Entertaining Dungog: The James - More Than a Picture Palace

To sit down and enjoy a film, or any entertainment, in Dungog’s James Theatre is to sit where once Chaplin and Valentino entertained to music played by Mrs O’Regan the station master’s wife. It is where the talkies first amazed and flowery representations of the Sydney Harbour Bridge once hung, where debutantes were presented to Governors and CinemaScope opened up new horizons. Slim Dusty has appeared here, Crocodile Dundee played back-to-back to the entire town, and the entire town turned out for its very own Film Festival. Then as 35mm faded into history, it began to look as if the James Theatre might too.