St. James Theatre

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Uploaded on: October 31, 2026

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When Disney’s 1970 Xmas attraction “The Boatniks” sank on 7 January 1971 it was the last First Release to run at the St James. A revival of Hayley Mills’ “The Parent Trap” opened the next day and ran four weeks. Then on 4 February the countdown to closure was on with yet another return of “Doctor Zhivago”. Other titles were on standby for this final Festival of Classics, but they weren’t needed, as the David Lean epic ran the entire six weeks. The St James last day featured 11 am and 2 pm sessions of “The Wizard of Oz”, with the final night performance on Saturday 20 March 1971 being a Gala Charity event featuring the perennial “Gone With The Wind”. Those attending included Sir Bernard Freeman (former managing director of MGM Australasia), Isador Goodman famed orchestra leader, Mrs Reginald Pollard widow of the long time St James manager, and a number of other former employees, including a few men involved with construction of the building.