Photo Info

Uploaded on: August 20, 2025

Size: 46.2 KB

Views: 213

License:

Portrait of a Perth Picture Show Man.

Maxwell Reddin’s love of movies started the day his Mum took him to see “Snow White” at the Plaza Theatre.

He was 3 years old and immediately fell in love with “the picture business’ as it was then known. His father, Keith, was the accountant at Paramount Pictures, and many Saturday mornings were spent in the office soaking up the atmosphere of an exciting world of make believe.

Some years later after television arrived his Mother took on a weekly tenancy of the Fiesta Theatre in Scarborough and the Innaloo Gardens and Max’s first job, as the “Ice cream” boy, set up the embryonic idea of a career.

After leaving school Maxwell was employed in a clerical position with a transport company and worked nights as doorman at the Premier Theatre in East Perth.

Following a short stay in Melbourne he returned to Perth where he was offered the Programming and Advertising Manager position with a group of companies operating under the banner of Consolidated Theatres. Programming films for one metropolitan Drive-In (The Wirrina in Morley) and eight country locations ranging from Carnarvon in the north, Albany in the south and Kalgoorlie in the east gave him a thorough knowledge of the workings of a rapidly changing industry.

Office work was however not his forte, and when an offer came from Lionel Hart to Manage the Liberty and Savoy Theatres in Perth he accepted instantly.

The years working for Lionel were a rollercoaster as he was somewhat eccentric, but a very shrewd business man who negotiated an exclusive deal with Columbia which saw major films like “Lawrence of Arabia” “Funny Girl” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “To Sir with Love” making an impact on Perth. It was also the start of a long-term association with Colin Garrity from Columbia known as the promotions king of Perth.

Hoyts Paris Theatre in Perth – formerly the Plaza - In 1970, Les Ingram, then West Australian Manager for Hoyts, offered Maxwell a chance to manage the Paris Theatre. This led to an almost 20-year association with the company. Many changes saw the opening of Cinema 1 in City Arcade, Perth, lost the majestic Ambassador Theatre to be replaced by Cinema 2 which was later twinned to become Cinemas 2 and 3 and then later another screen added – in the neighbouring but deserted Lounge area of the Theatre Royal- which became Cinema 4.

After Les Ingram’s retirement, Maxwell was promoted to West Australian Manager, a position he held for 10 years before transferring to the Sydney based Head Office as Theatre Operations Manager. His time in Sydney was dominated by the rapid expansion of multiplexes and the associated industrial problems. This difficult period culminated in the restructuring of many executive positions in Head Office.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -