindley sang "Down In The Forest" and Verdi’s "Caro Nome". ¹⁵

By the later 1920's V. C. Marshall had sold his interest in the Victory to finance his 1927 film "Environment". ¹⁶ The film was unsuccessful, but his second film "Caught In The Act" of 1928 starred Zillah Bateman ¹⁷ who was to appear live at the re-opening of the reconstructed Victory that year. By that time the directors of Victory Theatres P/L were F. L. Nelson (Chairman), F.W. Thring, T. Cope and G.F. Griffith. ¹⁸ It was they who opened the reconstructed Victory on Monday March 19 1928. Ross Thorne has said, "The question of how much of the Victory is of the original design built in 1921 is still to be answered".¹⁹ The point is valid, but an examination of the building itself as well as other written sources can provide some clues.

Under the heading "Achievement", the souvenir program for the re-opening of the theatre began thus: "The Victory Theatre was opened almost seven years ago and was then generally acclaimed as being the most modern picture theatre in Australia. During recent years, however, theatre construction has been revolutionised both in comfort for the patrons and the artistic surroundings." ²⁰ While making allowance for the usual language of self-advertisement, one can agree with the general tone of this.

The 1920's saw the construction of the Capitol (1924), State (1929) and Regent (1929) in Melbourne alone - not to mention the more pressing competition of the nearby Palais Pictures of 1927. Picture Palaces were also constructed in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth at this time. With Frank Thring Snr. as one of the Victory directors there is also a further connection between the Victory and the chain of Hoyts "Regent" theatres. In 1928 Hoyts Pictures and Electric Theatres merged to form Hoyts Theatres, ²¹ a merger that included F.T. Thring and G. Griffith. ²² A further connection linking the luxury of the city theatres with the new luxury of the Victory was the architectural firm of Cedric H. Ballantyne and Associates. It was this firm that was responsible for the reconstruction of the Victory in 1928, just as it had designed the Melbourne Regent which was then under construction. ²³

The cost of the reconstruction - 40,000 Pounds - was larger than the original cost of the building. ²⁴ Most of the work appears to have been done on the interior, apart from the stepped roof replacing the single-level one. ²⁵ The program also mentions the new proscenium and the larger orchestra well. ²⁶ As the theatre continued to operate during the building works (except for three weeks prior to the re-opening and the cancellation of Wednesday matinees) ²⁷ and upon observation of differences in the brickwork around the stage area, it may be that the new proscenium and stage area had been constructed behind the old one. Inside the entrance the foyer had been enlarged to replace the old narrow crush hall, and it was now forty-eight feet wide. ²⁸ Much attention had been given to carpeting and furnishings, with the seating within the auditorium being provided by the local firm of W.E. Ham P/L. of 76 High Street. ²⁹ Photographs reproduced in the program show that the entrance foyer with its marble stairway and the upstairs barrel-vaulted promenade and lounge foyer looked much as they do in the 1990's, although it would appear that the chandeliers have been replaced at a later period. Also interesting is the cover drawing on the program. The classic elements of the facade have been drawn in such a way as to make them look more like part of an Art Deco design. ³⁰ The decorative treatment was described as being "Rich and palatial, yet unobtrusive and dignified." ³¹ Three new Simplex projectors were installed as well as "an efficient and entirely new system of lighting throughout...(using) more than 27,000 feet of steel conduit...55 miles of cable, together with 4,000 lamps...(1,000 of which were) concealed in the coves and cornices surrounding the stage...(with) dissolving and dimming apparatus (with which) the proscenium may be illuminated to a blazing mass of blending colours or within a second may fade to the softest and most pleasant of tones." ³²

The publicity manager, W.H. McKechnie, ensured that "The Victory had always had the distinction of being the only theatre in the Metropolis to issue a 14 page house organ gratis." ³³ This was intended to continue on a weekly basis, as the new Victory had now dispensed with its former bi-weekly program changes. ³⁴ A.W. Ross, who had been manager there since 1926, continued in that capacity and the twenty-piece orchestra was under the baton of M. Barille. Due to works on the St. Kilda main drain at the rear of the theatre, the motor-park was temporarily closed at this period, but the program promised that "arrangements have been made to have a number of attendants for cars left in Barkly Street." ³⁵ The Age commented that, although the auditorium had been enlarged, the seating capacity had now decreased from about 2,600 to 2,500. ³⁶ It had earlier written about the new heating system at the theatre. As well as providing ventilation, the air could now be warmed during the winter months. ³⁷

As a finishing touch, the program advised: "All employees of the Victory are paid servants - patrons are asked not to offer gratuities". ³⁸

The program for the re-opening contained, in addition to the main film "The Magic Flame" (with Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky) and the supporting feature "Ladies Must Dress", a live "Grand Prologue" entitled "The Spirit Of The Movies" which starred Zillah Bateman. There were also two performances by the orchestra ("Semiramide" overture and "Fifty Million Frenchmen’’) and a newsreel of the arrival of the airman Bert Hinkler at Flemington. ³⁹

Within a short time the Victory became a part of the Hoyts chain of suburban picture-theatres. A visit to the theatre on June 2 1993 elicited the following information from the current management - who had obtained this from the Public Records Office in Laverton - with regard to further alterations to the Victory. On June 8 1929 the Health Department had been notified in regard to the installation of a Western Electric system for talking pictures. When approved, the system was duly installed on June 26 of that year. On October 6 1937, 21-inch chairs replaced 22-inch chairs, resulting in an increase of sixteen chairs. The theatre now had 2,551 seats with 1,650 in the stalls, 364 in the lounge and 537 in the dress circle. A new storeroom was built on the southwest corner on February 29 1944 and on March 29 of the same year a new balustrade for the orchestra was constructed in front of the stage apron. A new men's toilet on the left-hand side inside the front door was opened on December 31 1946. ⁴⁰

Throughout all of this period and up until 1971 the Victory continued as a Hoyts Suburban picture theatre. In that year it was acquired by the National Theatre Company, and its subsequent transformation and operation as the National Theatre will be described in a later chapter.

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The Memorial picture-theatre was located on the southeast corner of Acland and Albert Streets St. Kilda. It was housed within the St. Kilda Soldiers Memorial Hall which still remains there under its 1996 name of "The St. Kilda Army & Navy Club". The construction of the hall was first proposed in 1920, soon after the end of the First World War. The first meeting to implement this proposal was organised by Councillor Unworth in the by now deserted St. Kilda Soldiers Lounge. Although only about six or seven people were present at this first meeting, it was decided early on that "the hall’s incorporation should carry with it the power to secure revenues, and that these revenues, profits, should be devoted each year to the relief of distressed soldiers and their dependants." ⁴¹ It was also proposed that the "memorial hall and club rooms ...would have a guaranteed source of revenue from the day of its completion." ⁴²

After a competition among architects who were returned servicemen, the firm of Messrs. Hudson & Wardrop - who later designed the Shrine of Remembrance - was chosen, and this firm’s tradition of academic classicism can be seen in the exterior of the hall, albeit in what has been described in a recent citation as a "relatively superficial" form. ⁴³ The builder was R.L. Phillips and the total cost, including land, was 39,492 Pounds. This sum was mostly raised by beach carnivals at Luna Park and special appeals and other entertainments, with the St. Kilda Council in addition making a special grant from municipal funds of 3,000 Pounds. ⁴⁴ The foundation stone of the Memorial Hall was laid by the Governor-General, Lord Forster and that of the clubrooms by the Hon. W.A. Watt, Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Armistice Day, November 11 1923. Exactly one year later the Memorial Hall was opened by the Governor of Victoria, the Earl of Stradbroke, with the first event held there being a ball in the evening. ⁴⁵ The completed structure was four stories high with twelve flats and four shops, and the hall itself could accommodate 500 for dancing and could seat 1,000. ⁴⁶

As one of the ways of earning the revenue that had been deemed necessary since that first meeting to plan the hall, it was decided to lease part of it as a picture-theatre. Because of this the structure was therefore known for many years to the cinema-going public of St. Kilda and other places as "The Memorial", or else the more familiarly-shortened "The Memo".

The theatre began operating three years after the hall’s construction. On November 5 1927 a programme which included the film "Sweethearts" and a live show of "Exciting corroboree turns with eight full-blooded aboriginals" was advertised as showing at the Cairo Theatre on the Upper Esplanade. ⁴⁷ Two days later the same programme of "Films and Aboriginal Turns" was advertised as being also at the Memorial Hall, ⁴⁸ which is the first listing of the new theatre. The advertisement, consisting of a small rectangle about 45 by 25 mm. which contained the name of the theatre, its address and the program, was in marked contrast to the very large advertisements proclaiming - with illustrations - the opening of the Palais in four days. ⁴⁹ The following year the Memorial Theatre was listed in the Sands & McDougall Directory under picture theatres, ⁵⁰ and by 1939 it had joined the Hoyts chain with which it remained until its closure.

Although from the beginning, both in size and advertising, it can be seen as the poor relation of the Victory and Palais theatres, this did not mean that the theatre was not popular. John-Michael Howson spent the greater part of his childhood in St. Kilda and was at an early age a patron of its picture-theatres, all of which he describes in various anecdotes about his formative years in his 1985 book "I Found It At The Flickers". In this he contrasts what he describes as the "baroque and Byzantine" of the Palais, the "marble and mahogany" of the Victory, the "cozy kitsch" of the Astor and the "distinctive deco" of the New Windsor, with the Memorial. He recollects it as "a much-loved flea-pit (with) uncomfortable seats, a tatty curtain, a couple of radiators on the walls, and peculiar decorative lights that turned the puce curtains shades guaranteed to make even the colour-blind bilious". ⁵¹

However, with all of these apparent shortcomings and lacking the glamour of the other St. Kilda picture theatres, it was still a well-patronised venue. It catered for those audiences who loved the detective, horror and mystery films from what were then considered the lesser Hollywood studios such as Monogram and Republic. Also, there was not the need to dress as formally as one would have had to when going to the other picture-theatres nearby. The ushers were not as strict as elsewhere and this, combined with a laissez-faire attitude to eating in the auditorium, often meant that food scraps thrown at the screen when the "villains" appeared (particularly the real-life ones in the war-time newsreels) often stayed there for some considerable time, ⁵² something that would not have been tolerated, for instance, at the Palais.

In addition to the usual cinema fare (which also included the British Gaumont News), items of local sporting interest were featured. Film of the St. Kilda football team was shown there (with the team itself also being in attendance) on June 29 1931, and from July of that year the St. Kilda Captain, Harold Matthews, gave a weekly broadcast of news of the team which included a message for the patrons of the Memorial. ⁵³

With this informality, the participation of local sporting heroes, and the physical siting of the theatre within the Returned Servicemen's Club, it could be said that the Memorial was perhaps more of a "community" (in the words true sense, and not in its current debased usage as a justification for an art’s grant for something from which the community actually stays away in droves) picture-theatre than its more ornate peers which catered as much (if not more) for "outsiders" as well as those resident in St. Kilda.

The theatre continued to function as part of the Hoyts chain, showing films on their second or third run, until its closure in late 1958. With as little publicity as for its opening, it showed its last films "House Of Strangers" and "Women Of Pitcairn Island" on Wednesday, December 10 1958. ⁵⁴ It was a time of the coming of new things to Melbourne. On the following day the record of the hit musical "My Fair Lady" was officially released and "The Ten Commandments" opened at the newly-refurbished Barclay Theatre in Russell Street ⁵⁵ and the day after that the first of the modern city buildings - the I.C.I. - had an open day for public visitation. ⁵⁶

Although no longer a theatre, the hall continued an association with cinema, however. Until quite recently - February 1992 - ⁵⁷ it housed the company of Pan Pacific Films, being used at times as a rehearsal area. This company also operated a Sunday Market which ran for two years until its closure on Sunday, March 1 1992. ⁵⁸ In 1996 there are two double shops on the Acland Street frontage: one of which is a further extension of the new gaming rooms, and the other "La Petite Bourgogne" French restaurant. Although the section which housed the picture-theatre is currently empty, there are proposals for the possible re-opening of it as a cinema in about 1996. This is in line with the current refurbishment of the hall, which at the time of writing this book has a new gaming-room with poker-machines and a new restaurant - the "Albert Jacka Bar" - in what was once the downstairs foyer.

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With the exception of Luna Park, perhaps the best-known building in St. Kilda would be the Palais Theatre. The present structure replaced the earlier Palais Pictures which had been destroyed by fire on February 10 1926, while under reconstruction.

Its location on the corner of the Lower Esplanade and Cavell Street - across the road from Luna Park - puts it in close proximity to Acland, Fitzroy and Carlisle Streets. Its size and situation gives it a landmark quality, especially when approached from the northwest by car or tram, or when observed from the sea.

It was opened as "The New Palais Pictures" on Friday, November 11 1927 ⁵⁹ and, apart from a few minor alterations, remains substantially unchanged. The theatre is rectangular with a stepped arched roof. The front is dominated by twin towers topped by domes with "an almost Islamic flavour... which reflects those of Luna Park". ⁶⁰ The interior, which is in the eclectic style of theatre design typical of that period, has been described as "French and oriental" by contemporary newspapers, ⁶¹ "Spanish" in a recent conservation study ⁶² and "no particular period or style" by the theatre's architect, H.W. White. ⁶³ At the time of construction, "modern" meant the combining of many traditional styles as distinct from the later use of the word to describe stylistic modes that were new. Perhaps the closest to a precise definition of its style today would be "revivalist" or "retro". The seating capacity, although later reduced, was originally 2968. ⁶⁴ The stage area, small when compared to some "live" theatres, was unusually large for a picture-theatre.

Its opening in November 1927 was one month after the release of the part-talkie "The Jazz Singer" and eight months before the first all-talking picture "The Lights Of New York" was released by Warners on July 15 1928. ⁶⁵

In common with the other picture palaces of the 1920's, the Palais was designed as a venue for silent films. What must be kept in mind however, is the assertion of Diane Collins that "there never was a silent film". ⁶⁶ By this she means that not only were the larger picture-theatres equipped with orchestras which followed either a score written for a particular film or else arrangements of suitable mood music when required (in addition to appropriate sound effects) but also that films were exhibited along with live entertainment. In the smaller picture theatres this might only consist of a vocalist with piano accompaniment, but in a venue such as the Palais a lot more was expected by the audiences and therefore given by the management.

In contrast to later picture-theatres built after the coming of sound film, the Palais was equipped with all of the necessary paraphernalia for producing quite elaborate live shows. This included a "fly tower" - a high area above the stage where scenery can be "flown" or raised when not needed - as well as a unique apparatus for painting scenery which was sometimes lent out to other live theatres. ⁶⁷ There was also a large orchestra pit, together with an off-stage area for the musicians. Dressing rooms, although inadequate by later standards, ⁶⁸ were included for the performers.

The Palais was built during a time which could be termed the "first golden age of cinema attendance". During this time great emphasis was placed on the size of the auditorium. Most of the giant picture-palaces were built in the city (The State, Capitol and Regent) but the Palais was, and still is, the only suburban picture palace. Its location in St. Kilda helped it weather the slump in theatre-going during the depression of the 1930's, and its size was again an advantage when attendances rose during the Second World War and in the period immediately after. By being equipped for live shows it has been able to continue functioning, albeit on a reduced scale, even after the coming of television and the much later emergence of the multiplex cinemas, both of which affected the very large, single auditorium, style of venue.

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The Astor picture-theatre is located on the southwest corner of Chapel and Wellington Streets. It was opened on Friday, April 3 1936. ⁶⁹ Although there had been some opposition to the construction of this theatre by "two hundred and fifty ratepayers (who) complained that the theatre was too close to churches" ⁷⁰ and by Cr. Moroney who was quoted in the Age of September 17 1935 as saying: "a noisy, showy place of entertainment would detract from the dignity and charm of one of the loveliest localities in St. Kilda", ⁷¹ this did not stop the St. Kilda City Council from finally granting a building approval (No.9090) on October 31 1935 after some initial deferment. ⁷² This opposition seems rather curious in view of the street layout in 1935, and the number of hotels in the area. Dandenong Road then crossed Chapel Street and flowed directly into Wellington Street, and at this intersection were hotels on every corner except the southeast. Hotel revellers - especially from Prahran - would have been far noisier than sober patrons arriving and departing from the Astor. On the other hand, with the early closing laws (6 p.m.) of the period, cinemagoers would have been in the area at a much later time.

Perhaps it was this lateness that occasioned the opposition to the Astor’s construction, with the potentially exuberant crowds waiting around for the trams that ran along both streets of the intersection posing more of a threat to the sleep of the residents than to worshippers at the nearby churches. (It is of interest here that when "The Diamond" picture-theatre on the same site was operating in 1913, similar complaints were made, with its Sunday shows being described as "a disgrace to the community" and the local churches leading the opposition to that theatre). ⁷³ In spite of this opposition however, the Astor was duly opened by Archie Michaelis and has been in almost continual operation since. ⁷⁴

The architect was R. Morton Taylor and the builder Clements Langford. The seating capacity was 1692, the sound system was by Western Electric and for those hard of hearing there were seats provided with hearing-aid sockets. ⁷⁵ In contrast to the earlier built Palais and Victory, the Astor was constructed with sound facilities as part of the design rather than being a later addition. Although most of the newer picture-theatres of the 1930's utilised the "art moderne" features of roundness and a general streamlined effect, ⁷⁶ the Astor is rectangular in its general design and most of the exterior use of decorative brickwork uses straight lines both vertically and horizontally. In plan it is rather like two boxes joined together. The larger box contains the auditorium and, at ground level, a row of shops. Above the shops and under the rear of the dress circle is the dress circle foyer. The smaller box, to the side of the shops and the auditorium, is the main entrance.

Upon entering, the box-office is to the right and the doorway to the rear of the stalls at the left. Part of the foyer continues down the side of the auditorium with doorways to the front stalls. The greater part of the foyer ends at the stairway to the lounge and dress circle. This stairwell is axially arranged for access to the upper foyer. An open well in the form of an elongated ellipse connects the upper and lower foyer. The lower is quite sparse with regard to decoration in comparison to the carpeted and furnished foyer above. At right angles to this upper foyer is the dress-circle foyer. The theatre is clad with brick, with decorative elements on the Chapel Street frontage only, the sides remaining plain. As none of this has been painted, the exposed brickwork still retains - apart from the accumulation of grime - its original 1935-36 appearance.

The Astor is a rare survivor of a type of suburban picture-theatre that appeared in the 1930's. In this period the emphasis had shifted from the construction of mammoth picture-palaces in the city to either the building of new theatres in the suburbs or else the modernising of those already there. ⁷⁷ The onset of the great depression made it harder to fill the giant city picture-theatres as people were unable to afford, or unwilling to pay, the cost of transport to them. When individuals, couples, and families went out on a regular basis, it was usually to their local theatres, with those in the city reserved for special occasions. ⁷⁸ A contributing factor to this reluctance to travel too far from home at this time was the ready availability of cheap domestic entertainment by means of the now widespread ownership of radios. ⁷⁹ Although having the edge over city theatres, suburban ones still had this competition from "the wireless". Possibly in response to this, suburban picture-theatres tended to become more domestic - albeit on a grander scale - in their appointments at this time. What D. Collins calls the "leitmotif of the 1930's cinema - the large, living room style foyer" ⁸⁰ could be an apt description of the circle foyer of the Astor - a characteristic shared with the Brunswick Padua and the Park Theatre in Albert Park. ⁸¹ The lighting of the Astor is also subdued and indirect, giving it a feeling of tranquillity and homeliness. After the extravagances of the 1920's with their Moorish, Gothic and deliberately overwhelming decor, the 1930's picture-theatres were places of cosiness, designed to make people of the bleak depression years feel at home.

It is fortunate that the Astor has "seen few alterations since its completion in 1936 ... (and) has survived untouched by time". ⁸² Considering the fact that if a cinema was not demolished as a result of the onset of television, or the interior often changed in a most unsympathetic way during the modernising mania of the early 1960's - as in the case of the Lyceum in Bourke Street which ultimately experienced both events, ⁸³ the Astor can be seen as a rare survivor. Although not the last of its type, the fact that the building has retained its integrity, remained functional and still continues to operate on a profitable basis makes it somewhat unusual. Its cultural symbolism is multi-layered. In its capacity as a "local" theatre it has served both past and present. During its days as a Greek-language theatre (as described in Chapter 6) it symbolised the multi-culturalism ideals developing in 1960's Australia. These ideals were then in opposition to the dominant "melting-pot" concept in which migrants were supposed somehow to lose their former identity and culture and assimilate into Anglo-Celtic society in a somehow existential denial of their past. By showing Greek-language films the Astor stood as a sign of a people not only maintaining their culture but also making it available to others interested in broadening their cultural perspective. At the time of writing this book, apart from its regained "local cinema" function, its periodic hosting of film festivals is also culturally significant of the way in which Australian film awareness has grown from its former "U.S.A. and Britain" insularity, an awareness the Astor can be said to have played some part in helping to bring about.

The 1996 operators of the Astor "have sought to reinstate and restore long ignored internal features, such as the original strong colour scheme, the indirect lighting and much of the internal fittings and furniture, which appears to be original". ⁸⁴ Also noteworthy is the restoration to full working order of the illuminated strip "Astor" external sign. Since the changing of the road layout and the demolition of adjoining structures in the 1960's, the Astor is in 1996 a dominant landmark for those approaching St. Kilda along Dandenong Road, providing almost a counterpoise to the Palais Theatre on the seaward side of the city.

In cities built prior to the twentieth century - as shown by contemporaneous drawings, paintings and photographs - the buildings dominating the skyline were the various churches. The only things competing with their spires in what had previously been fortified cities in Europe - for example, Nuremberg - were the turrets of the castles built on hilltops. In Melbourne the church spires rose well above the surrounding structures in the nineteenth century and even well into the twentieth until the building of the first multistorey office blocks in the late 1950's. ¹ St. Kilda was no exception in this period, having the spire of the Presbyterian Church on the corner of Alma Road and Barkly Street and the campanile of the Sacred Heart in Grey Street. Both were on the crests of hills and even in 1996 are still outstanding landmarks.

By the 1920's however, the churches in St. Kilda - in common with those elsewhere - were faced with secular competition from the large new picture-theatres being constructed. The competition was more than visual though. Just as the various religions had had their effects on people's morals, manners and ways of thought and behaviour, so the cinema in its heyday similarly influenced to a greater or lesser degree the actions and thoughts of its devotees. As well as the contents of the films themselves, the architecture of their places of exhibition and other associated "viewing rituals" were also powerful behaviour-modifying influences. Such behaviour can be difficult to quantify, but an examination of audience attendance and behaviour can perhaps give an indication of