St. James Theatre

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Uploaded on: October 31, 2026

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On 7 July 1937, three years after MGM took over the St James, another nearby city venue came under their control – the Liberty in Pitt Street, which it initially leased from Imperial Theatres Ltd., purchasing the freehold in 1942. Then after WWII, in empire building mode, Metro swept up four existing suburban venues: Kings Cross (Minerva) April 1950, Manly (Century) December 1950, Bondi Junction (Regal) July 1952 and Crows Nest (Sesqui) December 1953. To round out their Sydney circuit they built a twin drive-in at Chullora which opened in October 1956. (Elsewhere in NSW Metro also built a single screen Drive-In at Gateshead in Newcastle February 1958). With “Singin’ In The Rain” on 27 June 1952 MGM launched a blanket city wide release policy which would become common.