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CINEMAR ECO R D

Frank VanStraten receives OAM George Wallace Memorabilia
Australia Day Honour
George Wallace Senior, the gfeat Aussie vaudeville come-
dian and contemporary of Roy Rene, will be the subject of a
Frank Van Straten has received an Order of Austra)ia 50-minute ABC documentary by Jim Murphy,'Green Guide'
Medal for service to the performing arts as a historian, music critic and former Two On The Aisle' critic, with the
museum director and radio broadcaster. Frank, who presents late Ivan Hutchison. Murphy, who has slaved to get the
3LO's Nostalgia Show on Sunday afternoons, was director project up and running for six years, is producing the doco
of the Performing Arts Museum for 10 years and has written in partnership with Don Percy and actor/comedian Jeremy
various theatre histories including a book on Melbourne's Kewley, who continues the vaudeville tradition at Hunchbax
Regent Theatre. Theatre Restuarant in Richmond. They are searching for
George Wallace anecdotes and memorabilia So if you have
Frank is a Patron of the Cinema And Theatre Historical either, email Jim at murhyj@ozemail.com.au
Society Victoria and all of us at CATHS congratulate Frank
on this well deserved award! The Age Green Guide, 4 March 1999, 'TV Eye' by Barbara
Hooks.
Frank Van Straten inherited his passion for the performing
arts from his parents. His father, Leon, was a professional
musician. Frank starred collecting books, recordings and
theatrical memorabilia in his early teens. WB COMMITS TO DYE TRACKS

After a career in advertising, marketing and record distribu- Warner Bros have committed to releasing all their future
tion, Frank joined the Victorian Arts Centre as archivist of titles on film useing high-magenta analogue dye tracks for
the newly-established Performing Arts Museum. He became sound. This will replace the more expensive older-style
its director in 1984. The Museum now has the largest silver-applicated tracks. The bulk of silver content in prints
collection of theatrical memorabilia in Australia and is of has been in the soundtrack area and the purpuse of using dye
world significance. tracks is to reduce the silver content to a minimum. Warners
tested the dye soundtracks on 150 prints of CITY OF AN-
Among the exhibitions presented at the Museum during GELS last April,and more recently, on3,000 prints of
Frank's time there were: Botrrke Street On Saturday Night, YOU'VE GOT MAIL The new magenta dye tracks will play
1983; Her Majesty's Theatre 50th Birthday Celebration, on conventional saundheads.but they provide improved per-
1984; Pin-Up, 1984; The Great Days of Australian Vaur- formance if played on the new red LED light readers.
deville, 1985; Thanks For Listening [Radio], 1986; Silent According to Kodak, there are currently 3,000 cinemas
Smiles [Silent Films], 1987; The Mo show 1988; Hooray equipped with LED light readers in the USA.
For Hollywood! [Movie Posters], 1989; Entertaining Mel-
botrne, 1992; Stars In Your Eyes, Movie Stills], 1991. AUSTRALIA
Frank retired as director in 1993. Working on a freelance
basis, Frank curated the Performing Arts Museum's 1996 Many Australian cinemas are already equipped with red LED
exhibition celebrating the history of the Tivoli Theatre. light readers. Russell Scott, General Manager of Greater
Frank has presented ABC Radio's weekly Nostalgia pro- Union Entertainment Technology (G U E T) told Movie
gramme since 1986. He provides programme notes for a Trader that all recent new installations were equipped with
wide variety oftheatrica1 and other presentations. LED readers. "Outside of that group, only about a third of the
remaining Australian cinemas are equipped with LED read-
These have included the Victorian Arts Centre's 100 Years ers," he said. "That is, about a hundred Australian cinemas
of Cinema Swiss, 1995, and The Regent Gala Re-opening are not ready for cyan dye suond tracks.
Concert in 1996. His first book, National Treasure - The
Story of Gertrude Johnson and the National Theatre, was In the first step away from the old silver-coated sound tracks,
published by Victoria Press in 1994. His most recent book magenta dye tracks will be used. As mentioned above, they
is The Regent Theatre: Melbournes Palace of Dreams. This will still play on old-style soundheade although they give a
was published by ELM to mark the re-opening of the better performance when played through a red LED reader.
beloved Collins Street landmark. Frank recorded a talkeing However, when the move is made to cyan-dye tracks, they
book version of this in 1997. He is currently working on a will not work on old-style soundheads and an LED reader is
major history of the Tivoli Circuit. required.

Frank is a member of the board of the National Theatre, the To date, no magenta dye or cyan dye prints have been
executive of the Green Room Awards Association, the manufactured and released in Australia Domine Case, Group
Grainger Museum advisory committee and the Victoria Technology and Service Manager for Atlab told Movie
Theatres Trust. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Trader that they, have already made test magenta prints. The
Australia in the 1999 Australia Day Honours. magenta dye printing involves a slight change to the sound-
track process. Once this has been successfully achieved, the
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