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Electric Impression A Flash-back
Bill Chew’s original article sent
Having first read about The Electric Cinema in Cinema Technology,
Cinema Technology reader Gerald
CATHS member Eric White travelled to England to see the theatre for himself.
Hooper to his slide collection to come
up with these picture of the theatre
It is all very well to preserve an The Electric revels in its history
from 1974.
historic cinema building, but a working and the program begins with a
cinema needs to sustain itself history of the building, projected
commercially and this is very difficult by video on to the standard-ratio
these days for a venue with just one screen. Among other things, this
screen. The Electric’s approach to this preamble mentions that the mass-
problem was to go up-market. murderer John Christie, whose life
Whereas in olden times The story was filmed as Ten Rillington
Electric seated 600 people in tip-up Place, once worked as a
seats, now it seats about 100 in luxury projectionist at the theatre. (This is
arm-chairs, each with its own foot stool another blow to the image of
and snack table. Furthermore, it lays on projectionists. I have never seen
the service, with a large staff, in them depicted as normal human
contrast to a multiplex, which may have beings, only as drunks, lechers,
as few as three people on duty at any voyeurs and even Soviet Stalinists).
one time, servicing a dozen or more Then the prologue goes into a
screens. lecture about how not to behave at
The Electric employs a house-staff the cinema, featuring a well-known
of at least six: two people handling British comic actor, similar to the
door sales and advance bookings, two one shown at the Melbourne Astor.
people serving at two bars in the The screen then moves forward
auditorium (the front bar closes while away from the proscenium towards
the film is screening), a mobile ice- the audience, expands sideways to
cream vendor, with tray, a manager and the required aspect ratio and the
a projectionist. They run two sessions a film part of the program begins. It
night and fill them both. is quite a spectacle.
The ticket price is high - twelve And what about the movie I
pounds fifty pence, about A$30 - but saw? Well, it was an anti-climax,
the audience is well-heeled and has but who goes to the cinema to see
money to spare for the drinks and movies, anyway? *
snacks.
The Portobello Road, where the
cinema is situated, is a very trendy area
and attracts trade similar to
Melbourne's Chapel Street.
Something that amused me about
the cinema is that the lavatories are
behind the stage. The liberal sale of
alcohol from the bar at the rear of the
hall means that during the screening,
there is a constant procession of people
down to the front of the auditorium,
relief-bent.
Putting modern sound-systems into
an old theatre can be problematic, as Top to bottom
the hall cannot be completely freed of The exterior of the Electric
reverberation. At The Electric, the dark Cinema; the ticket box and the
panels on the walls are actually full name - Electric Cinema
acoustically absorbent. There is still Theatre - set in the floor tiles;
some reverberation, possibly enhanced the interior was red seats and
by the barrel-vaulted roof. It is ironic red wall panels; the screen
that the only flaw is in the ceiling. masking was two flaps moved
by a piece of string from the front of the stage.
These photos were first published in
Cinema Technology, June 2004 and are
reproduced by permission.

CINEMARECORD 2005 13