Rich pickings at the Regal Cinema, Karori

Interior of the Regal Theatre in Karori, Wellington. Ref: 1/2-100184-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22790892

For decades before the introduction of television broadcasts to New Zealand in 1960, if people wanted to get out of the house for some entertainment and didn't fancy the rattling journey to town on a tram, there was often a local picture-house in their suburb to provide a show. The Regal Cinema in the centre of the Wellington suburb of Karori was a typical example. A business offshoot of the still-active Empire Theatre in Island Bay, the Regal served its community over five decades from the 1920s. More recently occupied by the Karori Bridge Club, for years the Regal provided cinematic glamour to the wind-swept residents of the western hills, from a purpose-built home near the main shopping area. 

The Regal Cinema at 272 Karori Road, designed by Edwin Royden Wells, is an excellent example of Art Deco style and was designed as a silent film venue. The building was financed by a private company, the Karori Theatre Co, whose managing director was August Tartakover. He had contributed to the founding of the Empire Theatre in Island Bay and wanted a similar theatre in Karori. The first films shown were The Farmer's Daughter and The Gay Retreat; and the first talkie was The Student Prince. The theatre was a source of entertainment for the local community until its closure in the 1960s.
- Judith Burch & Jan Heynes (eds.), Karori & its People, Wellington, 2011, p.170

To get an idea of the cinematic fare on offer to Karori residents, here's a glimpse at the Regal's film listings in the months after the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash, from the advertising pages of the Evening Post.

"Why Be Good?" which opens to-night at the Regal Theatre, is a comedy-drama, with equal emphasis on the humorous and serious qualities of the story. It is an up-to-the-minute picture, showing the modern girl just as she is, her faults as well as her virtues being presented in an absorbing story that answers the question put forth in its title. Colleen Moore gives an ideal interpretation of the modern girl. A comedy and news reel will also be shown.
- Evening Post, 7 November 1929

A Wodehousian farce with a suitably moral ending, Why Be Good? features Colleen Moore in a prime case of nominative determinism, playing a flapper named Pert Kelly whose looks impress the boss' son Winthrop Peabody Jr, but whose innate virtues and integrity ultimately win through after trivial romantic obstacles. Moore, who was 29 at the time of this picture, helped popularise the bobbed haircut through her cinema appearances, but a four-year hiatus beginning not long after Why Be Good? virtually ended her screen career. She went from strength to strength after movies however: she was an astute investor and ended up a partner in Merrill Lynch; and her talent and passion for dollhouses led to her creation of one of the world's most visited dollhouses, which is still exhibited at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

The picture-loving public have seen Lon Chaney in many roles where the make-up to suit the part has been so life-like that they have marvelled at the versatility of this screen actor, but never previously has he attained such triumph as a make-up artist as he does in "West of Zanzibar," which comes here tonight. As the crippled erstwhile conjurer, who to play a revenge on the man who has betrayed him, spends years of weary waiting in the "White Man's Grave." Chaney once again portrays a type seldom hitherto seen in filmland. The supporting picture, "On to Reno," is a story dealing with the farcical divorce laws in that State. A gazette and news reel will also be shown.
- Evening Post, 9 November 1929

With a top cast of Lon Chaney (several years after his starring roles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera) and acting royalty Lionel Barrymore as rival magicians, and a gifted director in Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks), this bonkers tale fed into the contemporary American passion for exotic locales. By the time West of Zanzibar screened in Wellington, in real life Chaney had contracted pneumonia on a winter film shoot, and by August of the following year he was dead of a throat haemorrhage, having been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Karl Dane and George K. Arthur score in their new comedy of navy life, "All at Sea," which will be at the Regal Theatre tonight. In this farce they run into all sorts of complications. They are cast as a pair of rollicking sailors who both have an eye on the same girl, a pretty photograph studio operator, portrayed by Josephine Dunn. The sequel is one prolonged bout of comedy, bristling with absurd situations. Good supports will also be featured.
- Evening Post, 11 January 1930

Little remains of the comedy All at Sea other than a fine poster. Like Colleen Moore, Karl Dane failed to make the transition to the talking pictures era, because his thick Danish accent limited his options. He died by suicide aged 47 in Los Angeles, in 1934. George K Arthur, an English actor, had better luck, retiring as an actor in 1935 and moving into producing and distributing short films. He went on to win an Academy Award for the short film The Bespoke Overcoat in 1956.

"Trent's Last Case," which comes to the Regal Theatre to-night, is a mystery melodrama with strong, sustained love interest upon which the story revolves. A fiendish husband, misconstruing his wife's affection for his secretary, sets about to destroy both by planning a suicide which will look like murder. Several surprising twists reveal the actual murderer in a series of exciting developments and bring about a reunion of the lovers. The cast includes Raymond Griffith, Raymond Hatton, Marceline Day, and others. A strong supporting programme will also be shown.
- Evening Post, 18 February 1930

A short feature of only 66 minutes, Trent's Last Case was a detective story directed by the great Howard Hawks, and featuring another actor who later moved behind the camera. Raymond Griffiths, who often played comedic roles in top hat, white tie and tails, ended his film career with a small uncredited role in 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front, and then turned to writing and directing. He produced or co-produced four films in the 1930s.

The picturised version of Warwick Deeping's famous novel, "Sorrell and Son," comes to the Regal Theatre this evening. Those who have read the book will witness in the film version a life-like reproduction, and this human drama should appeal to many. "Sorrel and Son" is a picture which sets an example, and is intensely British throughout. Good supports will also be screened.
- Evening Post, 20 February 1930

This film was a trifle outdated, having been released in the US in November 1927 and adapted from a 1925 novel by Warwick Deeping, a prolific English novelist whose work received little critical acclaim but who sold well enough. More than two decades later the two leading actors of Sorrell and Son, HB Warner and Anna Q Nilsson, both featured in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950) in the famous card game scene with fellow Old Hollywood 'waxwork' Buster Keaton. 

The former Regal Cinema, Karori, February 2020