Originally published December 15, 1938
REGARDED as undisputedly the most elegant cinema in Mildura’s history, the Ozone Theatre opened to much fanfare.
Two grand staircases ascended to the top balcony either side of the downstairs foyer where two candy bars operated.
The cost of watching a film from the upstairs gallery was more than in the downstairs seating area.
The most striking feature inside the auditorium were lights hanging down from the ceiling which appeared to be tiny stars hanging in mid-air.
The lighting was complemented by heavy green drapes surrounding the large screen.
One feature of the Expressionist-style Ozone, which had a seating capacity of 1200, was a crying room where mothers could take their babies into a small sound-proof room and watch the picture from there,
Heating in the auditorium was through a bar running at the base of the back of chairs and was used as a foot rest.
Before each movie session, “God Save the Queen” was played in the theatre and patrons stood to attention.
Seven-minute newsreels with current affairs news were featured at each session, introduced by a laughing kookaburra.
Children looked forward to cartoons which were screened before the movie or after interval.
During the screenings at weekend sessions, short serials, which usually had a gangster theme, were played.
The official opening was performed by Mildura Cr Norman Sarah and that night’s screenings included British Air Mail News, Red, White & Blue Champions (swimming), Popular Science, Pictorial Magazine, Moments of Charm and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”.
Upon the conclusion of the show each night supper was served to patrons in the circle lounge, a move that had been tried only in one other theatre in Australia.
During the 1940s, local cinemas, including the Ozone, were disinfected daily as a means of combating the Scarlet fever epidemic.
By the early 1950s, Mildura had three picture theatres, all in Langtree Avenue — the Ozone Theatre, the Astor Theatre, now occupied by the Mildura Brewery, the Wonderland outdoor theatre across the road, where patrons watched the latest films from the comfort of deck-chairs in the cool of the evening.
The introduction of television to Mildura in the mid-1960s had a devastating effect to the Ozone which saw audience numbers drop from full bookings to just five or six people at some sessions.
The Ozone remained a Mildura landmark until it was knocked down in the late 1970s.
It stood in Langtree Avenue between Eighth and Ninth Streets where the Commonwealth Bank and Mildura Business Centre now stands.
