Page 17 - CR31R.pdf

both cases, survival would come at the cost of
signal change.
New viewing alternatives had administered
the cold douche to cinemas everywhere. The
stark, clinical challenge confronting so many
cinema proprietors was to somehow revitalise
their venues, or sadly see them perish.

A Cosmopolitan Solution
The arrival of Peter Yiannoudes might have
appeared as an epiphany to an ailing cinema
industry of the 1960s. In the late 1950s,
Yiannoudes began as an importer and agent for
Greek film companies. He exhibited his first
films in the Melbourne Town Hall in 1957. In
1961, he acquired his first cinema, the National
Theatre, Richmond. A Sophia Loren film with
Greek subtitles clearly illustrated the exciting
potential of a new format of cinema program- Main staircase to circle foyer. Photo: Adrian Maiolla.
ming which would target Melbourne’s inner-
suburban Greek community. English language television was not nearly so alluring.
Yiannoudes, together with his partners Stan Raftopoulos Cinema therefore retained its magnetism, not only as an enter-
and Andrew Papadopoulos went on to own and lease a portfo- tainment medium, but also as a social, networking forum.
lio of Greek language cinemas under the banner Cosmopolitan During Cosmopolitan’s early years at Westgarth, screenings
Motion Pictures Pty Ltd. The Westgarth, with its vacuous inte- occurred three evenings per week. This was later scaled back
rior and close proximity to Northcote’s thriving Greek com- to two evenings: Saturdays and Sundays. Present day co-man-
munity, became a natural target. Thus, in November 1966, the ager and nephew of Peter Yiannoudes, Mr Michael Protopapa,
Westgarth Theatre was acquired for $70000. It has been gleefully recalls Westgarth audiences of 1200 people creating
reported as the most expensive of Cosmopolitan’s acquisi- a buoyant atmosphere during these evenings.
tions. Cosmopolitan gave many beleaguered cinemas years The Westgarth Picture Theatre became a multifarious
they most likely would not have otherwise had. A 1967 venue. Indian films were shown with subtitles. Turkish films
Westgarth Theatre building registration shows Westgarth’s with Greek subtitles were exhibited until such time as tensions
seating capacity as follows: between Greece and Turkey, pertaining to Cyprus, rendered
this format unpalatable to the Westgarth’s Greek constituents.
Stalls 917 Then in the early 1980s, Greek concerts commenced at the
Circle 356 Westgarth Theatre. To accommodate concerts, the firm Holger
Lounge 156 and Holger Pty Ltd supervised an extension of the stage by 4.5
1429 metres in October 1980. This necessitated the removal of 15
stall seats. The rock group INXS filmed a music video titled
The Cosmopolitan format coalesced naturally with Greek Listen Like Thieves at the Westgarth. Concerts continued at
audiences. To those from non-English speaking backgrounds, Westgarth until 1987.
According to Michael Protopapa, Greek language home
videos were the principal reason underlying the eventual end
of the Greek language format at Westgarth, and elsewhere.
The protean Yiannoudes had become cognisant of this fact
some years earlier. By 1987 Westgarth was the last of his cin-
emas. Yiannoudes had again forseen the future and established
a chain of Greek language home video stores! His Greek film
distribution business continued.

The Valhalla Years
The epoch-making arrival of Valhalla in 1987 signalled a new
chapter of innovation and adaptation in the life of the
Westgarth Theatre. Since Valhalla’s inception in 1976, it had
become an icon in Melbourne’s cinema industry. Valhalla’s
eclectic mix of art-house, nostalgic, foreign and at times
quirky films formed in the minds of some the quintessence of
a niche operation. When Valhalla’s lease of the senescent
Victoria Theatre Richmond was not renewed, it sought a new
home. That home was Westgarth.
The Valhalla/Westgarth association promised to be a sym-
biotic one. Valhalla provided the distinctiveness and peer fol-
lowing a single-screen venue would surely need to survive in

CINEMARECORD Autumn 2001 17