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The claim that the My Fair Lady was "the first  Adelaide Advertiser.  At an early age he was
                                            new cinema to be built in the CBD in 30 years"  an  assistant  projectionist  at  the  Chelsea
                                            is incorrect. The Metro (1939) and the Plaza  Cinema, Kensington Park.  His name was Al
                                            (1955) are just two examples.        Moritz.  We visited the cinema on a Sunday
                                                                                 afternoon  when  it  was  being  used  for  live
                                            The Fair Lady was first used as an arthouse  entertainment.  Such  an  attractive  showcase
                                            cinema well before it was sold in 1986. Also,  should be preserved and I hope it will be kept
                                            for  much  of  the  last  five  year  period  of  the  intact.
                                            Freeman brothers' ownership, it was operated
                                            by  several  other  parties.  In  1981,  Valhalla  The  Kings  Cross  Cinema  was  a  leading
                                            from interstate began running the venue as the  playhouse in its original form. Many a name in
                                            Valhalla at the Fair Lady, following a longer  show  business  played  on  that  stage,  Ron
        Dear Mike and Richard               stint  at  the  Goodwood  Capri.  Later,  on  Randell for instance.
                                            11  November  1982,  management  was  trans-
        Congratulations  to  Cameron  Hall  on  his  ferred to the Melbourne-based AZ Associated  The article on the Chinese cinema scene is very
        groundbreaking article on Chinese Cinema in  Theatres who, in July 1983, called it the Fair  well  covered.  Catering  for  Asian  audiences
        Melbourne (CR#98).                  Lady: The Adelaide Art House. Seating was  must have been exclusive to Melbourne.
                                            reduced by curtaining off a section of the audi-
        Could  I  add  one  extra  piece  to  the  jigsaw?  torium. The operation ran to May 1984, when  Changing  Times  is  a  good  item  indeed,
        Cameron  mentions  the  occasional  Kung  Fu  the  cinema  was  temporarily  closed  until  illustrating the variety of equipment over the
        screenings  at  the  Mayfair  in  the  late  1970s.  13  December  that  year,  when  World  years. It is a very valuable record which should
        Many years before, when the venue was known  Safari:The New Adventure premiered. It went  be preserved.  Altogether a very informative
        as  the  Auditorium,  classical  concerts  dark again until Barry Loane took it over on  issue.
        alternated with films, and in February 1931 it  7 February 1986, renamed it the Classic at the
        screened The Loves of Fu Sen. This was a silent  Fair Lady and reinstated the compact seating  Regards
        Chinese  film  originally  called  The  Poor  format.  The  Gods  Must  be  Crazy  was  trans-  William Gray
        Daughter in Law, produced in Shanghai. It had  ferred  from  the  Classic  in  Wakefield  Street,
        been acquired by a group of Melbourne Chinese  because  the  owners  were  about  to  demolish
        residents so that their “countrymen and others  that building. The late Mr. Loane also ran the
        interested  should  be  able  to  see  at  least  one  Toorak Gardens Trak for almost 25 years.
        Chinese film”. The Bulletin was impressed: “If
        the silent film survives, it will reach its highest  Farewell to a Fair Lady: Demolition Dilemma
        expression  in  China.  All  the  actors  are  Party was held on 29 October 1988 and fea-
        consummate pantomimists”.’          tured The Chantoozies, Gumbo YaYa and De-
                                            troit Motortown. In early, not late, 1989, the
        Regards                             Fair Lady was pulled down to make way for
        Frank Van Straten                   the Cosmopolitan Centre, housing the Greater
                                            Union 5 Cinemas. The cost of the Cosmopol-
                        ★                   itan  was  $50  million,  not  $75  million.  The
                                            latter figure relates to the original plans, which
        Dear Sirs,                          were to have included a multi-storey hotel and
                                            eight, not five, cinemas. Many of the shops in
        I enjoyed reading Rick Foster's article on the  the  centre  were  vacant,  not  occupied.  The
        Adelaide  Fair  Lady  Theatre  in  Cine-  building also contained an amusement centre.
        maRecord No. 97. The interview with former
        manager Glen Schwartz was most enlighten-  The Fair Lady photo on page 22 would have
        ing. However, it should be noted that the name  been taken in 1975, when The Odessa File was
        of George Bernard Shaw's play is Pygmalion,  screening.
        which  was  first  published  decades  before
        1956. That year refers to the Lerner and Loewe  Kind regards,
        musical version, My Fair Lady.      Alan Bell Paruna, SA.

        When the cinema opened in 1966 as the My            ★
        Fair  Lady,  the  Warner  Theatre  was  then
        called  the  Majestic  and  did  not  become  the  Dear Editors,
        Warner Theatre until 1969, after a brief life
        as  the  Celebrity  Theatre  Restaurant.  It  was  Thank  you  for  CinemaRecord  #98,  some
        never  known  as  the  Warner  Picture  Theatre  excellent articles as usual.
        because it hosted live shows, such as Doctor in
        the House and The Rocky Horror Show.  On a couple of visits to Adelaide I met up with  Good Advice from a 1916 Motion Picture Magazine,
                                            a  good  pen-friend,  who  worked  for  The  recently donated to the CATHS Archive.




















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