St. James Theatre

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Uploaded on: October 31, 2026

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Searchlights, a guard of honor formed by men of the NSW Pipe Band Association and thirty drum majorettes shown here lining the Elizabeth Street footpath for the gala charity premiere of “The Dirty Dozen” at the Sydney St James Wednesday 13th September 1967. The next day MGM’s biggest hit of the year “The Dirty Dozen” opened simultaneously on 13 screens in the Sydney region. This was one of the largest splash releases Metro ever achieved. Yet despite all that ‘competition’ the St James still managed a mighty 13 week run. (Not as impressive however as the Melbourne Capitol where it ran for 37 weeks in 70mm).

For the record, the Sydney ‘splash release’ of “Dirty Dozen” included all Metro theaters except Kings Cross (which was running the move-over of “Doctor Zhivago”). Viz. St James, Liberty, Metro Bondi Junction, Metro Manly, Metro Crows Nest and Metro Twin Drive-In Chullora (both fields). Independent exhibitors, many of whom regularly participated in Metro wide releases, were: Roselands, Thornleigh, Hornsby, Earlwood, Penrith Drive-In and the well out of town Katoomba Savoy.