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When BEN HUR

Came To Albury

by John M. Stevens

Before Ben Hur screened in Albury
it was already the most anticipated film
ever. It seemed to be everywhere except
Albury; all media clamouring to
acknowledge this movie milestone.
The Regent Albury screened all the
MGM films and Ben Hur was going to
be the biggest. Bookings were filling
for weeks prior to its engagement, set
for a three-week season. It was
September 1961 - I was eleven.
Samson and Delilah, The Robe and
the Ten Commandments, were all
exciting, but in anticipation alone, Ben
Hur was off the scale.
Regent manager George Osbourne
supervised the bookings and local
advertising. He worked in liaison with
MGM’s Reg. Pollack, who travelled
Australia with the film assisting with
promotion, display materials and
information about this epic.
By the time the film was in town,
every session was booked out. The film
was immediately booked for an extra
two weeks. No film in Albury’s history
had ever played for five weeks!
The theatre building became a giant
promotion. The lobby displays included
large colour portraits of the stars. Every
showcase and poster board was given
over to this one attraction. The building
became a time machine to transport all
who entered back 2,000 years.
The Regent Albury (1927),
probably the best Regent in Australia
not designed for Hoyts, was perfect for
this type of film: on-screen
extravagance matched by the
exuberance of the surroundings.
Architect Dr. Ross Thorne,
specialist in the history of cinema
design, has written of this example of
Picture Palace style that it is ‘equal to
any constructed in a major suburb of
Sydney or Melbourne’.
With ace projectionists Jack
Parnaby and Richard McCormack in
charge, the film was in good hands.
Special instructions for projectionists
explained the role of the Overture and Top: Many variations on this poster were used. Above: Regent Albury.
lighting effects for setting the mood.
Many people saw it twice. I went citations wherever it played, including
The film monopolised each session - no
three times! It was indeed ‘The 11 Oscars. Now, nearly 50 years after it
trailers, no supporting program, all Ben
entertainment experience of a lifetime’. was made, it remains the biggest and
Hur - the longest film ever, at three
Ben Hur garnered awards and best of all movies. ★
hours 53 minutes!

18 2007 CINEMARECORD