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Even as a child I could see there
was a vast difference between the
cinemas in terms of the quality of the
theatre itself and the films booked into
them. Top of the pecking order was
Hoyts Theatre Royal.
With a reduced seating capacity of
962 following installation of Todd-AO
70mm in 1962 (“The only theatre so
equipped outside the capital cities of Things were done differently at the Standards were still pretty high
Australia”), it wasn’t the largest theatre Royal once 70mm arrived: initially then and the Royal was always well
in town, but it tended to get the pick of they rigidly followed the live theatre presented, with immaculately dressed
the big roadshow musicals and epics of tradition of evening performances only staff and excellent screen presentation.
that time. Because the films had longer plus Wednesday and Saturday matinees, In my recollection, the floor staff were
seasons than in most cinemas, it was for a total of only eight shows a week; all female, of a certain age, though that
easy to see every film that played the but after a period they settled on two may have been a function of me seeing
Royal and for a number of years I did performances daily, three on Saturday, films during the day.
just that. closed Sunday. Whether it was because I didn’t
have any spare money or something
else, I rarely bought anything to eat or
drink at the Royal, but if my mother
took me, we would often visit a cafe or
if I was very lucky, the Chinese
restaurant nearby.
I look back fondly on the screen
presentation for many of these films:
the opening and closing of the curtains,
the overture, intermission, exit music
etc. The Royal then had a beautifully
curved screen and gold curtains; seeing
those 1960s films like The Sound of
Music, Camelot, Grand Prix and Those
Magnificent Men in their Flying
Machines at the Royal made for some
grand experiences for a young fellow.

CINEMARECORD 2011 25