Hooray!…..as usual Bryan krefft places something really interesting and well worht researching. Thankyou Bryan, from the other sie of the planet! (where the sun DOES shine) PAUL B.
In the raucous pre censorship 1934 Busby Berkeley movie WONDERBAR set inside a deco nightclub apparently in Paris, two 70 year old women out for a soiree de love remark that the club’s decor is nothing compared to the foyer of the Bijou Theatre in Schenectady…..a hilarious comment considering they are like a pair of turkeys on holiday from the farm…as a result I have always wanted to see what reference point these two would have. Of course I am thrilled at how sensational the Proctor Theatre is but I have to ask….isn’t a Proctor a person who is a Proctologist? (a bowell doctor?).
In Australia we don’t have any cinemas called Proctor (or hotels or anything with that as a name, one would actually want to enter) so you can imagine my amusement at finding a theatre called such a thing. In this country it would be like calling the cinema THE BUM HOLE or something like that. I kid you not. Sorry………
The links Bryan posts are really interesting (this one is) but alot of the others especially the UCLA ones are ones I can’t open; thanks anyway, but if Bryan is able to post actual address links it would make people like me here in Australia really happy. the tram link above is a wonderful diversion and supports the comment I made months ago that tram websites often have cinema photos as well as the tram stops were where the cinemas were; as a result thay are a great extra source of cinema photos but are listed as tram photos.
Please understand the photo above does not represent the regent as it is today. it was tripled in the 70s and only some of the auditorium was kept.
Yes the arch and the front of the balcony, but the rest was cut into horrible tunnel cinemas. I don’t have an updated photo, maybe somene from KINO in Australia does? Please post it to avoid the confusion evident from comments above.
Yes Michael it can…..now just turn over the full cash withdrawal details of your all bank accounts to every member of this site and we can go from there…..
One of the completely forgotten sites and one that was lost early in the Tv purge. Incredible to believe it had a 38 year career as a social hub and then was absolutely erased. This happened to so many Sydney cinemas. I am sure every person who views these sites can say the same in their city. Except MICHAEL of course, who will just print something so stupid it ignites a world wide retort. yeesh.
Australia’s premiere and premier location for classic cinema perfectly operated by George Florence and his staff with great dedication.
I recently saw a restored print of THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY and came away in awe of both the screen size and the excellent presentation.
Dear neo….The Adelaide Regent is there but reduced to the top half of the auditorium only…. it is tripled and halved horizontally. it needs restoration and care and sympathetic treatment………..on the other hand MICHAEL and the inane comments posted on dozens of sites need unsymaptheitc treatment…how do we stop this idiot? PLEASE someone one tell me how…even ‘his page’ is blank. PAIN.
We had a cinema like this in the heart of Sydney called THE EMBASSY; the snazziest, most exquisite deco with jazz /fountain / deer motifs. It opened in 1934 no doubt influenced by progressive deco masterpieces like this one above. The late 70s and a greedy ugly bank made sure it didn’t survive.
to Michael: it already is………but currently is staging THE LION KING for the next 2 years. After that, another symphony season will play there.
Even the the early 70s when it was a double feature cinema screening such wonders as CHROME AND HOT LEATHER + GOD FORGIVES I DON’T or perhaps BILLY THE KID VS DRACULA + JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEINS DAUGHTER (at 80c too!)
the Australian Ballet and the Opera would each have a guest appearance season. Even Liberace played to packed houses in 1970. Then it became the home of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR for several years from 1972.
Milsie P above should contact a Sydney Daily Telegraph theatre journo;
Jessica above should contact the Theatre Management (like, der!)… Paul B.
What Neo is moaning about is actually the loss of the stalls….in many Australian designs, the lower level of all our 2 level cinemas was fairly plain. It was the upper level, ceiling and proscenium that had the good bits. It was cut in half horizontally, from balcony to back wall, which if one thinks about it, is the best way to keep the 95% of what is worth keeping. Many other glamorous cinemas are saved and kept virtually intact (and therfore still in use) by this method. The Orpheum cremorne is one example. It is the best and most viable method. otherwise, goodbye whole building, and louder moaning……
The water winter wonderland site is superb….packed with excellent and informative and amusing photos and information. There is a great list of picture palaces, what are they/s, and hilarious neon signs etc. Whoever constructed this site deserves to be very successfull; it is a great job and fascinating in its thoroughness. And I live in Australia! (where it is very nice too!). Paul Brennan .au
The demented bastardisation of this astonishing gothic wonder in 1978 was a head shaking event second only to the Sydney Regent demolition. this Brisbane Regent was the second most spectacular of all The Regents, so of course it had to be ruined. I saw ROLLERBALL there in late 1975. It had cane backed seats for cool comfort. The foyer which thankfully survived the idiotic ‘fixing’ is still today an awesome sight to encounter and is similar to the gorgeous Melbourne Regent – the best of them all and lovingly operated as a live venue. At the time just before the Brisbane auditorium demolition, there was even press pieces about how the wreckers came in during the night awith chainsaws and vandalised the interior to such an extent, the ‘developers’ claimed it was now past saving !! One photo showed some galoot with his chainsaw hacking his way gleeefully through the side balconies, reducing pristing gothic decor to chips. Later I saw JEWEL OF THE NILE or something in one of the new cinemas which of course looked like a supermarket with seats. The one 400 seat cinema kept in the Regent style is an insult to the glorious and very useful 2600 seat masterpiece that was there. Paul Brennan .au
Hooray!…..as usual Bryan krefft places something really interesting and well worht researching. Thankyou Bryan, from the other sie of the planet! (where the sun DOES shine) PAUL B.
That is great information, thankyou. Now I (and the rest of us overseas readers) know. Much appreciated. PAUL B.
In the raucous pre censorship 1934 Busby Berkeley movie WONDERBAR set inside a deco nightclub apparently in Paris, two 70 year old women out for a soiree de love remark that the club’s decor is nothing compared to the foyer of the Bijou Theatre in Schenectady…..a hilarious comment considering they are like a pair of turkeys on holiday from the farm…as a result I have always wanted to see what reference point these two would have. Of course I am thrilled at how sensational the Proctor Theatre is but I have to ask….isn’t a Proctor a person who is a Proctologist? (a bowell doctor?).
In Australia we don’t have any cinemas called Proctor (or hotels or anything with that as a name, one would actually want to enter) so you can imagine my amusement at finding a theatre called such a thing. In this country it would be like calling the cinema THE BUM HOLE or something like that. I kid you not. Sorry………
The links Bryan posts are really interesting (this one is) but alot of the others especially the UCLA ones are ones I can’t open; thanks anyway, but if Bryan is able to post actual address links it would make people like me here in Australia really happy. the tram link above is a wonderful diversion and supports the comment I made months ago that tram websites often have cinema photos as well as the tram stops were where the cinemas were; as a result thay are a great extra source of cinema photos but are listed as tram photos.
Please understand the photo above does not represent the regent as it is today. it was tripled in the 70s and only some of the auditorium was kept.
Yes the arch and the front of the balcony, but the rest was cut into horrible tunnel cinemas. I don’t have an updated photo, maybe somene from KINO in Australia does? Please post it to avoid the confusion evident from comments above.
all together now……………
The last remaining seats site link is truly astonishing..thankyou!
I hear MICHAEL has changed his name to MURRAY.
Michael: only if you lend an ear……
Yes Michael it can…..now just turn over the full cash withdrawal details of your all bank accounts to every member of this site and we can go from there…..
Lets hunt MICHAEL and make his house a concert hall instead.
Dear Movieman….your next mission is to hunt down MICHAEL
Michael: Try your bank manager.
One of the completely forgotten sites and one that was lost early in the Tv purge. Incredible to believe it had a 38 year career as a social hub and then was absolutely erased. This happened to so many Sydney cinemas. I am sure every person who views these sites can say the same in their city. Except MICHAEL of course, who will just print something so stupid it ignites a world wide retort. yeesh.
Australia’s premiere and premier location for classic cinema perfectly operated by George Florence and his staff with great dedication.
I recently saw a restored print of THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY and came away in awe of both the screen size and the excellent presentation.
PHOTO’S? does Michael mean PHOTOS? Does Michael mean ANYTHING? Who IS this idiot?
SHADDUP, MICHAEL, you goose.
Dear neo….The Adelaide Regent is there but reduced to the top half of the auditorium only…. it is tripled and halved horizontally. it needs restoration and care and sympathetic treatment………..on the other hand MICHAEL and the inane comments posted on dozens of sites need unsymaptheitc treatment…how do we stop this idiot? PLEASE someone one tell me how…even ‘his page’ is blank. PAIN.
kill MICHAEL. now.
apparently. “The dear old thing is still there…….etc”
We had a cinema like this in the heart of Sydney called THE EMBASSY; the snazziest, most exquisite deco with jazz /fountain / deer motifs. It opened in 1934 no doubt influenced by progressive deco masterpieces like this one above. The late 70s and a greedy ugly bank made sure it didn’t survive.
to Michael: it already is………but currently is staging THE LION KING for the next 2 years. After that, another symphony season will play there.
Even the the early 70s when it was a double feature cinema screening such wonders as CHROME AND HOT LEATHER + GOD FORGIVES I DON’T or perhaps BILLY THE KID VS DRACULA + JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEINS DAUGHTER (at 80c too!)
the Australian Ballet and the Opera would each have a guest appearance season. Even Liberace played to packed houses in 1970. Then it became the home of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR for several years from 1972.
Milsie P above should contact a Sydney Daily Telegraph theatre journo;
Jessica above should contact the Theatre Management (like, der!)… Paul B.
What Neo is moaning about is actually the loss of the stalls….in many Australian designs, the lower level of all our 2 level cinemas was fairly plain. It was the upper level, ceiling and proscenium that had the good bits. It was cut in half horizontally, from balcony to back wall, which if one thinks about it, is the best way to keep the 95% of what is worth keeping. Many other glamorous cinemas are saved and kept virtually intact (and therfore still in use) by this method. The Orpheum cremorne is one example. It is the best and most viable method. otherwise, goodbye whole building, and louder moaning……
The water winter wonderland site is superb….packed with excellent and informative and amusing photos and information. There is a great list of picture palaces, what are they/s, and hilarious neon signs etc. Whoever constructed this site deserves to be very successfull; it is a great job and fascinating in its thoroughness. And I live in Australia! (where it is very nice too!). Paul Brennan .au
The demented bastardisation of this astonishing gothic wonder in 1978 was a head shaking event second only to the Sydney Regent demolition. this Brisbane Regent was the second most spectacular of all The Regents, so of course it had to be ruined. I saw ROLLERBALL there in late 1975. It had cane backed seats for cool comfort. The foyer which thankfully survived the idiotic ‘fixing’ is still today an awesome sight to encounter and is similar to the gorgeous Melbourne Regent – the best of them all and lovingly operated as a live venue. At the time just before the Brisbane auditorium demolition, there was even press pieces about how the wreckers came in during the night awith chainsaws and vandalised the interior to such an extent, the ‘developers’ claimed it was now past saving !! One photo showed some galoot with his chainsaw hacking his way gleeefully through the side balconies, reducing pristing gothic decor to chips. Later I saw JEWEL OF THE NILE or something in one of the new cinemas which of course looked like a supermarket with seats. The one 400 seat cinema kept in the Regent style is an insult to the glorious and very useful 2600 seat masterpiece that was there. Paul Brennan .au