Movie Memories

 After attending the Tauranga Historical Society’s October meeting, where Brian Ducker gave an entertaining and illuminating presentation on fan mail sent by New Zealanders to Hollywood stars in the early to mid-twentieth century, and hearing the questions it prompted from fellow attendees, I found myself delving into Tauranga Museum’s collection to discover what it might reveal about the region’s own film history.

Among the collection’s treasures are more than two hundred and fifty movie posters spanning the 1930s to the 1970s. The films represented include Crime Over London (1936), Nothing Sacred (1937), Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950), Dr No (1962), The Sound of Music (1965), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

Just two of the more than 250 movie posters in the Tauranga Museum collection, ranging from Crime Over London (1936) to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Collection of Tauranga Museum (0051/11, 0723/10).

These posters come from local cinemas and illustrate a time when moviegoing was a very popular form of entertainment in the Western Bay of Plenty. At least six theatres operated in the district, including the Regent, Town Hall and Odeon theatres in Tauranga, the Plaza Picture Theatre in Katikati (originally known as “Everybody’s Theatre”), the Capitol Theatre in Te Puke, and the Regent Theatre on Victoria Road, Mount Maunganui. Originally built as a dance hall in the 1920s, the theatre was first known as Arcadia Hall before being converted into a cinema.

Plaza Picture Theatre in Katikati circa late 1940s. Image courtesy of Western Bay District Library.

Like fan mail, movie posters have become highly collectable, though for different reasons. Created to promote films in cinema lobbies, they were never intended for public sale. Their scarcity, artistic value, and nostalgic appeal are among the reasons they are so sought after today. The collection also includes other forms of film advertising, such as lobby cards and smaller window cards, which were used to promote films both inside and outside cinemas.

A window card advertising Wonder Man (1945) and a lobby card for Serpico (1973), starring Al Pacino. Collection of Tauranga Museum (0179/11/1, 0128/09).

While these posters are eye-catching, the programme posters produced for theatres such as the Regent and Town Hall offer the clearest glimpse into the cinema-going experience of the day, revealing the sheer number and variety of films available to audiences. 

A programme of films showing at the Regent Theatre and Town Hall, Tauranga, in August 1934. The two theatres operated as Tauranga Theatres Ltd. and were part of the Robert Kerridge theatre empire. Collection of Tauranga Museum (0001/21).

Together, these posters and programmes do more than advertise films. They preserve memories of nights at the pictures, of theatres that have long since disappeared, and of a time when the arrival of the latest Hollywood production was an event anticipated by communities across the Western Bay of Plenty.

Acknowledgement

Thank you to Brian Ducker for sharing his wonderful collection of stamps, envelopes, letters and postcards.  A philatelist collects and studies stamps and postal history; a deltologist collects and studies postcards.