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CINEMARECORD

THE CHELSEA THEATRE By Trevor Walters

The Chelsea Theatre was located at 178 Flinders Street
Melbourne and was fonnally known as the Majestic.
With the closure of the Majestic on the 25th of February 1960 at
the conclusion of a one week season for ·Buchanan Rides Alone··
and '"The Last 8/it:krieg'' the theatre was refurbished and re-
opened as the Chelsea on the lOth of June that year.

The Chelsea projectorion room 1975 with Kolee's.
Cinemocconicos hod been trans(ered to the Forum
Emertainmenr''. The Forum's two Kalees went to the Chelsea. It
was at this time Greater Union were programming mainly double
features into the Chelsea. many on one week seasons. The
Chelsea Theatre was now in decline and would see out the
remainder of its days in this fashion.
The Chelsea stage, 1975
The Chelsea in its hey day screened many of the block buster
movies of the times. ''Sparricus". "£/ Cid", "Gems of Navarone,
The Chelsea had a seating capacity of 1.196 and was equipped "55 Days at Peking'', ·'Lawrence Of Arabia" and ''The Godfather"
with two 70mm/35mm Cinemaccanica projectors and one Kalee were just a few.
35mm projector. All had carbon arcs and the Kalee was fined
with magnetic sound heads. By 1975, the Chelsea, with a large seating capacity and like many
of rhe older theatres had no air conditioning, was at a stage that
Opening with "Porgy and Bess'' which was screened in 70mm. needed substantial sums of money spent on it to bring it up to the
the Chelsea remained Greater Unions only theatre equipped with standards that were now expected by todays movie goers.
70mm projectors unti I March/ April 1975 when the projectors
With Greater Union expected to announce plans for a cinema
were transferred to the Forum Theatre for the release of ·'Tfwr' s
complex there would be no room for the old Chelsea Theatre in
the future.
On the 15th of November 1979, the Chelsea Theatre closed. fts
last programme, revivals of the Clint Eastwood films "The
Enforcer" supported by "The Gauntlet".

EVERYTHING

for holiday
entertainment
Ad•o11tur1 thll thrillt
- ... - ro"'•"c.e thet ••·
thralls - - - lttloft thot
e•~:itw.s .. • ... portr•, ...
lty • uhtaft4iftl stan.
SAMUEL BRONSTON presents

Right: The
Chelsea prior to
auction.
Left: Newspaper
od (or Chelsea,
1963

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