Page 13 - CinemaRecord #84

appreciation of a very pleasant evening and the
high quality of Mr. Brownbill’s snug little
theatre.” Following the preview screening,
refreshments were provided for the 180 guests
in the theatre’s coffee lounge.

The original decor was plain by some standards.
The walls and ceiling were cream, and stage
curtains pale green. The auditorium was lit by
a series of lighting coves which ran across the
width of the building from wall to wall, spaced
at around 4-5 metre intervals down the length
of the building. These coves were wired with
three circuits of different coloured lamps
concealed from direct view, and separately
controlled to allow a multitude of colours to
play across the ceiling. In later years, the wiring
to these coves deteriorated to the point where it
was unsafe, and so Bass installed a series of
recessed square fittings in the flat ceiling areas
between the former coves. The new lights were
each wired with two circuits – one for white 1940 Aerial view of the site which would house the future Pix Theatre in Belmont
lamps, and the other for coloured lamps. As the
white lamps were dimmed at the start of the
show, the lights would appear to gradually
change from white to red, or blue or green,
dependant on what colour lamp was fitted to the
second circuit. The screen curtains were lit top
and bottom with green lamps.

During later upgrades, the old tip-up seats were
replaced with wider, more comfortable fixed
seats of orange vinyl, the aisles were carpeted
and the screen curtains were replaced with new
russet coloured material. The side walls were
also draped from front to rear with the same
material. The overall effect was a warmer, more
sumptuous appearance, although the vinyl seats
were subject to splitting over the ensuing years.

The foyer walls, candy bar and ticket box were
lined up to dado level using an attractive maple
veneer, with a small number of seats provided
along the street side wall. Originally, the foyer
floor was covered with red and green vinyl tiles,
but this was carpeted over in later years, thereby
relieving the rather austere original finish.
Pix Belmont operated in the St. Bernard’s Parish Hall at the left
Business must have been booming because, on
15 December 1955, Bass opened the Pix
Belmont in St. Bernard’s Parish Hall. The
projectors were Standard Simplex on universal
stands with Kalee 10 inch arcs and Western
Electric sound. The projectionist was a
Mr. Arthur Kishere, who also operated a
furnishing store in Moorabool Street.
The first program included With a Song in My
Heart and Web of Danger. Saturday matinees
at both Pix Theatres included cartoons, serials,
and a feature film. Switching of the feature often
took place between the theatres at the matinee
sessions.

The decor of the Pix Belmont was certainly not
to the same standard as the Pix West, mainly
because the hall was owned by St. Bernard’s
Parish, and could not be altered by a tenant. The
one concession was the fitting of red screen
curtains, lit by red footlights. The foyer floor
was covered in vinyl tiles, and the only sign of
timber veneer was on the candy bar/ticket box.
As mentioned above, I started as an unpaid The site in 2014, now occupied by an Aldi Supermarket
“spool boy” at the Pix Belmont on 10 January

CINEMARECORD # 84 13