Page 24 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2003 #41
P. 24

Time Technical
            For a theatre that seemingly offered
          all the latest features, decisions which
          affected the projection suite - the part
          of the theatre the audience didn't see -
          were a bit niggardly.
            The first projectors were Powers’
          heads on RCA sound-heads, with RCA
          amplifiers. Arc lamps were of the
          Bramley ‘tin box’ type. ‘Mick’ Bramley
          was Hoyts chief engineer in Victoria
          and his ‘home-made’ arc was a
          common installation in suburban
          theatres. Somewhat crude in
          appearance, they worked well enough
          for films in standard ratio, but their
          light output was limited.
            They had a fixed-feed ratio for the
          carbons, which were 7mm positives and
          6mm negatives, so current could not be
          increased to get a better light.
            There was no motor generator. The
          rectifiers were of the selenium type.
            For the introduction of
          CinemaScope, the Bramley arcs  were
          replaced by Calder arcs. Simplex
          projector heads replaced the Powers
          and a Kalee stereo sound system was
                                            An early Powers projector head with exposed gears, always a characteristic of the
          installed.
                                            brand. Powers' last model was c. 1925. Image: Harold Aspinall Collection.
            The last change of arcs was to
          Westrex Fourteens (so-called because
          of the diameter of the mirror - in
          inches). These were the type with the
          ‘boxy back’, not the Peerless-style
          Westrex Fourteens.                                            At A Glance
            In the best of the new designs of the                    TIME BALWYN
          1930s the projectionist was no longer                  447-451 Whitehorse Road
          the forgotten man. Some of these
                                                         Built For:    Hoyts Theatres Ltd.
          theatres (for example the Village
          Toorak) included a toilet for the              Architect:    Cowper, Murphy & Appleford
          operator, but on this and on other             Builder:      T.R. & L. Cockram
          counts, this room wasn’t one of the
                                                         Opened:       14 June 1941
          best. It was small and pokey, no deeper
          than the equivalent of two rows of             Seating:      1,176
          seats.
                                                         Heating:      Donach gas-fired plenum system
            I thank Alan White and Rick Yorke-
          Wynne, former projectionists at the            Major Fire:   3 May 1945
          Time, for sharing this information.            First program: The Mark Of Zorro

          Eric White                                     CinemaScope: 16 December 1954 The Robe
                                                         Restricted
                                                         Screenings:   From 22 April 1961

                                                         Closed:       Sat. 29 Feb. 1964
                                                         Last program: Boccaccio 70 Anita Ekberg,
                                                                       Sophia Loren











          24  2008 CINEMARECORD
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