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Taken on: July 13, 2019

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Maurice Scott, Manager of the Metro Collins Street, hosting Sue Lyon at the 1962 premiere of MGM’s “Lolita”

Maurice Scott began his career with MGM at The Metro Bourke Street as treasurer. This was during the seasons of “Butterfield 8”, “Gigi”, & “Ben Hur”. It was during the “Ben Hur” run when he was promoted to The Metro Twin Drive-in theatre at Clayton, later he was transferred to The Metro Malvern. Almost immediately he was promoted as manager of The Metro Collins Street. Up until the late 50’s “Metro Collins” was MGM’s prestige house in Melbourne. He remained there for eleven years.

Highlights: Hosting Sue Lyon at the “Lolita” premier – also the great Ann Miller, who replaced an unavailable Eleanor Parker for the season of “Interrupted Melody”, then playing golf with Charlton Heston during the promotional tour for “Ben Hur” – Fred Astaire also came to visit.

Maurice Scott won two “New York Box office awards” for the best run Metro Theatre in the Pacific Basin.

A Great moment in Cinema History.

His all time personal highlight happened in 1961 : Vivien Leigh was appearing in a stage play around the corner at Her Majesty’s Theatre, while Maurice was playing a re-run of “Gone With The Wind” at The Metro. Plucking up all his courage he asked her to come around to the Metro Collins after her performance and meet his audience. Quote: We ushered her down the aisle to the stage and I introduced her to our packed house. Stunned, in the presence of Cinema Royalty, they gave her a standing ovation ( 21 years later )

Maurice Scott “SHOWMAN” – He showed a lot of us the way

Photo from The Maurice Scott Collection –

Contributed by Greg Lynch –

In Memoriam :

Maurice joined Hoyts in the early 1950s, having worked in the Mutual Store after leaving Melbourne High School. He was sent to the Broadway Camberwell theatre to train in management and was subsequently placed on their relief circuit. This included stints at the Regent Ballarat, the Prince of Wales in Hobart and the Princess in Launceston. Back in Victoria he was relief manager at the Victory St Kilda, Southern, Hampton, Hoyts Windsor and the Circle Preston. For some reason he was fired from the Southern Hampton on his return stint there.

Sol Freeman, manager of the Metro Bourke Street, invited him in 1958 to become that theatre’s treasurer, then considered the bottom rung of the management ladder. He was soon promoted to manager of the Metro Drive-In at Clayton and thence to the Metro Malvern where Noel Ferrier was on the staff. In 1959 he became manager of the Metro Collins Street, considered Metro’s flagship cinema in Melbourne, although the top product was then being shown at Metro Bourke Street. Collins Street was Maurice’s long-held ambition; he remained there for eleven years,

By 1971 MGM was in dire straits and Maurice reluctantly left the company to manage the newly opened Bryson Cinema in Exhibition Street, which was successful for a time but eventually closed after difficulty in obtaining releases. Maurice was invited by George Fairfax in 1983 to join the team at the newly constructed Arts Centre in St Kilda Road, interiors designed by John Truscott, and for eleven years was the highly respected manager of Melbourne’s most prestigious theatres, including the Concert Hall, now Hamer Hall … by David Kilderry – Committee member Victorian Branch of the Society Of Australian Cinema Pioneers.