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Uploaded on: September 21, 2024

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Photo & notes by Tony Beyer

The Valhalla Cinema was an independently owned cinema in Melbourne, Australia. Noted for showing various cult, classic, audience participation films, it was named for Valhalla, the “Hall of the slain” in Norse mythology.

The cinema opened its doors on 10 June 1976 at 216 Victoria Street, Richmond. The first film to be screened there was Michael Ritchie’s “Smile” supplied by United Artists.

The cinema was started by two friends from Sydney University: Barry Peak and Christopher Kiely. They had been running short seasons of films by the likes of the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields & Mae West and Humphrey Bogart in Melbourne for some time. Realising that they needed a permanent home in Melbourne, rather than keep renting venues such as the Palais in St Kilda and the Horticultural Hall in Victoria Street, Melbourne, they leased the cinema at 216 Victoria Street, Richmond.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -