BONZA
BONZA - Australia & NewZealand
Home    |    About    |    Search    |    Essays    |    Contact    |    Login

AFI research collection
   
Reference Type journal
Title 'hoyts Alhambra'
Author(s)Ann Westmore
Volume CinemaRecord, Cinema and Theatre Historical Societ
Issue 17
Town melbourne
State VIC
Country Australia
Publication Date 00-08-1997
Citation Date
Page Number 4-6
Comments A very interesting article. The writer wrote this article in a quite objective and critical way.

Unlike Laurie Cunningham who only wrote the bright side of the theatre's owner Percy Allen- Cunningham described him as 'a benevolent employer'and 'had the flair of a born showman'(1995,pp.22) , Westmore did acknowledged Percy Allen was a successful business man, but she also pointed out some controversial decisions that Allen made.

For example, Westmore not only mentioned Allen regularly arranged free film nights for local soldiers, but also talked about he shortened the distance between rows in order to more seats and was fined for that. Allen also allowed more than a hundred extra people came into the theatre. Those extra people used to block the passageway, the small space of theatre became even more narrow.

Despite fortunately there was no tragedy happened, it still was dangerous, and never will be a responsible enough decision.

Meanwhile, Westmore also mentioned several details of this structure. For instance, the roof of Alhambra was openable, therefore the audience could enjoy the movie under the sky. That could be an effective way to attract audiences.

Furthermore, Wesrmore offered another point of view to the 'Wednesday ranch night'. She believed those cowboy films made the Alhambra survived rather than harmed.

In conclusion, this is a useful resource for cinema researching, especially for the Alhambra threat.



(Mingrui He)
tags: alhambra theatre 
add tag
People Mentioned ( click to view )
References Mentioned ( click to view )
Cinemas Mentioned ( click to view )
 
 

Search - Australia & New Zealand  |   Search - French Cinema  |   Terms of Use