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AFI research collection
   
Reference Type Cinema Record journal
Title Treasures in the bric-a-brac
Author(s)Kevin Brandum
Issue 34
State VIC
Country Australia
Publication Date 00-09-2001
Citation Date
Page Number 22
Comments The article by Brandum is written in a narrative text, where he describes his experience when visiting an old antique store. He lists a number of items he found, including the shield presented to Lou Somprou; manager of the Plaza Essendon, and explains his excitement when he first saw it.



Brandum goes on to describe why the shield was so important to him, because he was once a visitor to the Plaza Theatre Essendon. The description he uses to describe his experiences at the Plaza indicates a form of bias towards the history of the cinema, as he misses the wonderful times he spent there and does not approve of the conversion to the Ukrainian centre. He speaks about the manager of the theatre; Lou Somprou, who was responsible for the running and film circuit bookings of the theatre.



From this article, the reader begins to understand the popularity of the cinema as Brandum describes how the image of "House Full" comes into his mind when he looks at the shield. This indicates that during the early 1900's a trip to the cinema was a special occasion and the Plaza Theatre was a popular venue of choice, with many screenings selling out each week.



An image featured in the article shows what the cinema was converted to in 1959; a Ukrainian Centre. The narrative of the last paragraph demonstrates Brandum's disappointment regarding the cinema's conversion, and refers to the building as merely "some guise or other". This comment indicates how the transformation of the cinema to a community centre has saddened himself, and those who once were visitors to the theatre.



Synopsis The article describes how Brandum stumbled across a shield found in an Antiques store. The shield read; "Champian Hoyts Suburban Theatre Plaza Theatre, Essendon, Lou Somprou, Manager, September 1935".
tags: Antique Cinema Record Hoyts Lou Somprou Plaza Essendon Shield 
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